CLG An Clochan Liath's new pitch now just 12 months away from completion

CLG An Clochan Liath have said the completion of their new pitch is now within sight.

The contract for the laying of the new playing surface was signed with H Harkin Contracts, with the new grass playing surface to be completed this year meaning the pitch will be ready for use at the beginning of the 2025 playing season.

This will mark a huge milestone for the Rosses Park club, who are based at Carnmore Road, and is the culmination of five years of work to get to this point. It’s a realisation of a club dream that is over 20 years in the making.

Aerial photograph showing the levelling of the sub-base to make it ready to receive the new playing surface

Aside from the physical work on site, the process of getting their new pitch has involved seeking and being granted funding from Roinn na Gaeltachta, the Leader fund, via Donegal County Council, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht Sport and Media as well as Clár funding.

“We must acknowledge the help of our local representatives and in particular Marie Therese Gallagher and Pat the Cope in assisting with these efforts,” club officials have said.

“Our own fundraising achievements in providing matching funding involved endless hours of effort from all of our club members in ticket selling, driving to all corners of the province and huge online promotion in making our online draw a success also.

Monitoring pins were placed around the new pitch and settlement was recorded regularly throughout 18 months of consolidation

“This achievement is something that we can collectively be very proud of as a club. Our task in building the pitch started by creating a stone berm around the perimeter in order to contain the bogland that it was to be built on. It was decided that for cost and environmental reasons the bog could not be removed.

“Once the berm was built we then set about loading the area with over 3000 loads of stone in order to help consolidate the bog. The consolidation of the peat in order to make the ground suitable for supporting a new pitch was a lengthy process with almost 18 months of settlement and monitoring required.

“The overall settlement (up to 1.2m in places) has matched the computer-modelled predictions and the settlement has now reduced to a point where we are able to confidently proceed with the laying of the pitch.

Monitoring pins were placed around the new pitch and settlement was recorded regularly throughout 18 months of consolidation

“We are now levelling the base ready to receive the new playing surface and aim to have the pitch sown at the end of the summer.

“This new pitch will help our players to achieve their best in the years to come through more pitch practice time and forms part of a long-term plan for our club to re-establish ourselves as one of the leading clubs in the county and is a testament to what can be done when we all work towards a common goal. Ni neart go cur le cheile.”