Meath Ladies need their own ‘Centre of Excellence’ - Cllr calls on council to donate land
Meath County Council has been called on to donate land at the former cow plot on the Kells Road in Navan for the development of a Centre of Excellence for Meath Ladies Gaelic Football Association.
Inspired by the success of Eamonn Murray's back-to-back All-Ireland winning success, participation in Ladies GAA has grown exponentially over the last five years in Meath, yet still they don't have a home to call their own.
Cllr Tommy Reilly points out that the county team is reliant on the generosity of clubs within Meath and the hiring of pitches at Dunganny Centre of Excellence from Meath GAA.
"I believe we have brought Ladies football to a whole new level and that is all down to the hard work being put in by volunteers and coaches at club and county level.
“Having our own Centre of Excellence would give Meath LGFA a home where future talent can be nourished and improved and we can bring Ladies football to an even higher level that it is at the moment," said former Meath Ladies All-Ireland winning manager Eamonn Murray.
Cllr Reilly points out that before Eamonn Murray took over as Meath Ladies senior manager, the county team was in the doldrums.
"Down-graded to the intermediate ranks following a 40-point loss to Cork in the All-Ireland Senior championship Meath also found themselves in Division 3 of the League. Underage success was not immediately translating into senior glory and there was a huge drop off rate in participation in Ladies GAA.
"However since 2017, Meath have won their way through Leagues Division 3 and Division 2 before ultimately winning NFL Division 1 last year with a thrilling final victory over Donegal.
"In the Championship Meath endured heartbreak in two All-Ireland Intermediate finals in 2018 and 2019 before winning their way back to senior with an All-Ireland IFC final victory over Westmeath.
"In their first year back in senior Meath stunned the sporting world by knocking out strong favourites Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final before dethroning the four-in-a-row champions Dublin in sensational style to lift the Brendan Martin Cup.
"With the target of champions on their back Meath proved their 2021 success was no fluke and they retained the Brendan Martin Cup with a devastating All-Ireland SFC final win over Kerry to cement their place in history as one of the greatest Meath teams of all time.
"In those short six years since 2018 Meath LGFA have seen their membership grown from having 34 clubs and 4,674 members to now having 44 clubs and a projected membership of over 11,000 for 2023," said Cllr Reilly.
A spokesperson for the LGFA said: “Due to the continuous meteoric growth of Meath LGFA over the past number of years, we as a community organisation have been looking at ways to push us forward and to be able to offer more to our growing membership.
“The one thing that’s missing is the development of a facility befitting the growth, drive, passion and determination this family of ours has to offer the county.
“This proposal from Cllr Reilly is fully supported by Meath LGFA and we hope we can work together to bring this dream of a Centre of Excellence for Meath Ladies Gaelic Football to reality because it will be of enormous benefit to the whole wider community of Co Meath as well as continuing to support of Ladies Football in this great county.”