We have to thank so many people in helping improve the track and facilities so much since the start of 2023. 

Long Jump Pit & Run Up

The first project that was undertaken was the addition of a second long jump pit, this was made possible by the funding of Noel Kavanagh and Supervalu Westport who footed the bill from Eoghan Cunningham of Cunningham Civil and Marine Engineering who completed the work at cost, the sand was supplied by Corcoran Concrete. We had second-hand astro fitted with the help of Peter Corcoran, PPG Construction and a large team of helpers to help fit it either side of the run up.

In May, we had the new rubber run up poured which was financed by Harry Hughes and Portwest.  Westport Lions Club came on board through the support of their Chairperson, Des Ryan, and two Nelco long jump boards and troughs were purchased in memory of Ernie Deacy, who was a member of both Westport AC and Westport Lions Club.  These were painstakingly fitted foc by Peter Corcoran and PPG Construction.

Line Marking Machine & Paint

We had a very important purchase of a line marking machine last spring where the track layout was done by Donal from Sport Line Services.  We also got a years supply of paint.  This was funded by sponsorship from the following; Geraldine & Adrian Noonan, Knockranny House Hotel, Damian & Thelma Gibbons, GBCE, Peter & Gerard Corcoran, PPG Construction, Padraic & Moira Corcoran, Engine Re,  Corduff Travel and Paul McDermott, Hastings Insurance.

Toilet & Recreational Area

Next up, we renovated the toilet, ramp and recreational area.  A timber shed was transported by Gerard & Padraic Corcoran of PPG Construction from the rec area to the club house, no easy task.  The second-hand astro grass was transported foc from county Limerick by Cunningham Civil and Marine Engineering, this was laid at a loss by Eoghan and his team.  The construction work was undertaken by Kieran Caine and Caine Construction. 

This was partly funded by GMA Funding from the following Councillors, Peter Flynn, John O'Malley, Christy Hyland and Brendan Mulroy.

We also had sponsorship from Platt & Reilly, Michael & Dan Conway, Hemming Enterprises, Ben & Kelly Walsh, Poplar Linens and Westport United. 

We held a raffle which was supported by the club members with prizes donated from the following, Harry Hughes and Westport House, Mulranny Park Hotel, Aaron & Catriona Page, Bean West, Elvery's, Paul & Tina Malone, Walsh & Associates and Marian & Joe O'Malley and Cosy Joe's. 

We also had shelving and bench seating materials supplied by Dermot and Carmel Kelly from PJ Kelly's.

Wheelchair Accessible WC and Kitchenette

We would like to acknowledge the trojan work that went into the renovation of the Ref's room and toilet at the track beside the rec area which now has a kitchenette.

The WC has been transformed into a large wheelchair accessible toilet and wet room. Noel Mulroy and his amazing team from South West Mayo Development Company, we are indebted to you all. Nothing was a problem.

From demolition work, stud work, plastering, tiling, carpentry, window and door replacement, wheelchair ramp and railings, wet room floor, power washing to coat hooks and bench seating and more. Lads, take a bow. It was an amazing transformation. 

A special thanks to John Kelly, Jimmy Mullen and Simon Robertson, who have had the patience of Saints.  

We also had an amazing team of parents involved in the job.

Plumbing and kitchen fitting by Tommy O'Regan.

Electrics by Ronan Hehir.

Painting by Martin Walsh.

Self levelling compound by Colm O'Malley.

Kieran Caine and his crew for pipework.

Thanks again to Eoghan Cunningham of Cunningham Civil & Marine Ltd and his mighty men, Ricky Kilroy and Matthew for kango work for yet again coming to the rescue.  

Tom Moran for the screed.  

On top of all this free labour, we are again blown away by the generosity of Dermot and Carmel Kelly of P.J. Kelly's Homevalue who wiped our complete hardware bill. 

Wesley Hurst of Hurst Heating and Plumbing very kindly sponsored the wheelchair accessible sanitary ware after already being one of our corporate sponsors.

Cloakroom

The new cloakroom was plastered by Sean and Mick of SWMDC, the bench and coat hooks were done by Jimmy of SWMDC and the shelving of the shed was completed by John and Jimmy of SWMDC, all organised by Noel Mulroy.

Wheelchair Accessibility Project and Westport Smarter Travel

Our latest project was the Wheelchair accessibility project.  This project was partly financed through the very generous sponsorship of AbbVie.  Sean and Sandra Corcoran of Corcoran Concrete were also major sponsors of all the Lego Blocks needed.  GMA Funding was also given by Peter Flynn and John O'Malley.  Our Accessibility gofundme page was supported by members of the Community. 

We also used funds from the club account to finish this project.  

The Engineering work was very kindly completed by James Langan and the drawings were painstakingly done by Cormac Langan.  The handrails were sanded down over a number of hours by Martin Walsh in advance of our Community Games event.  Francis Cryan helped in moving electrics.  The plaster work has been done by Sean and Mick of SWMDC.  We have had Stevie Garrivan and Luke onsite shuttering up for the bike shed base.  Gerry Galvin of Westport Wall Chasing did the core drilling at cost. The base for the bike shed was poured by Sean and Kevin Corcoran of Corcoran Concrete and concrete supplied foc.  The moving of the bike shed was orgainsed by Peter Corcoran of PPG Construction.

There was trojan work put in by the Development Committee which took months of planning and looking at different options.  I think everyone will agree that it was worth the effort as our entrance has been transformed, the track has been made accessible for everyone, the viewing stand has been made safe and the track will be part of Westport Smarter Travel with the addition of the bike shed supplied by Mayo County Council.

The work was undertaken by David Holmes Plant Hire and Damien Fahey Stainless Steel who completed to the project to the highest of standards.  The project was complicated in that they had to work with an existing structure and work around lighting obstacles but nothing was a problem for them, we will be forever grateful.

Through funding from The Mayo County Council, Local Enhancement Programme, handrails were fitted by Damien Fahey Steel Fabrication to the end of the wheelchair footpath.  We also had a water fountain fitted at the Sports complex and the defib has been moved into the outside toilet for easy and immediate access to all users of the Sports Complex.

Tartan Track and The Development Committee

In June 2023 word was spreading that the announcement of the 2023 Sports Capital funding was imminent.  We set about getting a strong committee together who could have the combined skills to deliver an accessible Tartan Track for our town.  Our committee was lead by it’s Chairperson, Lisa Clarken and supported by Mairead Kelly, Secretary and tartan track project manager, Brian Bryne, Treasurer, Niall Quinn, Cormac Langan, Pat Staunton and Tom McLoughlin.  Working together with many meetings, site visits and discussions they delivered a wonderful facility for Westport and its surrounding areas.

The pressure was on as we received a quotation for the works in the region of €340,000, the maximum funding was €200,000 so at a minimum €140,000 had to be in the bank account by the application deadline of the 8th September 2023.  Our application was made ahead of schedule with the funds secured.  This is a testament to the generosity and community spirit of the people of Westport and it’s businesses.  We were blown away by the support received and their faith in our committee to deliver the project.

24th September 2024 is the day we heard that we were successful in our Sports Capital application which was submitted at the end of August 2023.  We were allocated €174,411 for our capital project.  The development committee went full steam ahead getting the tender documents and site layout agreed.  We went to tender in early 2025 with the tender being awarded to Michael O’Malley
Tarmacadam Contractors Ltd.  Works commenced in early May and the track was fully completed on Wednesday 3rd September 2025.

Sports Surface Specialists were the sub-contractors for the tartan layer and lane marking.  Work was completed to the highest standard and we are indebted to project manager Micheal Barrett for O’Malley’s along with Sean, Imelda and Rory Campbell and the team from Sports Surface Specialists.

Not alone was the tartan track delivered but more investment was made in improving the facilities.

There was also investment in equipment which included a new High Jump pad, 20 tonnes of Wexford sand for the two long jump pits with new customised pit covers and all hurdles adjusted for the new lane width. 

Extended Rec Area – Core 2

Westport Community Games sponsored a 20-foot container in honour of Martin Keane who was involved with so many organisations and groups of Westport and was a huge advocate for the youth of Westport.  The materials for the roof were sponsored by Viv and Aoife of The Grainstore, Michael and Dan Conway of Hemming Enterprises, Kieran and Marion Caine of Caine Plumbing, Adrian and Gerardine Noonan of Knockranny House Hotel and Liam and Aneta Walsh.

The works were completed by the following who gave their time and effort freely.

Eoghan Cunningham and a number from Cunningham Marine and Civil Engineering who helped deliver the container to the track, to Keith McDermott and Paul Walsh who painstakingly moved the container into place on a very early St Patrick’s morning with the help of equipment from Micheal Brady.  Martin Walsh again did trojan work on the painting of the container to make it look like new.

The materials for the cladding were transported by the help of Kieran Caine and Peter Heraty.  Many hours of work were put in by Peter Heraty who organised all the materials and planned the roof and completed the area to a very high standard.  This area offers a lovely, sheltered space for our youth to enjoy.

Core 3

At the end of the new long jump pit there was an area that had potential.  Joe Fahy and Austin Moran spent an afternoon power washing the rubber tiles that came up from the long jump run up.  Tom Lawless and his crew prepared the area, removing the old astro and earth, placed down a membrane and whacked in 804 sponsored by Corcoran Concrete.  Sean Corcoran pulled in two tonnes of pea gravel from the site next door and Pat Grimes and John Flynn spent a hot Saturday levelling the site and flooring the area with the gym floor tiles.  Sean O’Donnell helped with welding the ballet bar on the side of the container.  This space will offer our athletes a great warm up and cool down area.

Signage installation

A wet afternoon was spent on the track with a great crew to put up thirty hoarding signs onto the walls, the spirit level and measuring tapes were very busy with fantastic attention to detail by the team made up of Niall Quinn, Brian Clarken, Hugh Ryan, Sean Conneely and Fintan Gibbons. Track clean up by Ruth Conneely, Martin Walsh and a team from SWMDC organised by Noel Mulroy.

Great things can be achieved when people and Community pull together.