Ballycumber GAA blown away by €100,000 fundraiser for activity centre

The PRO of Ballycumber GAA has said the club is blown away by the response to its recent fundraising walk in aid of a new activity centre for the local community.

The walk, which took place on Saturday September 11, saw club members split up into 24 groups to take on 5km stretches from Croke Park, through Dublin city and out towards the Grand Canal back towards Offaly - a distance of 120km.

The idea for the fundraiser came from club PRO Eamonn Larkin, who said that they never expected to raise its final amount of €100,265.

"We initially had a goal of €30,000, but we quickly raised that to €50,000, and we finally raised it to €60,000," Eamonn said.

"We stopped increasing the goal after that because it just kept snowballing."

There were 141 participants, with one individual raising €13,000, and another over €8,500.

The day itself saw some club members living in Dublin take off from Croke Park at 9am, before heading to Rialto.

From there, walkers went to Inchicore, Lucan and Hazelhatch, before following the canal route towards Edenderry, Tullamore, Pollagh and back to the club's grounds.

"We didn't make people wait for one leg to finish before starting, because if we did it like that it would have taken 27 hours," Eamonn explained.

"People took off in their cars and started at various points along the route, with younger players and children doing the final few stretches. We were finished by 2pm."

The money raised now means that the activity centre needs another €150,000 for completion, which will be achieved through grants and loans.

"We initially thought the centre would come to €200,000, but the cost of materials, mainly steel and concrete, has increased it to €250,000," Eamonn explained.

However, Eamonn and the participants in the walk believe that the activity centre is a vital facility.

"It's a multi-functional centre that will measure 48 metres long, 18 metres wide and 5 metres high with an astro turf.

"It's really important, particularly for when the weather is bad."

The centre will be used for training including underage football and hurling, and it can also be utilised for games such as bowls and boccia or exercises like yoga or pilates. Gym equipment currently located in the community centre can be brought in if needed.

Part of the front wall will be meshed to provide plenty of ventilation which the club says is important with Covid-19, while the other walls will be made of mass concrete and can act as ball walls.

"We were hoping for a start date of early spring 2022, but we've been told by the supplier that materials won't be available until May."

Eamonn hopes that the work won't take too long to complete once it begins, as the facility will be constructed with a simple steel frame and concrete slabs.

"We hope to have the centre ready for winter 2022, and we just want to thank all of our supporters and everyone who donated.

"It went way beyond what we ever expected," he finished.