Corbally United AFC is calling for a Centre of Excellence to develop Grassroots Limerick Club.
ONE month on from the announcement of the Community Sports Facilities Fund (CSFF), officers and secretaries are discussing how the funds can assist their local grassroots clubs.
Corbally United AFC Club Secretary, Colm McLoughlin, said that the club is investigating the feasibility of a full-size astroturf pitch. “We’re going to come up with a three-stage plan for that [astroturf pitch]. If we don’t go with that for this one, we’ll probably go for a few other small things like solar panels, new footpaths, walking areas, stuff like that,” he explained.
McLoughlin has called for more investment in grassroots clubs, highlighting the importance of astroturf pitches. “There’s not enough astroturf pitches in Limerick… People say we have UL; we don’t have UL.”
“UL is a facility that we rent out. There’s only three [astroturf pitches] in the city… you’re building for the future, you’re building for the kids, you’re building for the next 25, 30, 40 years, and with the weather we have, you can’t continue long-term without an astroturf pitch.”
The secretary recognised the difficulty of providing every club that wants an astroturf pitch with such a facility. He suggested a ‘Centre of Excellence’ as a solution.
“There should be a Centre of Excellence in Limerick. For the LDL (Limerick District League) Junior Football, you have Jackman Park, which is a grass pitch. It’s a fine pitch, but that gets worn down too. The LDSL (Limerick District Schoolchildren League) don’t have their own home place. So, in my opinion, going long-term, we need a Centre of Excellence, where we have 4 to 5 pitches, astro and a couple of grass.”
When the application opened this year, Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD, commented that the maximum allowance of €750,000 will motivate more people to take part in sport. “This new round of the Community Sport Facilities Fund increases the maximum grants for local and regional projects and introduces a new €750,000 funding tier for larger, shared facilities. The new tier will encourage Local Authorities and National Governing Bodies to work together on facilities that support several sports and serve the wider community. My priority is to ensure this investment gives more people the opportunity to take part in sport, now and for generations to come.”
Applications opened for the fund on Monday 19 October 2026, and will remain open until Friday 26 February 2027.