On Friday 27th November at 7:30pm in Brú Na Bóinne Visitors Centre, St Mary's GFC unveiled the plan for their new clubhouse & community hall development along with some fundraising initiatives…

The event which was superbly hosted by LMFM's sports editor Brendan Cummins was very well attended by the local community both young & old. There was also great support from local councillors, TD's, Meath GAA county board, local businesses & a few very familiar faces which included the legendary Sean Boylan and current Meath GAA manager Mick O'Dowd to name but a few. It was also great to see Charlie Smith in attendance.

Speakers on the night included Conor Tormey Chairman Meath GAA, Francis Flynn Secretary Meath GAA, Sean Boylan, Paul Scanlon St Mary's Chairman and Frank Gogarty St Mary's Fundraising Committee.

It was a fantastic night for the club and the message was loud and clear - St Mary's GFC is moving forward and putting the structures in place for the future of the club and wider community.

Brendan Cummins started the speeches off by giving a brief history of the club, how St Mary's GFC was formed back in 1969 and also explaining the significance of An Bradán Feasa which is the club crest while also commending past achievements. Conor Tormey & Francis Flynn spoke very highly of the club grounds which were officially opened in 1988 and quickly became an integral part of Meath club fixtures which will increase tenfold when the new club house comes to fruition. They also shared stories of past encounters they had against St Mary's with their respective clubs Donaghmore/Ashbourne & Dunsany over the years.

Francis Flynn, Jimmy Brady, Liam Smith, Charlie Smith, Paul Scanlon, Conor Tormey, Sean Boylan, Pat Lenehan and Frank Gogarty at the unveiling of the clubs plans.

Conor & Francis were followed by the key speaker on the night who needed no introduction, none other than the legendary Sean Boylan. Sean had the whole room hanging on every word he spoke as he shared some behind the scenes stories of the famous years back in the mid 80's and 90's when Meath established themselves as one of the top teams in the country by winning 4 senior All-Ireland titles.  Sean brought his speech to a close by speaking very highly and affectionately about our very own Liam Smith, a man that he rated as one of the finest footballers and men he ever knew and worked with both on and off the field. Very high praise and very well deserved.

Sean was followed by our chairman Paul Scanlon, Paul informed everyone in attendance about the plans for the future of the club while also sharing his vision for the club.  Paul highlighted all the good work that is being done in the juvenile structures and how important this work is for the future of the club.

The final speaker on the night was Frank Gogarty who chairs the Fundraising committee, Frank spoke openly and honestly about what is required to make this development become a reality. Highlighting funding that has already been secured and also funding that has still to be achieved. The main fundraising initiative launched on the night was the " Lifetime Membership", details of which will be delivered to every house and home in the community over the coming days and weeks…

The night ended with some refreshments and opportunities for people to find out more about the development plans and the chance to look at the impressive model of the new clubhouse and grounds which was on display.
Special thanks to Claire Tuffy and all the staff at Brú Na Bóinne for hosting the event and as always thanks to Colm Brereton for capturing the night on camera…

We would also like to say a special thank you to the Fundraising Committee who worked tirelessly over the past number of months putting the whole night together.

The future is bright.

NaomhMhúireAbu

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