FOR COLM

The Colm Horkan Memorial Pitch & Community Walkways Project

Project Updated - December 2023

To honour our late clubmate and friend, Colm Horkan, Charlestown Sarsfields GAA club are planning the development of a new 'All-Weather floodlit pitch' to be named the 'Colm Horkan Memorial Pitch'. The project will also involve the construction of new community walkways and the upgrade of existing facilities at Fr. O’Hara Park.As of December 2023 a total of over €600,000 has been raised of the total €1.2M required to complete the project. Phase 1 of the community walkways has now been complete and the seeding and first cut of the pitch took place in July and September respectively.The new pitch is on track to be offically opened in Summer 2024.

• Donate

• SWIM FOR COLM
• Colm Horkan Memorial Run
• Memorial Golf Classic
• About The Project
• Our Clubmate Colm
• The New Pitch
• Community Walkways
• Facilities Upgrade
• Latest News

Committee Members:

Liam Breheny, Tom McLoughlin, Kevin Deignan, Stephen Healy, Brendan Horkan, Dermot Horkan, Declan Casey, Caroline McNicholas, Donal Healy, Michael Doherty, Ronan Kenny, Martin Donoghue, Ciaran McBrien, Enda Casey, Sean Higgins, Siobhan Durkan

The Project

The Charlestown Sarsfields club have given a sense of belonging and connection to the people of Charlestown for over 130 years. The development of our facilities has provided and continues to provide countless hours of enjoyment for both young and old. By supporting these various developments, through the years our people have ensured that our community has a facility that it can be proud of and one that meets the needs of a club with ambitions to compete and win honours at all levels. In order for these ambitions to be continuously met in the future, as well as continuing to meet the needs of our community (both from a social and health perspective), the time has now come for us to move forward again.The club currently provides football & coaching for close to 200 boys and girls from under 6’s up to under 18’s, in addition to our Under 21, Junior and Senior teams. We currently have two pitches at Fr. O’Hara park which is not sufficient to cater for the growing numbers now participating with both the Sarsfields and LGFA clubs.Following a detailed consultative process our club is now ready to unveil a phased development plan spanning the next 3 years, which when completed, will sustain and drive our club forward for many years to come.The highlight of the new development will be the construction of a new full sized, All-Weather floodlit pitch’ in memory of our late friend and clubmate Colm Horkan. The project will also see the development of new community walkways and upgrade of the existing facilities at Fr. O’ Hara park to create a state of the art facility for not only the Sarsfields club, but the wider community to enjoy for generations to come.The project will require significant funding to complete and we will be applying for funding through the various Sports Capital Programmes and other national and regional funding streams as well as seeking support from the local community to complete the project, which will be a a once in a generation opportunity to leave a lasting legacy for future members and the local community.Mise le MeasLiam Breheny
Cathaoirleach

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Official Sod Turning for the Colm Horkan Memorial Pitch

Colm Horkan

As a club and community we are still struggling to comprehend the shocking events of Wednesday June 17th when Colm was cut down in the prime of his life, doing the job he loved in the best way he knew how. He touched the lives of many in the communities of Charlestown and beyond, with dignity and regalness characterising his every action and deed. He loved his town and this was the place where many great friendships and bonds were moulded.Colm loved his football and served Charlestown Sarsfields with distinction over the course of a long, stellar and star-studded career. He donned the green and white jersey with honour and excellence and Fr. O’Hara took centre stage in many of our finest successes in a career that saw him reach some marvellous heights.He played with courage, intelligence and intensity and brought tremendous passion to the fields of play with O’Hara Park his domain and the scene of many of his greatest performances as he inspired his team and led from the front at all times. He was a born leader and played with a conviction and belief that typified his persona and character and he never  let the jersey down and more often than not came up with the right pass or the crucial score to get the Sarsfields over the line in many of our epic victories. His quality and sheer class will forever remain intact as his kindness, modesty and heroism will stay etched in our memories and consciousness for many a long day.We hope the development of the new ‘All-Weather floodlit pitch’ to be named the ’Colm Horkan Memorial Pitch’ and community walkways will be a fitting legacy for the great man and a facility for the community to enjoy for generations to come.

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The New Pitch

In memory of our late friend and clubmate, Colm Horkan, the club plans to develop a new 3rd pitch at Fr. O’Hara Park in his honour - to be named ‘The Colm Horkan Memorial Pitch’. Our current pitch infrastructure consists of two full-sized pitches, with our main pitch the only pitch suitable for matches. Facilitating the playing needs of over 200 players and 20 teams is very difficult and the task of scheduling standard weekly activities within our current infrastructure is becoming increasingly difficult and problematic; we simply require more playing space.The development of a third playing pitch to cater for the demands of our increasing numbers will provide our club with a new state of the art, all weather, fully floodlit, playing pitch with surrounding walkways. The all-weather, sand based playing surface will provide a fantastic new facility for the clubs playing and training needs, particularly in the winter months.The project is being run by Charlestown Sarsfields GAA club and the project committee is made up of club officers, family members and close friends of Colm.

Click on the thumbnails below to see some images of the proposed new pitch

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Community Walkways

As part of our new development, new community walkways will be constructed around the perimeter of our three pitches for the whole community to enjoy, providiing a safe environment for both walking and running purposes for all the family.The new walkways will have public lighting located throughout with a new dedicated entrance point to the walkways from the main road adjacent to Fr. O’ Hara park.This will be a fantastic new facility for the whole community to enjoy.

Click on the thumbnails below to see some images of the proposed new walkways

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Facilities Upgrade

The new development will include a number of upgrades to our existing facilities at Fr. O’Hara park including:1) Complete resurfacing of the entrance road into Fr. O’Hara Park and the CBD complex leading to the new Colm Horkan Memorial Pitch2) New traffic flow system and parking facilities3) Upgrading of terrace areas for spectators4) Construction of a new clubhouse,
storage facility and gymnasium

Click on the thumbnails below to see some images of the proposed new upgrades to the facilities at
Fr. O'Hara Park

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Project Update-December 2023

Following the announcement in late 2022 of the clubs successful application for the Sports Capital the club received the maximum allocation of €150,000 towards the development of the new Colm Horkan Memorial Pitch & Community Walkways. A special word of thanks to members of the Colm Horkan Memorial Pitch Committee who put together the application for the Sports Capital Grant.As of December 2023 over €600,000 has been raised of the required €1.2m to complete the project in its entirety.Phase 1 of the seeding of the new pitch was completed in July 2023 and the first cut of the grass on the new pitch took place in September (see image on page). Phase 1 of the community walkways has also been completed. The club were, in November 2023, successful in securing €50,000 under the 2023 Clár programme towards the project and are currently awaiting the outcome of the latest round of Sports Capital funding.We sincerely thank the Government and our local and national representatives for their support for this project and to the Charlestown community and all those around the world who have so generously supported our fundraising efforts to date - we are so grateful for this support.The development of the ’Colm Horkan Memorial Pitch’ and community walkways will be a fitting legacy for the great man and a facility for the community to enjoy for generations to comeWe wish to say a sincere thank you to all the people who have so kindly donated to the project on www.colmhorkanmemorialpitch.com and to all who have supported the fundraising efforts to date.We look forward to providing further progress updates on the project as work commences in the coming weeks.RegardsColm Horkan Memorial Pitch Committee

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Colm Horkan Memorial
Run 2023

The third annual Colm Horkan Memorial Run took place on May 28th 2023, with mix of a physical run in Charlestown and a Virtual run for people unable to make it on the day. As in 2021 and 2022 the event was hugely successful with over 1,000 particpantsThe committee would like to say a huge thank you to all who took part and in particular to our headline sponsors, O'Haras Bakery and BaySports and to all who supported the eventFunds raised from the event will go towards the development of a new 'All-Weather floodlit pitch' to be named the 'Colm Horkan Memorial Pitch'. The project will also involve the construction of new community walkways and will be a fitting legacy for the great man and a facility for the community to enjoy for generations to come. For more information visit Colm Horkan Memorial Pitch & Community Walkways Project

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Thank you to our main sponsors

Colm Horkan Memorial
Golf Classic

In memory of Colm, the inaugural Colm Horkan Memorial Virtual Golf Classic took place in September 2021Sponsord by B-Pod (www.b-pods.com), the virtual golf event was open to golfers across Ireland and indeed anywhere in world, for teams of four players to register for the event and play their local course, or any course of their choice. Prizes for the competition were:• Trip to Portugal (Faro) for 4 people including flights, 3 nights accommodation and a round of golf at an exclusive golf course in Vilamoura
• Complimentary Four ball with lunch at the prestigious Adare Manor golf course
• Complimentary Four ball on the award winning Carne Golf Links course with lunch in the Broadhaven Bay HotelAll funds raised from the event will bring us closer to realising the vision for the Colm Horkan Memorial Pitch & Community Walkways Project.

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Thank you to our main sponsor

Thank you to our feature sponsors

SWIM for Colm

In honour of our friend and supporter, Detective Garda Colm Horkan, R.I.P. and in sympathy with the Horkan family, friends and Colm's colleagues, Charlestown Swimming Pool hosted a #Swim4Colm fundraising event in August 2023.To participate, people were invited to swim their chosen distance in their chosen swimming pool, lake, river, sea, or ocean any time from August 6th to August 26th, 2023.The event was a huge success and all proceeds from #Swim4Colm were donated to the Colm Horkan Memorial Pitch & Walkway Project.

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