Congratulations to the Charlestown Sarsfields G.A.A. Club who were crowned Mayo club of the year at the recent Connacht G.A.A. Banquet Awards held at the Connacht Centre of Excellence, Bekan recently. This was a most notable achievement for the Sarsfields as they beat off stiff competition to scoop a most prestigious award which caps a great year for the club on and off the field. The club are being rightly recognised for their splendid facilities which are the envy of many a club in Mayo and indeed Connacht for that matter.
We have a pitch second to none with a magnificent covering of grass which is always in top class and pristine condition thanks to the great care and maintenance it receives from a few dedicated souls and club members who make sure the surface is always looking its best on match days. Fr O`Hara Park remains the jewel in our crown so to speak and is without doubt one of the finest pitches of its kind anywhere in the country. The club has developed and expanded its facilities over the years with many thousands of euro being spent in the upgrade and enhancement of O`Hara Park ongoing and developing all the time. We have a terrific stand which now has seating for several hundred people and this has attracted much favourable comment and publicity from numerous visiting supporters and teams. O`Hara Park has state of the art fencing erected right around the perimeter of the pitch and the club have also increased the amount of terracing which allows people to stand and watch the action unfold so to speak. The club also tarred the entrance to O`Hara Park in the early part of 2017 and this was achieved at considerable expense all of which was offset by some clever and shrewd fundraising by the club`s very forward thinking and imaginative executive. There are four state of the art dressing rooms in place which are spacious and cater for the needs of all modern teams with their big panels and backroom personnel . The club has also created their own gym under the stand which is a crucial part of their strength and conditioning programme as it`s stocked with all the latest equipment that any ambitious club needs to compete on a level playing field with the best teams in the county at all grades and genders.
There are also plans to develop and improve the training pitch with the advanced talks also ongoing with regard to the addition of a third pitch as space and pressure on the facilities continues to grow on a year by year basis. The club also have a teriffic website in place which contains up to date information on all club activities with the Facebook and Twitter pages also regularly visited and checked out by supporters and members residing in all parts of the globe. The club are lucky to have some very media savvy people in their ranks with the live commentary on all club championship games another very important part of the club`s digital wing as people love tuning in to the local club commentators (for want of a better word!!) who have cornered the market in terms of their witty, incisive and hilarious delivery which has come to national prominence on occasions!!
On the fields of play we continue to punch above our weight as we compete with honour and distinction in every grade from under-8 up to senior. The club has forged a formidable reputation on the fields of play with the last twenty years or so bringing unprecedented success with two county senior titles and two Connacht titles being won in that time. Those successes were hugely important in growing our membership base as it brought new people through the gates and gave us the impetus to move forward and strengthen the Sarsfields brand with the twenty first century providing us with many memorable successes in all grades and codes.
The growth of the ladies club has also been a welcome addition with the last decade witnessing an explosion in interest with the club competing and winning at all grades from under-12 up to junior. The ladies have brought lots of energy and dynamism to the playing fields and they have also made their presence felt on the club`s executive with a number of ladies holding down key positions on the club`s executive in the last number of years. Indeed one of our own Valerie Murphy has recently been appointed to the position of Treasurer of the Mayo County Board which is a super achievement and she is wished well by all in the club in her new role. The club also has an excellent Bord na n-Óg committee in place who are doing stellar work on and off the field in the coaching and development of the many underage teams under their wing with plenty of successes to report as several county titles have been captured and annexed in the last number of years. The award caps another fine year for the Sarsfields as they returned to the top division in the senior league and competed with promise and potential in the 2019 senior championship. The omens look good for the club on the cusp of a new and exciting decade and there was a good turnout of Sarsfields officers and club members at the gala night in the Connacht Centre of excellence. Among those present were Chairman Liam Breheny, Secretary Kevin Deignan with Bord na n-Óg Chairman Ryan O`Connor and Social Media Co-Ordinator Ronan Kenny also in attendance as the club mingled with some of the top brass in the lofty corridors of the Connacht headquarters. A stellar night for the club with Chairman Liam Breheny being presented with the cheque and some other mementos by Connacht Council President Gerry McGovern from Leitrim.