Given the glorious weather we’ve been having the past couple of weeks, it was a real stroke of bad luck for the participants in the Ballyfin Dash to 44 fundraiser on Saturday that the heavens opened and it essentially rained for the day.
But as it turned out that couldn’t dampen their spirits. Starting out at 5am on Saturday morning, a group of almost 50 hardy souls were bussed around Laois to run a lap of every GAA club in the county.
The novel fundraiser was the brainchild of local man Sean Connolly and was in aid of an astroturf pitch in Ballyfin NS.
It was a tough slog, up and down off the bus all day to run a lap of each pitch. But it was a wonderfully organised event and as they got closer to home, the crowds grew to cheer them on.
Throughout the day various supporters had shown up in the various grounds around the county. By the time they arrived back to Ballyfin the bodies may have been sore but the spirits were high.
And they were given a raucous welcome as they did their final lap, of their home pitch in Ballyfin before, fittingly, crossing the finish line where the Ballyfin GAA grounds and Ballyfin NS overlap.
The Ballyfin GAA grounds, incidentally, have smashing new floodlights while their ball wall has also undergone a recent facelift with an incredible mural done by local woman, the hugely talented Una Mangan.
In all they’d done more than half a marathon over the course of the day, a huge undertaking in its own right.
To clap them home were family members and friends and the school hall was bursting to capacity and buzzing with the feelgood factor of what they’d achieved.
“We have a fabulous school here,” said principal Bridget Bennett who is in just her second year in the role. You can listen to the interview in full here where Bridget chats alongside Sean Connolly, Linda Meredith and Shane Conlon.
“We were delighted to see Michael Maloney, my predecessor, out in Stradbally today, and his son, Michael Jr., was running.
“Michael did fantastic work here in building the new school, and indeed the new extension, and we are absolutely blessed.
“But we have wet ground – the GAA are wonderful, they share with us all the time. But you might have seen it yourself there to see that it’s literally waterlogged, my feet are wet.
“So the children don’t get out on the grass much, and our own bit of a field is wet.
“Maybe September and June is the only times we’ve let them out on it, because they just plough it up and be destroyed and be injured.
“So we are hoping to build an astroturf – 29 by 45 meters – taking up about half of our own green area out there.
“And the plan is that the children will be able to use that all year round and to be able to play proper games of, you know, football or soccer or whatever it is they want to play.”
And the financial side of it?
“Yeah, it’s still very flexible and fluid, we’re gone to tender again, but we’re expecting it to be nicely over €100,000.
“So we’re delighted we got a grant from the CLAR funding, we were given a grant of €50,000. And we would have raised about €50,000 from this today.”
“The generosity of people has been unbelievable in the community and family and friends, far and wide,” added Shane Conlon, one of the participants.
“And I think that’s really being acknowledged. People have really bought into this and it should be hugely appreciated. And on behalf of the children here now and future children, a massive gratitude to those for their financial support.”
You can check out a selection of photos taken across the course of the day as well as listen to the LaoisToday interview recorded in Ballyfin NS on Saturday evening after the participants had arrived home.
In this short episode of the LoveLaois Podcast we hear from school principal Bridget Bennett, Sean Connolly, who came up with the idea, as well as parents council members and key organisers Linda Meredith and Shane Conlon.
Anyone willing to donate can still do so at this link here.
