If the fortunes of Louth football are transformed over the coming years, the people of the county may look to the month of November 2005 as being a very significant one. Not only did the County Board appoint a new manager with Eamonn McEneaney being given charge of the senior team for a five year term, but November also saw major progress in the Darver Project. The signing of the contract for phase one of the development meant that work on the first four pitches could start straight away with the aim being to have the pitches playable by early 2007. It is hoped that the arrival of McEneaney in tandem with the much-needed county facilities will help revive Louth football in the near future and give the loyal supporters something significant to cheer about. The problems with a training base have been evident over the past number of years, particularly at underage level. The County Board have been dependent on the goodwill of clubs for training facilities, but the amount of football being played at all levels has meant that clubs are being stretched to cater for their own needs. This problem was identified a couple of years back when the site at Darver was purchased with the ultimate aim being to established a centre of excellence at the venue and to help improve players at all levels throughout the county. For those closely involved in the project it has meant a lot of hard work and planning to get it off the ground. However, the response of the GAA and commercial community has helped push the dream forward, and to see work start on the site so soon, is a just reward for the efforts of that committee. One man who has been very close to the project is former Louth star and current Fianna Fail TD, Seamus Kirk, who spoke of his delight at the progress being made after the contracts for phase one were signed. Out of a total of 12 tenders, Curran Contractors from Armagh, were chosen for the project with the company having vast experience of laying pitches throughout the region. He explained that phase one will see the first four out of a total of six pitches on the 35 acre site being developed. The contract is planned to take 30 weeks and with work starting before Christmas, it is hoped that it will be finished by the end of summer 2006. It is envisaged that seeding and setting will take place at the end of August and beginning of September, which means the pitches will be playable by 2007. Seamus explains that as that is a significant year in Louth football, he plans a special game to open the pitches. "We'll be in then to the spring and summer of 2007 for phase two. That will be the 50th anniversary of Louth playing Cork in the All-Ireland final and I think it would be a romantic occasion to have those two teams playing on one of those pitches that year." Talk about pitch openings are a long way off, but for now Seamus is thrilled that the project is getting off the ground as he has no doubt that it will be of great benefit to football and hurling in Louth, with the examples of Meath and Monaghan proving the value of such centres. "It is a fine site with tremendous potential and is located virtually in the middle of the county approximately halfway between the M1 and the N1. It'ss also roughly halfway between Dundalk and Drogheda which are the two major towns in the county," he explained. "We see it as something that is urgently needed because we're already in third place in terms of here in the North East. Meath have a fine development at Dunganny while Monaghan have an excellent development at Cremartin. "Those counties are a number of steps ahead of us and we have a lot to learn from their experiences to date. We are very grateful to both boards with help and advice to that regard," he said. The main focus now will be on continuing the great efforts that have been made to raise the funds to finance the project and Seamus points out that it is likely to cost Eu1.5m to complete phases one and two, which represents a significant effort by a small but active committee. "I would imagine that to complete phase one and two we will need about Eu1.5m. I think the real cost will set in when we get into the built environment of the project. We have a superbly laid out plan for it but the committee are realistic to realise it will take time to achieve it." At the beginning of phase one, the efforts of the committee saw them raise a great deal of money and they were hoping to have enough raised by the summer to allow them not to have to borrow to pay for the first phase. County Board Secretary Pat Toner explained at the November County Board meeting: We're about Eu200,000 short at the moment. We won't need to borrow until May or June but hopefully we won't have to at all," he said. Despite the massive sums involved, Seamus Kirk, believes that the efforts will be worthwhile as this training base is badly needed particularly with the rapidly growing population in the county. The Louth TD said that an ever-growing population in the county as well as a lack of facilities among clubs has led to the project being an absolute necessity. "There is a huge demographic change in Louth and it has one of the most rapidly growing populations anywhere in Western Europe. "In the census of 2002 we had 102,000 in Louth and that figure is probably pushing towards 108,000 by now. By 2020 who knows what that figure will be at? "We did an audit of the club facilities right across the county and we found that most clubs had a serious deficit. Particularly with the growth of ladies football the demand for space is huge and significant. "The realities are that there is a need for a safety valve and the six pitches involved with this project will be of a major help to both clubs and county teams whether it be football, hurling or camogie," said the Fianna Fail man. Kirk said he was happy with the contract signed and said it allowed for the second phase of the project to commence as soon as possible. "It is structured in such a way that allows phase two to proceed as well depending on the availability of resources and the amount of grant aid we have available. Seamus estimates that Eu500,000 per year will be needed to continue the momentum of project and called on all supporters and the commercial community to continue their support. He is in no doubt that the effort of everyone involved will be rewarded when Louth can boast some of the best facilities in the country and hopefully have the success to match it. Tweet

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