A stand, a gym, a clubhouse, 12 dressing rooms and indoor and outdoor astro turf facilities are part of Portlaoise GAA’s development project, which are to be progressed to the official planning stages this week.
The major multi-million euro project will be a loving and lasting legacy to club members Eoin and Dylan Fitzpatrick, who lost their lives tragically in a road traffic accident in the summer of 2023.
The project will be a loving and lasting legacy to club members Eoin and Dylan Fitzpatrick, who lost their lives tragically in a road traffic accident in the summer of 2023.
The project has arrived at this stage after an amount of work in the background by Portlaoise GAA club officials and Travis and Maryse Knight (nee Fitzpatrick) who are supporting the project to commemorate Maryse’s brother Eoin and her nephew Dylan. Eoin was a quality Portlaoise hurler and the Fitzpatrick family are steeped in the Portlaoise club.
The family are also providing offering financial support to progress this legacy development for the community and club.
It is hoped that construction will start later this year and be completed in 2027.
The development will be a spectacular design, encompassing a 90m x 60m indoor playing facility, a gym, six adult and six juvenile dressing rooms, an intimate clubhouse bar that can be doubly extended, depending on the crowd and will have the capacity to host big club functions like dinner dances.
A spectator stand will be at the front of this building looking onto what will become the main pitch in Rathleague.
To the left of this, what is now Pitch 2 (parallel to the current fenced pitch) will be a full-sized GAA astro-turf, fenced and floodlit.
Portlaoise GAA officials presented the latest plan to club members yesterday (Monday) evening at a meeting in the Midlands Park Hotel and received backing to progress the development to the planning staged. An official planning application is set to be submitted to Laois County Council this week.
Already, Lafferty – a Project Management Consultancy that have overseen major projects like the Curragh Racecourse, the Kildare Innovation Campus at the old Hewlett Packard site and the Glass Bottle site in Dublin – have been appointed to the Portlaoise development.
Portlaoise GAA say that the development will “further strengthen its role as a hub for sporting and community life in Portlaoise”.
“This marks the next phase of an exciting programme to improve the club’s grounds, further strengthening its role as a hub for sporting and community life in Portlaoise.
“(It) will provide high quality facilities for club members, players, and the wider Portlaoise community, from young athletes to lifelong supporters.
Eamon Fennelly and Dermot Costelloe, joint Chairperson of Portlaoise GAA Club, commented: “This is an important day for Portlaoise GAA, the Fitzpatrick family and for the entire community.
“The submission of our planning application is a testament to the incredible work that has already taken place at Rathleague and reflects our commitment to providing a top-class facility.”
Maryse and Travis Knight (née Fitzpatrick) also reflected on the importance of reaching this phase of the development: “It’s been incredibly heartening to see the passion and commitment displayed by everyone involved in this project to date.
“It further demonstrates the sense of community and togetherness that has helped our family immeasurably over the past two years. It also reinforces our belief that this is the right way to honour Eoin and Dylan in a meaningful and enduring way.”
Portlaoise GAA have been based in Rathleague for more than a decade now since moving from their old home on Fr Browne Avenue where the Laois GAA Centre of Excellence now stands.
Portlaoise sold their land at the height of the Celtic Tiger and bought the land at Rathleague which gave them significantly more space.
But the sale of their old site collapsed, leaving the club saddled with massive debt and a largely underdeveloped grounds in Rathleague.
Significant money has been pumped into their new grounds, in terms of the likes of drainage, and in more recent times, floodlights but the facilities are a long way off modern standards.
Indeed for many experienced Portlaoise senior footballers and hurlers, they’ve togged out in portacabins for their entire adult careers.
“Pending planning approval, this redevelopment would not only enhance our club’s sporting infrastructure but also provide the town’s young people with resources and facilities to help them reach their full potential,” added Teddy Fennelly and Dermot Costelloe.
“The redevelopment would represent a significant contribution to the sporting and social fabric of Portlaoise and we are incredibly grateful to Maryse and Travis whose support enables this.”
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