THE installation of floodlights at Antrim GAA’s Centre of Participation in Dunsilly “by the end of the year” will be a “massive step forward” for the county.
County Treasurer Donal Murphy confirmed the investment at the Antrim town site, which is one of the missing pieces to completing the GAA hub that has been developed over the last nine years.
It means the county won’t have to constantly avail of club facilities with floodlights in the county – notably Portglenone and Ahoghill – and that Dunsilly can be fully utilised going forward.
“It’ll be a proper home for our county teams,” said Murphy.
“We’re currently using the Jordanstown facility where we have a fantastic relationship with them, and we’ll continue to do so. But, like every other county in Ulster, we need a training facility for ourselves all year round.
“We’ve currently got a multi-million pound facility that we can’t use between October and April on a week day because it’s too dark.”
Musco Sports Lighting will carry out the work over the coming months – and it is understood a new gym facility at Dunsilly is the next planned phase of development.
A sub-committee was commissioned to oversee the completion of the project and ensuring all aspects both practical and financial are in the best interests of Antrim GAA.
Murphy added: “Dunsilly is the centre point in Antrim. That’s why it was bought all those years ago because it’s the same distance for a player in Ballycastle as it is for a player from St John’s in Belfast.”
The planned floodlights at the Dunsilly site follows on from the building of a brand new stand at Belfast’s Corrigan Park that was completed during lockdown, while Casement Park finally got the green light from the Executive last week.
