By Niall Gartland

ST Ergnats GAC Moneyglass have come a long, long way over the course of the last few decades. Now catering for 20 different teams and 280 playing members, the Antrim Club is in good health, but unfortunately they no longer have the facilities to meet the undoubted demand and to drive the Club forward.

Instead of sitting still, or waiting for the government to sort it all out, they’ve taken the bull firmly by the horns and are making great strides in the development of a second pitch at their brand new Moneyglass Park site on the Loughbeg Road and that’s where you can help.

Friends of St Ergnats GAC is a fundraising group established by the community to help provide financial support for the development project. They’re running a grand draw over the next ten months but Friends chairman Colm Scullin had stated “it’s not really about the big individual winnings (£2000 is the top prize each month commencing 29th April), but rather the opportunity to ensure subsequent generations in the community should never go without. As such, it’s an investment for the future.”

The Club are aiming to have their new pitch in operation for the summer of 2023, to coincide with the Club’s 75th anniversary, but it’s been a long road up to this point, according to Sean.

“We acquired planning permission in 2015 and that in itself was a big achievement which perhaps passed some people by. There’s no Moneyglass village, it’s just a townland, but our current pitch is actually in the townland of Killyfast. Perhaps in the early days we didn’t know our geography! However now we can say we’ll have a new pitch physically in Moneyglass” explains Sean.

Explaining the rationale behind the development of a second pitch, O’Boyle said: “It’s entirely driven by necessity, dire necessity I might add. During the 70s, our predecessors bought our own land, built the pitch and club-house and back then we had one of the top facilities in Antrim and beyond. However, those great men and women could never have foreseen that our Club would expand the way it has almost half a century later.”

“The decades have passed by and we haven’t been able to keep pace with expansion primarily because we didn’t have the space as we are completely landlocked at Killyfast.”

“Now the Club has grown with the various different codes and age groups. We have brilliant participation levels which is a great problem to have but we had to do something about our vital need for a second pitch.”

“We formed a development team over a decade ago and a lot of dedicated volunteers went through a lot of investigations and community consultation to ensure that the need was there and that we had community backing to take the project forward.”

“We then embarked on a massive fund-raising campaign in 2017-18 and raised over £400,000 and we are eternally grateful to the people of Ulster and beyond for their generosity at that time. Some of that money was used to purchase the additional 16 acres of land we now own, which is a significant footprint. This means we’re future-proofed for many years to come so our successors won’t be in the same situation which we now encounter with limited space.”

Building work began in earnest last summer, and O’Boyle says that “the people of Moneyglass are starting to appreciate that this is certainly no pipe dream.”

“Some people would have looked at this and thought, it’s too big a problem to solve, and we recognise it is an enormous challenge. However, we’ve broken it down into manageable elements; securing a site, getting planning permission, raising the money and negotiating the land deal. We’ve now got to the point where we kicked off the physical construction last year and I think when people saw that they realised that this is turning into a reality. It’s no longer just a picture on a large poster, this is actually happening.”

Since the new site was purchased the Club has worked tirelessly to seek some external financial assistance with constructing the first new pitch. So far grant aid has been limited to some funding received via the Moneyglass Community Association from GROW and Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council. This facilitated the construction of a footpath and fencing which links Moneyglass Park to the local Community Centre thus providing essential car parking for the patrons who use the centre.

DRONE SHOT…A recent aerial photo of the construction site

Sean stated “we are extremely grateful for the financial assistance from both organisations and we have a good ongoing relationship with the Council who continue to help us in whatever way they can. However, there’s currently little expectation of receiving the huge £100,000 type grants which clubs were getting years ago from government or other sporting bodies.”

Sean continues “we could have waited and hoped for government funding to roll in but we could still be waiting for it in 5 or 10 years’ time or, with the Club at a fork in the road, we could come together as a community and do something about it.”

“That same community has now initiated Friends of St Ergnats GAC and they are now operating the draw. The Friends are a great entity and we hope they will be able to assist the Club for years to come.”

“They are asking punters to invest £500 per person or family and the draw runs for 10 months and they’re giving away £27,000 worth of prizes. They say to people that the actual prize is on the reverse of the ticket, a picture of the new pitch, so when people see that they realise they’re not really buying this to win a two grand, but they see the value in their investment for the future.”

“Buy a ticket, build a pitch, leave a legacy – that’s the mantra and what they’re saying to people. So anyone who purchases a ticket can say they’ve been part of the delivery of the new pitch. We know there’s austerity, Brexit, Covid the Ukraine crisis but this is an investment that will deliver for many generations and so far it’s been very well received.”

“Much of the funds so far have come from the local hinterland and the Moneyglass diaspora. Additionally there has been great support from neighbouring parishes, people from all walks of life and a lot of businesses have been generous as well, which we’re very appreciative of. It’s genuinely a magical experience to be part of.”

“The Club has also initiated the Moneyglass Patrons scheme whereby benefactors donate some money for nothing in return other than the satisfaction that they are now key stakeholders in making it happen. We’ve had financial help from people as far away as San Francisco and Sydney. All this has materialised because people have pride from getting up and doing something about.”

Sean concludes “when we got planning permission, someone remarked do you realise you’ve got planning permission in the middle of nowhere for two full-size pitches, a multi-use sports facility etc.? We know it was only planning permission but the key point is that we have it in perpetuity and in time the money will be there. It’s all part of a long-term plan but the immediate necessity is that second pitch. It’s not sustainable for 20 teams to operate out of one playing field for games and training.

O’Boyle is also full of praise for the volunteers who have provided machinery and drivers on site for the construction work so far. In the long-run, the Club hopes to develop a new multi-use sports facility as well, but for now, the new pitch is the big, big priority.

If you would like to help St Ergnats GAC Moneyglass by investing in their project then contact 07713 887928, 07483 872746 or 07766 650006 today.