Sale of land is an opportunity that Louth must seize to change pattern
THE darkest hour comes just before the dawn.
On Monday we saw the first chink of light in that new dawn as Louth County Council approved the disposal of land along the Inner Relief Road to Louth GAA for a new stadium.
There are many clouds on the horizon before that bright new sky fully emerges on our horizon, but getting approval for the disposal of the land is a significant step forward, as the matter had been adjourned at the two previous meetings following questions from councillors over elements of the deal.
Hopefully the funding problems which have come to light in relation to the redevelopment of Páirc Ui Chaoimh in Cork last weekend, will not affect the funding from Croke Park which has been offered to support the plan to build the new 12,000 capacity stadium and costing in the region of €8million.
Last Wednesday night the 2019 Lennon Cup All Stars were presented in DkIT.
The Lennon Cup is the premier secondary schools competition in Louth schools and was won this year by Ardee Community School.
For the last nine years, the Lennon Cup All Stars have been held, organised by Louth Colleges GAA - the schools body, DkIT and The Argus/Drogheda Independent.
Before the awards ceremony itself the nominees all toured the campus in DkIT including the impressive facilities in DkIT Sport which is among the best anywhere in the country.
Coupled with Louth’s Centre of Excellence in Darver, much of the infrastructure is already in place for Louth GAA to progress and develop and improve their standing in the rankings of counties.
Currently a Division Three team which has yo-yo’d between Divisions Two, Three and Four over recent years, the aim must be to consolidate their status in Division Three under new manager Wayne Kierans and then try to establish themselves as a Division Two team.
That potential is certainly there, given the population in the county, the facilities that are to hand in Darver and DkIT and in the clubs themselves.
Anyone with an interest in Gaelic Games knows that there are many challenges, problems and shortcomings in the county. We are not blind to those matters but Monday’s decision is a watermark moment.
2019 will dawn in a matter of days.
Everything is not rosy in the garden, but there are good things happening and hard efforts being made to turn the tide and lift all boats.
The development of the new County Stadium in Dundalk is only just beginning, it has many hoops to jump through yet, such as planning, construction and finance, but if it proceeds along projected lines it can become the beacon that will illuminate the game within the county, something for young players to aspire to playing there wearing their county or club colours.
The project has the potential to be the catalyst to change the tone and mood and that is something to seize upon and push along momentum in other areas such as coaching and games development that will compliment the new stadium when complete.