Sunday 4th May saw the official opening of the Monaghan county committees' new county teams training Centre at Cloghan when the new director-general of the GAA Paraic Duffy came back to his roots to perform the official opening by unveiling a plaque at the main door to the dressing room complex. The initial decision to develop a county teams training facility was taken back in 2003 after that particular property had been identified as the most suitable and the centre was first used for county teams activity in November 2006. Since that the finishing touches have been put to various aspects of the development and when all that was completed it was decided that Sunday, May 4th was the most suitable day for an official launch. The weather too played its part with the formalities being conducted in summer sunshine which made for an air of celebration and goodwill. The occasion was also marked by a senior football challenge game between Monaghan and Down which the visitors won comfortably. The result though has to be seen in the context that Down fielded a near full strength team while Monaghan fielded a completely reserve team. That said though there were certain aspects of the Monaghan performance that would give cause for concern as to the strength the county has on the bench. The five pitch centre with a dressing room complex that includes four dressing rooms and all ancillary facilities including a kitchen and a meeting room as well as office space cost in the region of ?2.3 million but one million of that was realised by way of a government grant that was announced at the end of last year. The initial purchase price of the property was funded exclusively by the clubs with the understanding that they would not be asked to contribute towards the development costs. The occasion saw the chairman, secretary and county committee delegate of all the clubs being invited as guests along with a number of dignitaries of church and state including Margaret Conlon TD and Senator Francie O'Brien. Former GAA president Sean McCague was also among the guests as was Danny Murphy, secretary of the Ulster Council, Martin McAviney, treasurer of the Ulster Council and the officers of Monaghan county board. Following the official opening the premises was blessed by Rev John Flannigan. Prior to the start of the senior football challenge game between Monaghan and Down a plaque was unveiled dedication the primary training pitch to the memory of the late Paddy O'Rourke. "These magnificent facilities are a statement of the strength of the GAA in Monaghan", Ard Stiurthoir Paraic Duffy said when performing the official opening ceremony of the new County Teams' training and development centre at Cloghan on Sunday last. It was he said an honour for him to perform the official opening ceremony and he thanked the county committee for affording him the opportunity to do that and expressed himself extremely proud of what had been achieved. "Great credit must go to the county committee and the many individuals who have brought this scheme to fruition" and he had special words too for the club's for their outstanding contribution. "This is a proud day for the association in the county" he went on "and it has been a great team effort. There may have been a few sceptics at the start but everyone bought into the scheme and that team spirit has pervaded the whole programme that has seen the development of this magnificent centre. Having facilities like that will help the GAA to meet the challenges that lie ahead. It will help to meet the needs of schools and has already shown what it can do in that regard both at county and provincial level and everyone should take great pride in what has been achieved. Everyone in Monaghan can take great pride too in what has been achieved over the years and this facility is just a further manifestation of the high standards that have been set in the county. The level of club facilities in Monaghan is superior to almost every other county and I see this as a progression of those standards and something that will be the envy of most other counties". Monaghan can be justifiably proud of what it's clubs have done and they can be proud too of what the clubs have achieved since the GAA was first launched in the county backing it 1887. "This centre is a statement of the strength of the association in Monaghan and it will help the GAA to remain as the foremost brand in the county. Today though must not be seen as an end but rather as a beginning and with the fierce drive for perfection that there is in Monaghan I will not be surprised if I see a full-size floodlit 3-D pitch in the county in the not too distant future. DANNY MURPHY. Ulster Council secretary Danny Murphy spoke of the historic occasion that was taking place and spoke of his delight at being there to represent the Ulster Council at the official opening. To transform farmland into the facilities that you have here today took people of courage, commitment and vision and you can be even more proud and it is a great credit to everyone for undertaking this scheme because all of you are from Monaghan". He described the centre as "a games orientated development that will provide top class facilities for all county teams. Committees are charged with responsibility for putting measures in place for county teams and these facilities here are now part of the games structure in the county. These are visionary premises" he went on and while this project got support from a number of sources the project was deserving of everything it got and I am delighted to see the scheme here officially opened. The facilities here are a tribute to the officers of the county board and in that I include all of the officers over the period of this development from the first day of vision until today COUNTY CHAIRMAN. County board chairman, John Connolly, in welcoming the guests to Cloghan on Sunday last spoke of the historic occasion that it was for Monaghan county board and outlined the background to the project. The initial step was taken when Aidan Quigley was chairman of the board when he set up a special committee under the chairmanship of Liam Stirrat with the brief of trying to identify properties that would be suitable for the development of a multi pitch training complex. Seven properties in all were visited with the decision finally coming down to Cloghan after it had been inspected by Joe Pat Prunty of Prunty Pitches who had gone on to win the contract for the ground development. He spoke also of the funding arrangements and paid particular tribute to the clubs for their decision to the fund the purchase price of the original property, the scheme that have been put in place will be completed by most of the clubs this year. "It was a courageous decision by the clubs to embark on this because clubs had commitments themselves but they saw this as the way forward and I want to pay tribute to them for the manner in which they have met their commitments in that regard". John Connolly also paid tribute to Croke Park and the Ulster Council for the funding they had provided, mentioning in particular the initial purchase grant that had been made available through the good offices of former president Sean McCague who was present at Cloghan on Sunday. He made special mention also of the "300 Scheme" that had been organised by Declan Flanagan and mentioned too a substantial personal contribution from Mackie Moyna of Dublin. It had he said been "a source of concern that it appeared for quite some time that government funding would not be made available to the project despite the fact that it was providing facilities for the youth of the county and further afield but in the end all of that came right when the then Minister for Sport and Tourism, John O'Donoghue, announced a grant of ?1 million towards the cost of Cloghan development. "I was absolutely delighted when I got the news" he told the guests "and I want to thank John O'Donoghue and all the members of the Oireachtas from the County, Margaret Conlon TD and Senator Francie O'Brien as well as the other public representatives who made representations and did everything they could to help secure the funding. Tweet

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