The national sports capital programme has announced the allocation of funds last week. We are delighted to announce the approval of funds applied for by Adamstown Cricket Club, in conjunction with South Dublin County Council, for a permanent cricket training facility in Corkagh Park.

This will see installation of vandal-proof cricket nets in the South Dublin park for Adamstown’s usage. The club has seen tremendous growth since its inception in 2009. Now, one of the biggest cricket clubs in Leinster, it will build cricket nets after a 9 year wait to secure funds to be able to make this significant improvement to their facilities. It was essential that the design of the cricket nets incorporated a vandal-proof system, to ensure it's security. In a public park, vandalism is an unfortunate problem which the club have little control over. However, with the nets designed to be able to retract back into a secure cage it will certainly protect the club’s investment, and the investment of the council and the Sports Capital Grant. This unique design was created by the club officials through consultation with the Cricket in the Community Development Officer (CCDO) at the time in South Dublin, Kenny Carroll.

The club worked tirelessly to meet the deadlines for the application and with the help of Naomi Scott-Hayward, the current CCDO in South Dublin, a well-rounded application was submitted to South Dublin County Council. They saw the benefit of the project to the community immediately and happily submitted the final application, as the land owners.

“Adamstown Cricket Club is delighted with the news, which has been a dream project for a number of years now. We have struggled with training our youth and adult members, who played in 10 different Leinster league teams last year. This facility will go a long way in addressing that problem and also hopefully attract new members to the club. The club has close links with a number of schools in the community and would be able to offer training programme to these school children using this facility. The club would also like to thank all the elected representatives who supported in the fruitful approval of this project and will be looking forward to working with the county council and the officials in the smooth installation of the project.” - Olag Sivanantham, Adamstown Cricket Club.

“Well done to Adamstown CC. They have been a fantastic addition to the community in the Adamstown, Lucan and Clondalkin areas, bringing the sport on in South Dublin. They have grown from strength to strength each year. Adamstown CC had a very strong application. It was great to see the South Dublin county council backing it. The healthy partnership between the club, Cricket Leinster and the Council is incredibly important for park clubs. Congrats to everyone involved in the process. I’m looking forward to seeing it all come together.” – Naomi Scott-Hayward, CCDO South Dublin

The aim will be to have the nets installed in Corkagh Park before the start of the 2018 cricket season.