Clonmore GFC

Club Grounds

PHOTO ABOVE: View of clubhouse from pitch .

History of Club Grounds

The club's grounds are located at Woodside, about a mile outside Hacketstown on the Clonmore road. For visiting teams coming from the Carlow / Tullow /Rathvilly direction, you should follow the main road to Hacketstown, and turn right as you enter Hacketstown opposite "The Hill" pub.

In former days, Clonmore played games and practised in many fields in the area starting off in Kinsella's (Clonmore) before moving on to Cullen's (Vermount), Hill's (Hacketstown), Connolly's (Eagle Hill) and Whelan's (the Moate). The current field became available from the Land Commission in 1967 and was purchased at a cost of £1,000 (€1,270) by the club's committee led by Chairman, Fr Bernard Ryan CC, and Secretary, JJ Doyle.

The existing clubhouse and dressing rooms were built at a cost of £17,000 (€21,600) in the GAA's Centenary Year of 1984 and were opened by GAA President, Mr Paddy Buggy. 

The grounds at Woodside is one of the most picturesque in the country as it is situated on the slopes of Eagle Hill. While this hillside location certainly aided drainage and resulted it the pitch having an excellent sod all year round, the 14 foot fall of ground from the road to the lower ditch left the pitch with a severe slope. For years the club did not have the finances to do anything about the slope, and many felt that it would be dangerous to interfere with the excellent drainage and sod, but the nettle was finally grasped at the AGM of January 1999. With funds available from a very successful lottery it was decided that the time was right to level the pitch.

In the summer of 1999, the club embarked on a major Field Development Programme under the stewardship of Chairman, Michael McGrath, and Secretary, Jim Doyle. Since 2000, the work has been overseen by new Chairman, Michael Byrne. To date, this programme has cost some £100,000(€127,000) and entailed the following work:

•         levelling of main pitch and creation of a second juvenile pitch on an upper tier,

•         high quality fencing behind goals,

•         handrail along full length of pitch and steps leading to pitch ,

•         improvements to drainage of the main pitch,

•         erection of sponsor's signs around perimeter of pitch,

•         building of a gymnasium and installation of gym equipment.

The club now proudly boasts one of the finest grounds in the country and the famous slope is now a thing of the past!

August 2006 - New floodlights installed at Woodside.

Almost two years of planning and research by the Development Committee of Clonmore GFC came to fruition this week when work commenced on new floodlighting on the main pitch at Woodside, starting with the erection of six 65 foot pylons.

Over the past six years, Clonmore GFC has carried out an ambitious development programme which has included levelling the pitch, installation of a gym and refurbishment of the dressing rooms and showers. The new "state of the art" floodlights are up to competitive match standard, thus bringing the facilities at Woodside up to the standard of the best GAA club grounds in the country.

The contractors for the lights are Musco Lighting, a leading provider of floodlights at sporting venues worldwide and well established in the Irish market having installed lights at over 50 sporting venues including 18 GAA grounds such Casement Park, Parnell Park, St Vincents, Dublin, Nemo Rangers, Cork, and locally at Ballon GFC.

The cost of the floodlights will come to a total of €113,000, including generator etc, of which €50,000 will come from the Department of Sport through the National Lottery Capital Grants Scheme.

None of this development could have been possible without the wonderful generosity of local people and their ongoing support for the Clonmore weekly lotto. To everyone who supports the club in all its activities and especially the people who buy lotto tickets week in week out, the Committee would like to say a sincere word of thanks.

The developments at Woodside since 1999 have been overseen by various committee members during those years but special credit must go to Chairmen Mick McGrath, Mick Byrne, Tom Doyle and James Doyle and Secretaries Jim Doyle, Julianna Garahy,  Dermot Byrne and Clive Lambe for turning our dreams into reality.