St Peter’s FC looks forward with plans to develop McCarthy Park

St Peter’s FC has ambitious plans to develop its McCarthy Park base as the Athlone club looks to build on the progress made in getting underage football going again.

Having enjoyed a few successful years in the recent past at senior level, St Peter’s FC is now back competing in the Combined Counties FL. After a few tough months at the start of the season, there has been much improvement with the hope of finishing this season well and plans are already afoot to hit the ground running next season.

Located at McCarthy Park on the west side of Athlone, the club has been growing their junior set-up this season. After a very uncertain time for the club during the Covid pandemic, the club has emerged with a strong junior set-up under the guidance of Noel McGee, a former Athlone Town and St Peter’s player.

Noel has recently completed his FAI ‘C’ licence and is aiming to keep progressing on the coaching ladder.

Noel stated: “It has been great to get junior football back up and running at the club. We started off last summer with approximately 20 kids which has grown to 70 children, and this is only going to keep growing.

“We are in the process of getting all our coaches trained by the FAI with their first level PDP 1 completed recently by many of them,” continued Noel, adding that the club has male and female members as young as four years old.

The club has been engaging with Glen Byrne, FAI Development Officer for Westmeath, on various aspects of club development with the ‘Club Mark’ being the club’s next target to achieve. The club has held child welfare courses and coaching courses this season and is looking to add to their coaching team next season.

St Peter’s FC chairperson Padraig Hegarty noted: “The club has a very positive future ahead and with a great committee and expanding membership base, we are confident of achieving our objectives.

“The current talk of lights for the road to McCarthy Park will make the club more attractive for new members and thanks to Cllr Tony Ward and Cllr Aengus O’Rourke who are in the process of getting Roscommon and Westmeath county councils to agree a plan for works. It will also support us with our development plans for the facility,” he continued.

Regarding plans to redevelop its home ground of McCarthy Park, Padraig said: “This will be done in a phased development plan over a number of years to upgrade the current infrastructure and to add more facilities to advance football on the west side of the town.”

“We are in the process now of paying off our current Clann Credo loan for the astro turf - once this is nearly cleared, we will be in a great position for further grant funding. We have engaged with past and current members who have only been positive and supportive of redevelopment plans for the club. Many are very interested in making the redevelopment plans a reality for this generation and the next. As a committee we are determined we can achieve this and we will do all we can to make it a reality as we have the support locally of so many great people and businesses.”

This season the club has started to invest in upgrading its facilities, with work having already been done to bring about a number of improvements. Padraig remarked that the club has taken on two Community Employment (CE) scheme workers in order to keep the place in good shape over the last few months.

The club has thanked all who supported their old monthly lotto draw which ran until March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic intervened.

It was deemed not possible this season to continue the club’s old lotto, and over recent months the club committee held consultations and discussions with club trustees and its supporter base. From these talks a decision was made recently to reallocate a percentage of this outstanding jackpot money back into the club to improve the grass pitch and astro turf pitch at McCarthy Park.

“The work to the grass pitch is urgently required due to the massive cost of renting a pitch during the winter months. This work will save the club in the long run and is the first phase of their development plans for the club,” said Hegarty, adding that the next phase will be grant dependent and the club is seeking to setup a development committee next season with full details to be confirmed later in the year.

The club will be donating the rest of this lotto jackpot from March 2020 to a great local cause known as Elaine and Ruby’s Journey. Elaine and Ruby have a GoFundMe page which is attempting to raise much needed funds to support them with vital health care, and Padraig said the club is delighted to support this great cause.

The club joined forces with one of their senior team sponsors, the Prince of Wales Hotel, for a social night at the Venue bar on April 15. All monies raised from this event and a recent golf classic will go towards the costs involved in to improving the astro and grass pitches at McCarthy Park.

Padraig added: “Without both these fundraising events in April and some of the outstanding lotto jackpot money of March 2020 being reallocated, we could not complete this urgent work to the grass pitch or the astro turf. We simply would not have the financial means, and this is substantial financial investment going into both our pitches. A massive thank you to all our club sponsors, current members and former members who have been nothing but supportive to the club this season.”