This is Páirc Sheáin Mhic Chumhaill as you’ve never seen it before.
The iconic Ballybofey stadium, home of Sean Mac Cumhaill’s GAA club and the Donegal senior football team, is undergoing a €500,000 redevelopment that will deliver a brand-new pitch, upgraded floodlights and improved facilities for supporters.
Club chairman PJ McGowan confirmed that work on levelling and draining the surface began last week.
With progress on schedule, he expects the ground to be ready in time to host some of Donegal’s National Football League fixtures next spring.
“We would have been happy to have it ready for the championship in April or May, but those with better knowledge than me about such things say it will be ready early in the spring in time to host some league games,” Mr McGowan said.
“During bad weather, we were often at the mercy of pitch inspections,” McGowan added. “We’ve finally taken the bull by the horns and while the redevelopment is a big project it's one that was badly needed, and it will leave us with a much more durable surface in all conditions.”
Expert guidance was sought from several quarters, including Croke Park’s head groundsman, Stuart Wilson, agronomist Ian McClements who has advised on playing surfaces from GAA to golf and soccer, and Kilcar's Declan Gallagher of Ocean Knowledge whose firm manages the pitches at the Donegal GAA Centre in Convoy.
Floodlight upgrades are also under way, with new energy-efficient LED bulbs being installed where the brightness can be adjusted for training, matches, or television broadcast standard. Toilet facilities and perimeter walls are being improved as part of the wider redevelopment.
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For now, however, it is not capable of hosting full-sided matches and while the redevelopment is ongoing, Mac Cumhaill’s will stage their home fixtures at the Donegal GAA Centre in Convoy.