Case Study: Mountain Lodge Wind Farm - Stand upgrade

Wind Farm:                 Mountain Lodge

Applicant:                    Kill Shamrocks GAA     

Project:                         Install seating benches within a spectator stand and

Plaster & Paint the walls of the stand

Applicant groups' background and experience:

Kill Shamrocks GAA is a small club on the outskirts of Cootehill, Co. Cavan. Our GAA grounds, Rathluden Park, located in Tullyvin, is the heart of what we do within our community. On any day of the week you will see our grounds teaming with bodies. Our community is small and our on field success has been sporadic having been county champions in 1997 and 2013.

Our objectives are to ensure that we can encourage and aid our young members to fulfil their

potential, to improve themselves from a sporting and social perspective and to bring on field success.

We consider that our club is more than the medals we win, everyone who sets foot on our grounds deserve to enjoy themselves each time, weather that be our Senior mens team, our amalgamated Ladies team, any of our underage teams or our Comogie team. We aim to make Rathluden as welcoming as possible.

Detailed Project Description

To install seating benches within a spectator stand, and to plaster & paint the walls of the stand.

The seating benches to be constructed from steel brackets fitted to the current concrete steps and topped with treated timber to ensure that spectator experience is both comfortable and safe. The walls of the stand are to be plastered and painted. To ensure that the works is successful some drainage work will be carried out behind and around our stand to ensure that the plastering is effective. The steel roof supports are also to be painted.

What is different in peoples’ lives as a result of this project?

“Before we carried out the work on improving our spectator stand its walls were wet and cold, its seating was often wet and uncomfortable and its was unfortunately an eyesore. Follow our receiving of the Mountain Lodge grant we have new comfortable seating for the spectators of our mens football team, our ladies football team, our camogie team and our numerous underage teams. People now have a comfortable, nice stand of which they can take pride”

Were there any difficulties in your project?

In this particular case the timeframe between approval and close presented challenges to completion.

What were the highlights of your project?

“On a personal level it was very important to me that this be a community project, it is for our

community members use but I also wanted to include there input in the work. I take great pride in the fact that of the money we spent, apart from €366 for specific supplies, it was all spent on local contractors”

“This grant has helped us upgrade our facilities and make it easier and more comfortable for all our members, but in particular our older spectators to enjoy our teams.

Aidan Hannigan

Position: Club Secretary