A GAELIC club in Co Monaghan which had to stop using its facilities after sinkholes appeared has been granted planning permission to build two new training pitches.
Magheracloone Mitchells club was devastated in September after part of a disused mine collapsed, causing the ground to split and leaving its pitches, clubhouse and community centre out of bounds.
Two subsequent sinkholes also appeared close to the pitch near Carrickmacross.
Since then, the club has had to borrow neighbouring ground for training.
The approval from Monaghan County Council will allow the club to construct two training pitches, flood lighting, ball stops and a single storey prefabricated building with dressing rooms and toilets.
There will also be a new vehicular entrance onto a public road with a parking area.
An online GoFundMe fundraising appeal has so far raised E10,900 to source and set up what it describes as "temporary facilities" - more than double its target of E5,000.
On the page, the fundraisers said: "We all know that any football club is the backbone of the community and the foundation for many friendships ... Please give a little or a lot. It takes a community to raise children."
The collapse is being investigated by Gyproc, a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain Ireland, that mines gypsum for the manufacture of plasterboard.
In a statement issued after the sinkholes emerged, Gyproc said pillars in the mine had collapsed after water had been transported and stored in a section that had not previously been used for water storage.
