Sod turning for new athletic track in Swinford

THE Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring, has today turned the sod on a new athletic track at Swinford Amenity Park.

The development of this 200 metre track and 110 metre sprint lane is being jointly developed by Swinford Athletic Club and Swinford Amenities Limited.

The project has been made possible by a €50,000 Sports Capital Grant allocated by Minister Ring when he was Minister of State for Tourism and Sport.

He said “I know from experience that if you invest in quality sporting facilities such as this, people will use them and benefit from them. I have no doubt that the creation of this high quality track in Swinford will lead to an increase in physical activity among local people, help people to realise their potential and help people to discover the joy of sport.

“I wish all involved every success with this development and I encourage the people of Swinford to make use of this facility when completed.”

Minister Ring continued: “I was delighted to see that this week the Minister of State for Sport and Tourism, Brendan Griffin TD has confirmed that €40 million will be made available for the new 2018 Sports Capital Programme. This is excellent news.

“This funding is an increase from last year and will be a great resource for which clubs all round Ireland can apply. Sporting clubs in Mayo which are in need of funding should strongly consider applying for the Sports Capital Programme.”

Under the Programme, funding is provided to voluntary, sporting and community organisations for the provision of sports and recreational facilities.

Over 11,500 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to over €971 million.