A special meeting of Kilkenny County Council was held on Thursday evening for the Dedication of the lands at the newly developed Training Centre in Dunmore to Kilkenny GAA. The special meeting was held at the MW Hire Training Centre in Dunmore.
The meeting was Chaired by the Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, Councillor Pat Millea.
Pat outlined the backround of the far seeing partnership between both parties and the long search for a suitable site to fulfil the dream of Kilkenny GAA to have its own Training Centre.
Having identified twelve acres at the County Council landfill facility in Dunmore, the project supported by the local community received planning permission and a one hundred year lease was arranged.
Kilkenny County Board Chairman Ned Quinn in reply, spoke of the two years of development work that saw the conversion of the site, into two state of the art sand based pitches the size of Croke Park. Also included were four dressing rooms, car parking and a stand and flood lighting was provided on the main pitch. Ned sincerely thanked all involved in the local authorities in what is a market leading development by creating the opportunity and meeting the challenge in providing the facilities. In doing so he also complimented the project co-ordinator Pat Henderson and Croke Park, Leinster GAA and Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport for providing the majority of the funding.
At the conclusion of the event Pat Millea preseted framed scrolls to the recently retired County Senior Hurlers Brian Hogan, David Herrity, Aidan Fogarty, JJ Delaney and Tommy Walsh and Henry Shefflin as a token of appreciation of the people of Kilkenny to the contribution that Hurling has made to the social and cultural life in Kilkenny.
Present for the occasion were the Senior Officials of the County Council including Acting CEO John Mulholland, Brian Tyrell, Simon Walton, Phillip O’Neill elected members of Kilkenny County Council and Dáil Eireann, Senior Team Manager Brian Cody and representatives of Kilkenny GAA County Board.
By Mary Morgan Tue 2nd Jun
