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Skibbereen Rowing Club, Bohemians/DCU and the Tipperary GAA County Board were among the biggest winners as the largest sports capital grant in the history of the State, worth €126 million, was announced on Friday.
More than 1,900 clubs and schools will benefit from capital grants to build new sporting facilities or upgrade existing ones. Every county will see projects being funded.
Thirty-five sports are included, with GAA, rugby and soccer among major recipients, as well as other sports including tennis, kayaking, boxing, cricket and wheelchair activities.
Priority has been given to sporting bodies that encourage female participation and also those that operate in disadvantaged areas.
The announcement was made by Minister for Sport Catherine Martin and Minister of State for Sport Jack Chambers. The payments will be made through the sports capital and equipment programme operated by the Department of Sport.
The €126 million does not include the €16.6 million already allocated for sports equipment and the €6 million held in reserve for appeals, making a total of almost €150 million.
More than 3,000 sporting bodies and schools applied for funding. Applications began in 2020 and closed in March last year.
The projects being funded include upgraded GAA facilities, pitch draining, clubhouse refurbishment, new walkways, floodlights, indoor domes and gym facilities.
All unsuccessful applicants will be given the opportunity to appeal the Department’s decision and information on the appeal process will issue to relevant organisations in the coming weeks. Some €6 million has been set aside to cover successful appeals under this process.
In August, €16.6 million was announced separately in grants for sports equipment only.
Among the recipients are the Skibbereen Rowing Club which produced Olympic champions Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy. They will receive €66,000 for new gym facilities.
Dublin is the largest recipient, receiving more than €16 million in grant-aided projects, followed by Cork (€13.9 million), Galway (€8.8 million), Limerick (€6.8 million) and Tipperary (€6.3 million).
Ms Martin said it had been a tough two years for many sporting clubs “but the pandemic really demonstrated the importance of sport for our collective wellbeing”.
“The grants we are announcing today will significantly improve sports facilities in every county. There is a huge variety of different sports covered and I was particularly pleased that the scoring system placed an even greater emphasis on female participation,” she said.
Mr Chambers added that the pandemic “revealed to us all the importance of community and I am particularly pleased that so many community centres and organisations have been allocated funding to develop projects in towns and villages across the country”.
Among the big winners were:
Carlow: St Leo’s College, hockey pitch upgrade – €300,000
Cork: Cork Rugby Stadium, upgrading of existing floodlighting installation –€300,000
Cork: Cobh Ramblers Football Club, upgrade of club facilities and equipment – €300,000
Donegal: Donegal County Board GAA Centre, pitch and ancillary works – €300,000
Dublin: Dublin County Board GAA, Spawell development – €300,000
Dublin: Dublin City University and Bohemians FC, artificial pitch development – €300,000
Dublin: Canoeing Ireland (Irish Canoe Union), upgrade national training centre – €173,474
Dublin: Irish Girl Guides, health and wellness facility – €300,000
Dublin: Irish Wheelchair Association, sports equipment – €215,195
Galway: Galway County Board GAA, Tuam Stadium redevelopment – €297,073
Galway: Moanbaun Sports and Development Project, provision of a regional eight-lane running track – €300,000
Laois: Regional hockey pitch at Dunamase Collee – €300,000
Longford: Longford Athletics Club, upgrade of indoor athletics centre of excellence – €300,000
Meath: Meath GAA Centre of Excellence, pitch development – €256,863
Sligo: Sligo Rovers, floodlighting upgrade and other ground improvements – €211, 674
Tipperary: Tipperary County Board GAA, Dr Morris Park dressing rooms – €300,000
Westmeath: Athlone Town dressing rooms, toilet facilities, fitness suite – €251,675
Westmeath: Westmeath County Board GAA, upgrade of TEG Cusack Park – €300,000