Limerick GAA confirm acquisition of 95 acres for a new €20m centre of excellence

LIMERICK GAA officials have confirmed that a 95 acre site has been officially acquired for a new €20 million state-of-the-art centre of excellence.

The new centre of excellence will consist of 10 full-size pitches, dressing rooms, a gymnasium, medical rooms, video analysis facilities, a dining area, offices and meeting rooms.

There is also the possibility of including a dome - similar to the Connacht GAA Air Dome outside Knock, Co Mayo. All is subject to receipt of full planning from Limerick City and County Council.

The proposed plans were unveiled at Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel, Adare as Limerick GAA launched ambitious fundraising plans for the venture, which it is hoped will help with integration plans for the GAA, LGFA and Camogie associations.

“It's a centre of excellence with 10 pitches, potentially a dome down there in the planning as well. It's going to be a very expensive project to bring to fruition but at the same time, we have to match our ambition on the pitch with our ambition off the pitch,” outlined Limerick hurling manager John Kiely at the launch.

“With projects like that, it sends out the right message to all the young girls and participants in camogie and ladies Gaelic football across county Limerick that we are 100% going to drive forward with this integration project and when the time comes, the facilities will be there for them,” he said at the launch of the fundraiser to win a home in Adare, Co Limerick. 

The centre of excellence will be situated in Crecora, just off the N20-M20 between Patrickswell and Adare.

READ MORE: WATCH: No bull at GAA preview night in Limerick but you could win a bull calf!

"It’s a really important piece of the jigsaw. The next couple of months will need a big push because the ambition here is to raise €1.5 million in this raffle - the prize is fantastic and at €100 I think it’s affordable so we are hoping that people from Limerick far and wide and across the world will invest in this raffle to support the project, which is very ambitious," outlined the All-Ireland winning manager.

John Kiely said that the integration of the GAA, LGFA and Camogie association presents "an exciting time for Limerick". 

"The deadline is for three years time so we have to act now and infrastructure is going to be a vital part of ensuring equality of opportunity within the association so we have got to have facilities in place which are co-owned if you like and that everybody will be under the one umbrella," he outlined.

“We are really excited about this fundraiser. The winner will receive keys to a stunning home in amazing Adare and home to the 2027 Ryder Cup. It’s an incredible prize and as they say it could be you,” said Sean Scanlan, chairperson, Club Limerick. 

“We are not standing still. We have an ambitious plan for the establishment of a new centre of excellence for all Gaelic Games. The first steps have been taken with the acquisition of 38 hectares (95 acres) of land at Crecora, just off the M20 beside Adare. The need to grow our games, continuously innovate and optimise processes is at the core of Limerick GAA’s strategic plan,” added Sean. 

Tickets, at €100, are now on sale for the draw at winahomeinadare.com

Everybody that buys a ticket for the winahomeinadare.com draw will also be entered into all the bonus draws with lots of prizes, including hotel breaks, tickets to this year’s All Ireland final and cash prizes.