Community loan for Raheny GAA

It is woven so deeply into our social fabric that the well-being of a community is often assessed by reference to the health of the local GAA club. During the 1980s, as emigration depopulated whole swathes of the country, the fortunes of many a town was determined by its capacity to field a GAA team.

While the centrality of the club to community life is more visible in rural Ireland, there can be no doubt of the equally vital role it plays in major urban areas. That this tends to occur below the radar is indicative of the fact that urban GAA must frequently compete for sparse physical and sporting space. But trace the history of any major city club and you will just as surely trace the growth and evolution of the community which it does so much to anchor.

Raheny GAA is a prime example. Established in 1955 it was consciously located at the very heart of what, even now, is referred to as Raheny Village. The club’s growth has mirrored that of the locality and it now fields some 50 teams and caters for over 1100 members, all of its activity underpinned by the generous spirit of voluntarism that runs like a powerful current through community life in Ireland.

Indeed, it is a measure of the club’s sporting progress that it can lay claim to no less a luminary than Brian Fenton, widely regarded as one of the finest GAA players of his generation. Fenton first togged out in the club colours and is now a lynchpin of Dublin’s four in a row all Ireland squad. Remarkably, he has never lost a championship game in the sky blue jersey. Blessed with an effortless and graceful style, the 2018 All Star Player of the Year has been described as the ‘madra mor’ of the Dublin midfield.

Like clubs across the country, Raheny GAA continually seeks to improve and upgrade the range of services and facilities offered to members and local residents. To this end, it recently secured support from Clann Credo for significant improvement works on its premises. It is just one of many clubs that have benefited from our support over the years. Indeed, another of those beneficiaries was the Spa GAA club in Killarney, a club that also featured a Brian Fenton in its ranks, at one stage. Kerry native Brian Fenton Snr is the father of the young man currently lighting up Dublin GAA.

Hard to deny your heritage.