Toome GAA have a lot in their arsenal. Ambitions and determination are just some of their heavy artillery as Kevin Carney discovers. Monday, 24th September last was a red letter day in the annals of Toome GAA. It was a day when Chairman, Brendan McArdle ignited the club's most ambitious venture over the past ten years. The Chairman's symbolic sod-turning marked the commencement of work on the provision of a new state-of- the-Art, 3,000 square metres floodlit Third Generation (3G) synthetic all -weather Astroturf type pitch. The still novel facility will be constructed on a playing area adjacent to Toome's St Victor's Park headquarters and will, when completed, enable all year round outdoor facilities for training and playing purposes. The provision of this type of amenity is one of the objectives of the GAA and is seen as a fundamental part of the game development. The proposed Astroturf type pitch in Toome will measure 75 x 40 metres and may be subdivided into individual pitches measuring 25 x 40 metres each. When the facility is completed and functional, the club intends to place an emphasis on youth coaching through mini games and skills training and will also be available to other GAA clubs and to schools. "We view this development as an investment in our underage members and a commitment to all the youth of our growing community - we owe them this" says Toome club chairman Brendan McArdle. "We hope to have the project completed by the end of February next and should immediately prove very attractive to young people within the club's immediate catchment area and outlaying areas of Toome as well. "This will be a state-of the- art Astroturf type pitch and we would hope that it will be of great help to us in retaining the interest of our youth in the club and in Gaelic games and also persuade everyone in the area, young and old, to take an interest in the club's activities. "Because the club has such a small 'pick' we need to recruit as many youngsters as possible every year and make sure we don't lose them to neighbouring clubs" And with the like of GAA behemoths like Castleblayney Faughs, Donaghmoyne Fontenoys and Inniskeen Grattans in close proximity, the importance of Toome St Victors maximising their playing and financial resources simply cannot be over-estimated. It seems that gaels of Toome had really little or no alternative but than to push the boat out and to upgrade the level of facilities they had to offer to their captive audience. Competition may be the spice of life but being pro-active and positive in sporting parlance demands great teamwork, vision and determination. Toome GAA Inc. has it in buckets. "We envisage that the Astroturf type pitch will be a huge boost to all teams in the club but especially the underage teams." Brendan explains. "It'll be fully floodlit so that it can be used all the year round, whatever the weather, and will make a big difference to the players and the various team-mentors for training purposes. "Credit must be given to senior team captain, Aidan McDonnell, for coming up with the original idea for the Astroturf concept and there was agreement among everyone on the development committee. "The field that is currently being used for training is far from ideal and we realised that we had to do something by way investment in our youth. "I know that the young footballers in the club right now are very enthusiastic about the idea of an Astroturf type pitch being up and running in the club and we have to cash in on that enthusiasm." Brendan believes that sooner or later more and more clubs across the county will come to the realisation that all-weather pitches are a 'must' to aid training sessions. "It's basically GAA policy at this stage and I know that certainly Croke Park are 100% behind the idea of clubs providing all -weather Astroturf-like pitches." GAA President, Nickey Brennan has vowed to spend millions on All Weather facilities after running the rule over the new synthetic pitch in New York's Gaelic Park which staged the All-Star hurling exhibition game on the last Sunday in November. "We are committed to spending Euro 30 millions on these types of facilities and you will see a lot more of them in the counties. We plan to have around 12-14 of them in the next three years and will be used primarily for other games and training all year round," said the GAA President. Brendan continues "Club members are fully behind it and the goodwill and feed back we've been getting from the wider community has been tremendous to date. "This is a facility which we believe will serve the community in Toome well for many years to come." For his part, Joe McMahon, Chairman of Toome Development Committee (established in November 2006), which also includes Secretary Owen Devlin, Club Chairman Brendan McArdle, Club Secretary Gene McGinn are equally optimistic that the completion of the Astroturf type facility will be a major asset to St Victors. (Brian Ruddy, the Club Vice Chairman, who was also on this committee, unfortunately passed away in September; he is sadly missed) "This project will be a success," he states emphatically. "We are following GAA guidelines in everything we have done to date, in terms of the planning and the proposed funding of the project. We have some highly talented underage talent on our hands right now and if we don't compete off the field as well as on the field with the other clubs we won't be successful in what we are trying to do. "Apart from supplying an all year round training pitch, our aim is also to foster an environment there is total dedication to social responsibility, where leadership qualities of our youth are encouraged enabling them to take accountability and ownership of designated club activities, including this project, thereby instilling in them lifetime values." Joe points out that that the this development is being partly funded by grant aiding from the National Lottery and An Clar to a total of Euro 96,000 and the shortfall will be made up from present club funds, various fund raising ventures and a bank loan. "We decided to push ahead anyway, because we felt that we could make up the shortfall when everything else was taken into consideration. We had the confidence in our own desire to make it a reality plus we had the support of the community. Ultimately though, the decision to push on with the project was our wish to provide the best possible facility for the people of the area." Joe further explains that that the development committee haven't been afraid to bring different people on board as and when specialist advice is needed to expedite the planning and construction of the Astroturf playing area. "The bottom line is that we feel that this facility is a necessity because we have a group of young footballers who need to be able to train all year round regardless of the weather. "We have made our submissions to the Monaghan County Board and the Ulster Council and they have given us tremendous support and encouragement. "It's up to us now to carry out the project in a successful manner and as quickly and as efficiently as possible." Three generations of two footballing families At centre back, are brothers, Liam and Stephen McCooey from Toome, with the 2007 Under 16 Football League Trophy which was won by Clann na Gael, the Oram/Toome amalgamated team, flanked by their mother Christina (nee Mooney) and father, John McCooey (pictured above). Liam is in the Toome strip, Stephen is togged out in the Oram colours. In front are the boy's respective grannies, from left, Etta McCooey and Kitty Mooney. The McCooeys and the Mooneys were legendary footballing families in South Monaghan during the forties and fifties. John McCooey's father, Mervyn, starred with Donaghmoyne during these years, together with his brothers Percy and Eamonn, while another brother Des was a very capable administrator. Eamonn holds an All Ireland Junior Football medal with Monaghan. Percy became a noted and respected inter county referee. The late Willie Mooney, Kitty's late husband, donned the Monaghan county colours and also played with Donaghamoyne during that period and was a founder member of the Toome GFC and was the recipient of a Toome Hall of Fame Award in the early 90's. Willie Mooney, Mervyn and Percy McCooey won Senior Football Championships medals with Donaghamoyne in 1942 and 1945. That was the last year that Donaghamoyne won this trophy. John McCooey followed in the family tradition and played with his native Donaghmoyne. Stephen was captain of the Clann na Gael team that won the Under 16, Div. 2 Football League title for 2007. This amalgam team also won the Div 2 Championship this year with Cathal Crowe, Oram as captain. Other Toome players on the panel were Gary Blessing, Jason Murphy, Kieran McBride, Gavin Connolly and Sean Byrne. The team was managed by Raymond Byrne (Toome) and Tony Graham (Oram). The omens for Toome and Oram GAA look good. The late Brian Ruddy 2007 dealt a cruel blow to Toome GAA and surrounding community and Monaghan GAA by taking away one of its true cornerstones and faithful servants in the person of the late Brian Ruddy. Brian's death was the worse possible set back that could happen to this club. Brian is simply irreplaceable. Brian served Toome GAA for over 40 years, firstly as a player and later as an administrator. He served as club chairman, Co.Board delegate, committee member, umpire, and was a valued member of the newly formed Development Committee involved in the new Astroturf project. Where there was a helping hand required, Brian was always available. Brian was very interested in topical affairs and represented Toome GAA in various quizzes and debates over the years and successfully represented Monaghan Macra Question Team on TV. He will always be remembered as being one of nature's true gentlemen, a good neighbour and father, possessing a very sharp intellect and a great sense of humour. We send our condolences to his wife Bernadette and the Ruddy family. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam Tweet

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