A Message from an Cathaoirleach
The Salthill Knocknacarra GAA Club has been synonymous with Salthill and Knocknacarra for over 50 years and we have been deeply appreciative of the support we have received from the Knocknacarra and Salthill communities throughout that time.
SKGAA has seen phenomenal changes and growth over the past two decades, mirroring the growth of the Knocknacarra area and population. In addition, we are particularly proud of the spectacular growth and success of the female sections in our Club, namely our Ladies and Girls Camogie and Football Sections, who have both reached All Ireland finals at adult level in the last year.
This growth has seen the club become one of Galway’s leading clubs and largest GAA clubs in Connacht but one of the few, who have fully embraced the “One Club” mode that sees all four GAA codes being promoted within the one club, namely Football, Camogie, Hurling and Ladies Football. In 2022 we fielded 64 teams and launched the SKGAA Nursery.
But it is this success which has brought and is expected to provide further new challenges, as further housing developments are planned for our catchment area. Our club facilities have been seriously overwhelmed in recent years and we are now looking for your support to develop new playing facilities on lands the club purchased in 2014 and for which have been re-zoned under the Galway City Development Plan 2023 to 2029 to “Recreational and Amenity land with the specific objective of the development of Football Pitches and Floodlighting”.
We wish to express our thanks in particular to all our Local Councillors for their unanimous support of our project and their commitment to help us provide much needed playing facilities for our club but more importantly, for the communities of Knocknacarra and Salthill.
But we now need your help.
The Club are submitting a planning application to Galway City Council to develop new facilities that will encompass two full size GAA pitches floodlit (1 x 4G Astro surface and 1 x Grass surface), a full set of dressing rooms, a 2km community walkway, a children’s playground, a car parking area amongst its key features and we will be embarking on a fundraising campaign to raise over €1 million euros to make this much needed playing facility a reality.
As part of this planning permission process, we plan to engage with all the main stakeholders in the area and as part of this process we are writing to you directly to inform you of our plans that we believe will be transformative in terms of providing badly needed playing facilities for the young people in our local area and look for your support.
How you can help?
• Please express your support for our planning permission application in writing through a number of channels (email, text, our website – details contained within this website)
• Support our fundraising campaign through one of numerous fundraising channels (buy-a-brick campaign, our club lotto – details contained within this website)
• Get involved – if you want to get involved in making these new facilities a reality, please make contact with us through any of the above channels
• Social Media / Online – The Club are created a dedicated website and video on our project. Please express your support on your social media channels by sharing this website / video along with a supporting message
We hope that our plans meet with your approval and support and look forward to continuing to work with you to build better
communities in Knocknacarra and Salthill for our young people and future generations.
Yours in sport,
Paddy Lynch
Cathaoirleach