While their trophy cabinet may be relatively bare compared to some of the Royal County's bigger hitters, Kilmainham GFC remain a success in their own right. The club is progressing at a satisfactory rate, as their impressive new pitch development clearly testifies. Paddy O'Rourke, part of Kilmainham's forward-thinking development committee, believes 2004 was a landmark year for Meath's smallest club, who now have a place they can rightfully call home. The very notion that a GAA club could survive in an area as small as Kilmainham seems fantastic. Yet, it's a reality. Kilmainham is an intrinsic part of the Royal County's GAA landscape and all the indications are that they will remain just that for quite some time to come. A tiny satellite of the north Meath heritage town of Kells, Kilmainham is forced to survive on painfully limited resources, both in terms of numbers and finances. But the level of goodwill afforded the club is such that it is defying all expectations. So much so, in fact, that Kilmainham is thriving. To develop a pitch that is on a par with most other surfaces in the county is an extraordinary achievement. Kilmainham's new home is very much the jewel in their crown, providing the club with a solid basis upon which they can build a future. In 2004, the pitch development at Kilmainham began to bear fruit as the club started to train and play on the new surface for the first time. Club treasurer Paddy O'Rourke is on the committee that has overseen the genesis of the superb new pitch. Understandably, he is - like everybody else associated with the modest club - delighted with the progress that has been made. Reflecting on the conception of the whole idea, the Kilmainham clubman explains: "We had a pitch rented from Martin Farrelly, a local man, for years, and that served us well in its time. However, we have a good working committee here in Kilmainham and we began to mull over the idea of developing our own pitch. We looked at the feasibility of such a project and decided to give it a go." The results have been impressive, to say the least. Bit by bit, the project has gradually come together and Kilmainham now have a home they can be proud of. Paddy continues: "With the development in mind, we purchased 6.2 acres of land from the late Patsy King from Kilmainham in October 2002." Kilmainham GFC had organised a highly successful and well-supported car draw earlier that year, and the profits from this were put towards the purchase of the pitch. The draw was well received in all quarters, as Paddy confirms: "Our car draw was well supported by all the clubs in Meath and, indeed, further afield and we greatly appreciate the support we received. Once the draw went so well, we took another look at our finances and knew we had some funds built up, so we decided to go ahead with the purchase of the land." With the land secured, one could conclude that half the battle was won. However, continuous funding is very important and, to this end, Kilmainham have not been found wanting. And there was still the small matter of actually transforming the land into an adequate playing surface. The club runs a successful weekly lotto, which generates a steady flow of income, and this proved extremely useful. Along with the proceeds of the lotto and a grant of £20,000 from Leinster Council, the club also managed to secure a number of interest-free loans thanks to the generous support of the local community. Ultimately, the superb fundraising efforts of the club and local citizens put Kilmainham in a position whereby they could proceed with the development. Aidan Blaney from Castlemartin developed the site. According to Paddy: "Once we had acquired the land, we sat down to decide what we wanted to do with it and weighed up the various options that were open to us. It's a fairly big site, so there were numerous possibilities to consider." Work started mid-2003. It was a substantial undertaking and Kilmainham embarked on a painstaking process. First of all, the entire pitch had to be dug out. The topsoil had to be taken out, pipes were laid and a drainage scheme was put in place. Then the pitch was re-covered with topsoil and sowed. Once the pitch was sown, it acted as a proverbial magnet to an almost unlimited number of local volunteers who gave of their free time liberally - bending their backs, breaking sweat, never complaining - picking stones from the surface to give the pitch every chance of a long and prosperous life. All said, it was a stunning contribution from the indigenous townland folk. "The goodwill from the local community has been nothing short of phenomenal," Paddy confirms. "We managed to get the pitch developed and also put up the goalposts and completed the dug-outs. There was a lot of work that had to be done and it has all been possible due to the outstanding goodwill the club receives from the people in the area. It's a great little community and the club is lucky to have such enthusiastic backing." Paddy names club chairman Declan Black as the commander-in-chief of the whole operation, citing him as "a great man to get a job done". As well as Declan and Paddy, the development committee also comprised club secretary Sean Newman, while a number of others assisted greatly. These include Sam Black of the Westway Bar in Kells and his wife Thomasena, Peter Curran and his sons Sean and Petesy, the Lynch family, Denis and Kathleen Newman and the Newman family and, indeed, all the local families in Kilmainham and many, many others, all of whom have been supportive above and beyond the call of duty. The sense of decency that prevails in Kilmainham, the ethos of community that turned the dream into a reality, is a joy to behold. Kilmainham are also progressing satisfactorily on the field of play. In 2004, the smallest club in the Royal County fielded a Junior 'A' team as well as a decent U21 side. The club started to train on the pitch in May, holding regular sessions on the new field on Tuesday and Friday evenings throughout the summer. The parish's underage combination Round Towers (Kilmainham, Drumbaragh, Gaeil Colmcille) had the noteworthy distinction of playing the first official competitive match on the new pitch during the course of the 2004 season. Thereafter, the new pitch began to host adult games in '04, so Kilmainham will soon be able to play all their home fixtures at their new home. Plans are also afoot for a clubhouse and dressing rooms, with the club's ever-busy development committee currently looking into the feasibility of such a project. Paddy concludes: "The pitch is a massive boost to the area. It's full-sized and will be able to cater for any game of football. Kilmainham needs its own identity and this is a big step towards helping to nurture that. The young lads are up playing every night and it has become a focal point of the community. "We call ourselves 'The Patch on the Golden Mile'. Kilmainham is a very small area and a lot of credit is due to all the people of the community for their input into this successful project. "We know we've still a long, long way to go - but we're getting there!" Tweet

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