Memories shared as Clarkes embark upon their exciting new development

IT was in the spring of 1947 when dozens of volunteers converged on what was to become the new O’Neill Park in Dungannon to prepare the pitch for its first matches later that year.

Their work paid off because the playing surface that they so carefully nurtured went on to serve the Clarkes club well for over seven decades. The new venue became the number one choice for the top Tyrone club games, as well as matches involving the Red Hand county, and Ulster and All-Ireland ties.

New clubrooms were built soon after, and more new facilities were constructed in the early seventies. Now, 75 years on, the forward-looking Clarkes have one-eye on the past as they get set for a bright future.

This week saw the start of work to demolish the old clubrooms. In addition, the new sod is coming on well on the O’Neill Park pitch. The plan is that by 2024, the £2million revamp of this famous stadium will be complete, including the £1million community hub.

As the site is cleared, there has been a brief opportunity to reflect on the history of O’Neill Park, its importance as a venue and the hopes for a bright future as they look ahead to their continued work in fostering gaelic games and culture within the local community.

Damien ‘Dick’ Cahalane has played a central role in the club for many years. A former chairman, he is well placed to assess just how significant the current milestone is.

“This is definitely a major milestone for the club,” he explains.

“I remember our chairman, John McNulty remarking how great it would be if we won the O’Neill Cup, developed a new pitch and build new clubrooms. Someone responded that one of these targets would be great and now we’ve won the county title and are making brilliant progress on the other two.

“We have been discussing and working on this plan for 15 years. It’s that long since everyone realised that change was needed, expectations had increased and there was a need for more modern facilities.”

Mr Cahalane continued, “O’Neill Park was a great venue with a brilliant atmosphere and that will again be the case when the new pitch and community facilities are completed. Dungannon is centrally located and when our new facilities are ready hopefully in 2024 we’ll again be well placed to host big matches.”

Current club chairman, John McNulty, is also delighted with the progress being made and the efforts of so many to help the plans reach this advanced stage.

“It has been a momentous undertaking to ensure that the plans were put in place and it’s great that we’ve now reached this stage of the development,” he said.

“Our club members have made a huge effort going out around the country selling tickets and raising funds for what will be a new state-of-the-art community facility and a pitch which ranks with the best around.”

*Last week, the Dungannon Herald and WeAreTyrone, took one last trip around the dressing-rooms and clubrooms and spoke to members ahead of the major development for a special video available at www.wearetyrone.com.