Milltown-Castlemaine GAA Club: A stalwart in the community
FOR so many people in the community, since the establishment of the Mid Kerry GAA Board in 1947 the Milltown- Castlemaine GAA club have been to the forefront in the locality.
Over the decades it has grown bigger and better and now finds itself as a major leader in community affairs in the Milltown and Castlemaine region.
Over the last decade in particular, the area has seen a vast increase in population and nowhere can this be seen to greater effect than on a Thursday evenings at the local GAA grounds.
“On any given Thursday, well over 100 children of the U6 and U8s grade assemble in the field,” states Coaching Officer, Ian Twiss.
But going forward will mean acquiring more suitable and safe facilities to provide for the ever growing young population in the area.
“While the ideal situation would have been to extend where we are at the moment, we also explored the possibility of purchasing/leasing land in the vicinity,” said Chairman of the Field Development Committee, Emmet Spring. “Unfortunately our efforts on all fronts proved fruitless, and we have decided to redevelop our existing facilities,” he added.
And to their credit, while suffering a number of setbacks on the way, the club isn’t sitting on its laurels as Club Chairman, Podge Leane, outlines the next steps.
“Very shortly we will commence Phase one of the development which will see the provision of a new sand based training area. We are also re-aligning and resurfacing the existing pitch.
The new training area will alleviate the constant traffic on the main pitch, which in turn will benefit the whole community, including the national and secondary school.
There are exciting times ahead for the ever progressive Mid Kerry club,” Podge said.