Longford plan €1m centre of excellence on 32-acre site

Longford GAA has purchased 32 acres of land for a new €1m centre of excellence to develop future generations of male and female players.

RTÉ Sport has been told that the county board will immediately commence the appointment of a design team to progress with plans for the development.

The site was purchased at auction yesterday, with the 32 acres adjoining their existing headquarters at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park.

The land, which is primarily agricultural, is zoned for housing and for industrial or commercial use, which makes it an attractive investment.

Longford GAA Chairperson, Albert Cooney paid tribute to the counsel received from his colleagues and from those at provincial and central level:

"The support received from our fundraising committee, Club Longford, was invaluable. Also the officials and committees in Croke Park and the Leinster Council, whose advice, assistance, and support was crucial in delivering on what is the start of a very exciting venture for the county.

"We hope that the purchase of this property will be viewed as a very positive development for the future of the GAA in Longford."

The positive news comes almost 10 years after initial plans to develop a centre of excellence at Lyneen were paused.

In 2009, Longford GAA purchased land in 2009 for €380,000 and planned to develop a €3 million centre on the 41-acre site.

After the green light was eventually received for that project it was revealed an extra €900,000 would be required before development could even commence.

This prompted delegates at a county board meeting to vote unanimously to abandon the plan.

However, the county board never lost sight of the target to develop their own centre of excellence and the fact that the new centre will be adjacent to