TEMPLEOGUE Synge Street Gaelic Football Club has welcomed a decision by An Bord Pleanála to approve the major upgrade of its facilities at Dolphin Park.
The €3 million development includes floodlights, a new training all-weather pitch, a new gym, dressing rooms, new meeting rooms and modest catering facilities.
It is part of a wider plan to build a sustainable and competitive Gaelic football club to serve the Dublin 6, 8 and 12 areas for years to come.
Dolphin Park pitches are owned by Templeogue Synge Street GFC but are also used by a number of local schools and the local community.
Supporters say the development, once completed, will mean more capacity in terms of pitches, training hours and playing hours than currently is the case for all teams who use it.
The club estimates it will increase the training time available to teams by over 400 hours per year.
The funding for the investment is being raised through the sale of 15 per cent of the site for the purposes of developing housing in the area. This consists of 153 apartments, seven townhouses and one detached house.
The club was founded when Templeogue and Synge Street merged in 1999 and at that time had just two men’s teams playing. It has gone on to produce All-Ireland winners with Dublin including Denis Bastick, Eoghan O’Gara and Niall Scully.
Today, Templeogue Synge Street has 46 teams between boy’s, girl’s, men’s and ladies’ teams, however, there has been no major investment in the facilities at Dolphin Park since the formation of the club.
The dressing room facilities have not been upgraded since they were built in the 1970s. Girl’s and ladies’ football teams regularly change at the side of the pitch, while the generator for the training lights regularly breaks down.
Commenting on An Bord Pleanála’s approval for the development, Club Chairman, Alan O’Brien, said: “We are delighted to have finally received approval from An Bord Pleanála for this ambitious redevelopment of our club.
“We are going to create a modern GAA facility that will service the needs of the GAA community in this part of Dublin for generations to come.
“The growth in our playing numbers is down to the dedication and passion of our volunteers and the pride we have instilled in this club.
“However, we need to take our club to the next level in order to achieve our real potential.
“We plan to enhance the pitches we do have and have juvenile pitches running cross-field.
“We will also be investing in new floodlights and an all-weather training pitch.”
