Connacht GAA chief: ‘Barcelona came here to see what we done’
A Connacht FBD League match between Leitrim and Sligo at the NUI Galway Connacht GAA Air Dome. Picture: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Connacht chief executive John Prenty has called for State funding to support integration between the GAA, the LGFA and Camogie Association.
Speaking at the championship launch in the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence, Prenty said a major spend will be required for facilitates to cope.
“Look, it’s going to be a huge problem. If you go to any of our clubs and go to our dressing rooms, we have no facilities suitable for today. When the ladies come into our association they will expect the same consideration as the men, but we have no toilet facilities or shower facilities that I know of in a club setting, we just don’t have it.
“20 girls in a room are not going to accept that and they are right. I think if the government is into the 40% on management, I think they have a huge responsibility when this comes in to fund our association in a way that will accommodate that because by 2027 we just cannot manage on our own resources without major help with club facilities alone.
"Obviously, what we have here is grand, we have 50-50 boys and girls and men and women here all through the year, but we are unique and there is no other place like this.”
Prenty went on to warn those pushing for a change to the provincial championship system should remember that their state-of-the-art facility was funded by it.
“If there is talk of changing provincial championships, the first discussion that has to take place is the funding mechanism for the association,” he said.
The air dome in Connacht has been one of the great success stories. It was used to host the recent FBD league games during January. Requests for bookings are constant, particularly with the recent spell of bad weather.
After Prenty finishes talking, Mayo and Sligo arrive for their own training sessions. Last weekend, Fermanagh’s Ederney ran a blitz involving teams from Armagh, Tyrone and Donegal.
Should other provinces replicate it?
“Climate change is changing the whole world,” Prenty said.
“Barcelona came here to see what we done. This time last year. Wherever they train, they get washed out on a regular basis. It is not just an Irish phenomenon.
"We built this place for a ballpark of €3.1 to 3.5 million. That would now cost between €8-9 million.”
He continued: “The cost – the day before St Patrick’s Day 2020, every single nut and bolt of that dome, and a bit of canvas and astroturf material was on the ground out there.
"That cost now would be probably two-and-a-half times that because of Brexit, because of the war in Ukraine. All that kind of material has gone through the roof.”
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