Impressive new gym opened by Coralstown/Kinnegad club

Community spirit was very much in evidence as Coralstown/Kinnegad officially opened its new state of the art gymnasium on Friday evening.

Guests included former Mayo ladies footballer and Aussie Rules star, Cora Staunton, who acknowledged the wonderful progress made by the club. She said the new gymnasium would serve the community, especially the youth, for generations to come.

Westmeath senior football manager Dessie Dolan said Coralstown/Kinnegad are now the envy of many other clubs in the county with such wonderful facilities. He thanked them for their great support to the Westmeath players who have used the new gym, the club’s very impressive walking track and their pitch for training.

“When you sold your old pitch many years ago, you led the way in development work and you are now leading the way again with this facility. It’s a credit to all involved and we are extremely grateful for the support we have received,” he said.

Former Coralstown/Kinnegad and Westmeath footballer Jack Cooney said the new facilities will bring the community together and give people an opportunity to participate in exercise, which is very important in everyone’s life. The former Westmeath manager said the club is very much the focal point of the local community.

“This is the heart and soul of the community here and one of the great memories I have from last year is the men’s and ladies teams training here together and then everyone going outside to enjoy a barbecue. It was such a positive occasion. What we are doing here is creating the environment for good habits. That’s the key thing and if success comes on the back of that, great,” he remarked.

Máire Uí Mhuirí, head of the gym committee welcomed the large attendance and club chairman Joe O’Keeffe said the foresight of a small group of people had been key to getting the development off the ground. He praised people like Niall Leydon, who were determined that the project would come to fruition.

“Three or four people met here one evening and we put down bollards, stepped it out and made plans for this new gym. It took off from there. We are extremely fortunate to have such great people involved with the club, at present,” he said.

“It is crucial to bring families with you and get their support and this will be a family friendly facility. We also have our walkway which is great and we start with our nursery for five-year-olds. We are not losing players at 14 and that’s crucial. It’s about enjoyment and it has to be friendly orientated.”

Joining Joe on the committee are Dawn Quinn, the new club secretary and Kevin McGrath, a very efficient treasurer. (Further coverage inside).