Connacht Centre of Excellence

[SLIGONIAN]

Is the whole 10 million going towards the centre or is some of it being used to pay off mchale park, transparency?

Just questions IMO and if Mr Prenty has nothing to hide im sure he'd answer them.

First off, I think it's a ludicrous to suggest that some of the money is being used to pay off McHale park redevelopment - if that was even suggested it would have caused such a furore it would have been plastered all over the media

Secondly - what makes you think John Prenty is going to answer questions posed by an anonymous character on a discussion board, contact your own County Boards CC rep to get an answer

Come off your high horse, will ya, asking for transparency of every penny earmarked for this project is my right, is it not? Ya I will admit there is a lack of trust there from my side, but it is a reasonable request IMO. In prenty quotes he mentions the recessionary prices and value for money. 10 million has been earmarked and lets say the tenders come back and 3 contractors price it at 8 million, Where does the other 2 million go?

Also I will ask Sligo Connacht Council representative in due course.....dont worry.

Not on any horse - but if you can't see that it's a pretty unlikely scenario, that other counties would agree to Mayo using some of the money for their own benefit, than I'm not going to engage you on why you think it's a reasonable request.

Do let us know what your rep says - I won't worry

Ya but I find it hard to believe that they agreed to it in the first place at such a cost. We clearly dont know the full facts surrounding it

Just a quick question - do any other provinces have or plan to have provincial centres of excellence?

I think Ulster have one - it would make more sense for each county to have their own smaller centre though

Ya Ulster have one, Tyrone have one planned aswell. So you agree with me Stephenite?

[stephenite]

I agree that it's not needed as a facility for the province, and the money would be better spent developing smaller centres in each county - with the money being divided properly, not a 5 way split but based on playing numbers.

I disagree that there is some hidden agenda whereby the Mayo County Board profit from any extra funds left over.

[RedandGreenSniper]

Oh I forgot, you know everything. How foolish of me. My most sincere apologies. If you know so much so amigo tell me would you trust the Sligo County Board, who you spend so much time dishing, to spend this €2million you request on the appropriate facilities? Also what are you going to be able to build for €2million? A couple of pitches and a modest clubhouse. The Connacht Centre should be a great asset for all counties, a lot of economies of scale will come into play. A full-size indoord pitch will be great for the entire province. It's just your bad luck that you're practically living in Bundoran.
And on that point anyone from Belmullet, Achill or Louisburgh would probably be further away. Build a bridge.

The spin doctor is back, completely ignores my last post tearing his logic to shreds, then in an attempt to deflect that he knows NOTHING about Sligo football he say "oh I forgot you know everything" well where did Sligonian say that , i will admit i know a hell of lot more about Sligo football than you , but I wouldnt attempt to lecture mayo people about mayo football.

Then he goes on about my County Board dishing, well I know who are the ones serving Sligo Football in the County Board, and lucky for us the treasurer is one of them, you only have to look at Club SLigo to know that, I wouldnt have joined that if I thought my money would be wasted, so therefore 2 million im sure he'd and few others would put it to good use. Lets be specific sniper, you tend to be very selective and twisting in your posts to suit your agenda. If you go back I was pretty specific in my criticisms and never once criticised the treasurer. Structures, processes are slightly different topics its fair to say.

Have you contradicted yourself on your last point sniper, you were telling me south Sligo is the football heartland and we should build our centre in Tubbercurry, well isnt your football heartland north east mayo im thinking, so ballyhaunis wouldnt to bad a location for ye despite your spin on achill, belmullet etc....being so far away, i doubt ye'll lose any sleep over that. If yer were building yer own which IMO ye are, it would most still be built in Ballyhaunis its fair to say.


Oh and watch now as all the mayolads leach on to the words Bellaghy and Ballaghdereen...... and ignore the rest of my post. Well sniper you used for your point first ....and it fits nicely into my point.
[/quote]

You really are a funny guy.  You give out about me apparently lecturing you on Sligo football, and I'll acknowledge south Sligo may not be the centre of Sligo football anymore if you say so, but then you reckon you know where a Mayo centre would be put - Ballyhaunis
It's two miles from Roscommon and Sligo town is nearer to it than Crossmolina, the strongest club of the modern age in Mayo. Yeah that would be a great strategic location for it. Somewhere like Castlebar or Foxford would be where a Mayo centre would be put. You clearly don't know your Mayo geography so don't attempt to lecture me on it

The Sligo County Board treasurer is a good man? Fair play to him. Really think he's going to have the final say on funding for a centre? Very naive. Secretary and chairman are the powerbrokers, along with possibly a central council delegate. You never answered me about what 2million could build. Economies of scale in Bekan play a huge part.

Also your suggestion that some money will be redirected towards McHale Park? Do you really think something like that would be let under the table by other counties?

Bellaghy and Ballagh'? I won't get there except to say that Ballagh has always been Mayo and stop giving out about Bellaghy after the horse has bolted. Concentrate on what you can change.

[Farrandeelin]

Just a quick little question for Sligonian who can't comprehend the fact that Tom Parsons wears the green and red. Do you know of any Mayo man who put a loaded gun to his head to play with Mayo?? Honestly I want an answer to this question.

[magpie seanie]

Just a quick question - do any other provinces have or plan to have provincial centres of excellence?

I think Ulster have one - it would make more sense for each county to have their own smaller centre though

Where is the Ulster one? There should be no such thing as provincial ones unless the Railway Cup preparation is taken a lot more seriously!

[RedandGreenSniper]

Just a quick question - do any other provinces have or plan to have provincial centres of excellence?

I think Ulster have one - it would make more sense for each county to have their own smaller centre though

Where is the Ulster one? There should be no such thing as provincial ones unless the Railway Cup preparation is taken a lot more seriously!

I thought there was one in Ulster but apparently the Connacht one is the first provincial centre in the country. Time will tell how beneficial it is. Certainly I think it is a worthwhile venture given that it will be accessible for large tracts of four counties (Mayo, Sligo, Galway and Roscommon). Which does leave Leitrim outta luck from a geographical standpoint. It will be an ideal venue for so much colleges football that has to be played in winter when clubs despise the idea of their pitch being dug up.

[magpie seanie]

Fair point about colleges football.

[Azzurri]

Here's what is being planned in Roscommon:

Roscommon GAA County Board is to press
ahead with the €690,000 purchase of 53 acres
of land in the Oran area with a view to a possible
€5m development of training facilities for
county teams.
The ambitious plan received the support of
club delegates at a County Board meeting on
Tuesday night and this week GAA chiefs in
the county will begin the process of purchasing
the lands and embarking on the hugely
ambitious project. The site is located at Runnabackan
Td., Oran, Co. Roscommon.
The plan envisages the provision of seven
full-size pitches and the construction of a Co.
Roscommon GAA Centre to include dressing
rooms, indoor gym, meeting rooms and catering
facilities. A 1.5km cross-country training
track is envisaged as well as two large hurling
walls. Initial pre-planning consultation with
Roscommon County Council is now being engaged
in and a planning application is set to
follow in the New Year.
County Board Secretary Mr. Seamus Maher
told the Roscommon People on Wednesday
that now that the clubs have given the plan "the
< green light", phase one will be to proceed with
the purchase of the site. He confi rmed that the
site will cost €690,000 and that the clubs had
decided that a €250,000 development grant
would be earmarked for the project. He added
that it is hoped that a further purchase grant
might be available from Croke Park.

I know most people in Roscommon would rather see the above idea progress in not just Roscommon but in all the other counties. With the help of some funding from the Connacht Council which will now go into the Ballyhaunis centre, the above idea could become a reality.

[SLIGONIAN]

Oh I forgot, you know everything. How foolish of me. My most sincere apologies. If you know so much so amigo tell me would you trust the Sligo County Board, who you spend so much time dishing, to spend this €2million you request on the appropriate facilities? Also what are you going to be able to build for €2million? A couple of pitches and a modest clubhouse. The Connacht Centre should be a great asset for all counties, a lot of economies of scale will come into play. A full-size indoord pitch will be great for the entire province. It's just your bad luck that you're practically living in Bundoran.
And on that point anyone from Belmullet, Achill or Louisburgh would probably be further away. Build a bridge.

The spin doctor is back, completely ignores my last post tearing his logic to shreds, then in an attempt to deflect that he knows NOTHING about Sligo football he say "oh I forgot you know everything" well where did Sligonian say that , i will admit i know a hell of lot more about Sligo football than you , but I wouldnt attempt to lecture mayo people about mayo football.

Then he goes on about my County Board dishing, well I know who are the ones serving Sligo Football in the County Board, and lucky for us the treasurer is one of them, you only have to look at Club SLigo to know that, I wouldnt have joined that if I thought my money would be wasted, so therefore 2 million im sure he'd and few others would put it to good use. Lets be specific sniper, you tend to be very selective and twisting in your posts to suit your agenda. If you go back I was pretty specific in my criticisms and never once criticised the treasurer. Structures, processes are slightly different topics its fair to say.

Have you contradicted yourself on your last point sniper, you were telling me south Sligo is the football heartland and we should build our centre in Tubbercurry, well isnt your football heartland north east mayo im thinking, so ballyhaunis wouldnt to bad a location for ye despite your spin on achill, belmullet etc....being so far away, i doubt ye'll lose any sleep over that. If yer were building yer own which IMO ye are, it would most still be built in Ballyhaunis its fair to say.


Oh and watch now as all the mayolads leach on to the words Bellaghy and Ballaghdereen...... and ignore the rest of my post. Well sniper you used for your point first ....and it fits nicely into my point.

You really are a funny guy.  You give out about me apparently lecturing you on Sligo football, and I'll acknowledge south Sligo may not be the centre of Sligo football anymore if you say so, but then you reckon you know where a Mayo centre would be put - Ballyhaunis
It's two miles from Roscommon and Sligo town is nearer to it than Crossmolina, the strongest club of the modern age in Mayo. Yeah that would be a great strategic location for it. Somewhere like Castlebar or Foxford would be where a Mayo centre would be put. You clearly don't know your Mayo geography so don't attempt to lecture me on it

The Sligo County Board treasurer is a good man? Fair play to him. Really think he's going to have the final say on funding for a centre? Very naive. Secretary and chairman are the powerbrokers, along with possibly a central council delegate. You never answered me about what 2million could build. Economies of scale in Bekan play a huge part.

Also your suggestion that some money will be redirected towards McHale Park? Do you really think something like that would be let under the table by other counties?

Bellaghy and Ballagh'? I won't get there except to say that Ballagh has always been Mayo and stop giving out about Bellaghy after the horse has bolted. Concentrate on what you can change.
[/quote]

Well whats the treasurers role so, Im mean he has to balance the books so im sure he says we cant afford certain things so we dont end up with debt, also with funding he needs to make sure its spent wisely and keep an account of it...who else would, cost control is vital role of treasurer IMO or else whats the point having one, getting the funding from the various bodies available wouldnt be his role like you said above, i do know that. I just know the money wont be wasted. No big deal. Obviously QS would over look the cost control of any facility aswell.

Im over the Bellaghy thing just used it to reinforced my dig at mayo ...and i didnt bring it up first farrandeelin fyi, no gun was put Parsons head im guessing . Lets park it there though.

2million could build alot believe it or not, it would definitly purchase the land and make a start on the facilities, in Sligo we could scale back on the amount of pitches, 3 would suffice, then like Markievicz park we would go with phased development based on our own fundraising inititatives and funds from lottery, croker and CC etc..so we'd need more, I think we had 7m earmarked before for a centre.

Relax about the mchale park thing. I dont know exactly how the funds are structured. To be honest id rather if all the 10 million wasnt spent on the centre that it would at least stay in Connacht.

I should of got out a map of mayo before i posted, i had swinford and ballyhaunis mixed up, my bad . Actually never been in either. Ya its not the greatest location for ye either i'll admit. Makes even less sense to me now looking at the map and location.

On the college point, do they not have all there own pitches and its not really worth it for that alone...ted webb and manning cup will be played there, connacht schools games..etc...

[Turlough O Carolan]

One has to admire the Connacht council's sense of fair play in finding the exact center of Connacht, which they have located in Bekan. Which also happens to be the middle of nowhere. Every now and again you'll still see old morris minors and box cortinas driving around Urlaur and Kilkelly, Ireland (my dear and loving son John) trying to find the Bekan feis. The 1979 feis. The transformation in viewpoint of the Mayo County Board is remarkable too. They kicked up an awful fuss when Hyde Park was designated to be the main stadium in Connacht in the early 90s and the printing presses of the Western People were hopping mad with some angry editorials. They soon put the Kybosh on that idea. I somehow wonder if the center of Connacht was Tulsk, Carrick or Gurteen, would they be so quick to have the center of Excellence there?

[Lar Naparka]

One has to admire the Connacht council's sense of fair play in finding the exact center of Connacht, which they have located in Bekan. Which also happens to be the middle of nowhere. Every now and again you'll still see old morris minors and box cortinas driving around Urlaur and Kilkelly, Ireland (my dear and loving son John) trying to find the Bekan feis. The 1979 feis. The transformation in viewpoint of the Mayo County Board is remarkable too. They kicked up an awful fuss when Hyde Park was designated to be the main stadium in Connacht in the early 90s and the printing presses of the Western People were hopping mad with some angry editorials. They soon put the Kybosh on that idea. I somehow wonder if the center of Connacht was Tulsk, Carrick or Gurteen, would they be so quick to have the center of Excellence there?

I know Turlough, I know.
Bekan is a place where past and present collide (head on) and of course the connivers on the Mayo county board are responsible- they always are.
Given the present standard of 'Excellence' of Connacht football, I think Bekan is an excellent place to stick locate it.
Maybe the other ones you mentioned might be just as suitable as I think there are lots of bog around the lot of them but I feel Bekan is as suitable as any.

[ludermor]

So it seems that that all of connacht is against this with the exception of mayo ( many of who dont exactly seem to be in favour of the concept but with no obvious angst against the location , which is understandable) , was this protrayed to all the county dealgates at the time? I presume that this would have had to be santioned by the council and voted upon?

[magpie seanie]

Ludermor - do you know how the council works?

Sligonian - we'd be playing and training on our Sligo Centre of Excellence if our own didn't nobble it because they didn't like the club whose area it would be located in.

[spectator]

Long before the advent of sat-nav and googlemaps - which is another story altogether, alas - I remember searching for and eventually finding Bekan in order to play a minor game there, on what could only be described in GAA terms as being the very poor relation of an afflicted farmer's field. The rough carpet of heathery sedges and steep incline of the pitch from one side to the other was such, that it most certainly had never seen the lick of a plough, let alone grass seed. Very wisely imho, neither machine nor beast had ever considered daring to venture onto its dizzying inclines to try and tame them. [Given today's stringent Farm Health & Safety Laws, that's quite rightly how it's likely to remain too.]

Such was the remote pitch's mountainy attributes - oh, and not forgetting the advisability of wearing oxygen tanks should you be unfortunate enough to get shouldered into the swampy depts by the lower sideline -  even Saatchi & Saatchi would struggle to promote it as anything other than an outdoor wilderness and adventure centre.

For all its faults though, it was deemed good enough to play under-age football on. 

A character-building 'survival-of-the-fittest' type of pitch, you might say. Who could ever forget Bekan - once they'd found it, that is?

Crikey, but isn't the ability of parochial GAA politics to bring home the bacon a mighty thing altogether!

A  €10 Million Connacht Centre of Excellence... in Bekan ... what a wheeze John. Hope you don't have the last laugh on this one.

[ludermor]

Ludermor - do you know how the council works?

Sligonian - we'd be playing and training on our Sligo Centre of Excellence if our own didn't nobble it because they didn't like the club whose area it would be located in.

Honestly Seanie i dont , thats why im asking