What is Pitch In For Cuala?
‘Pitch in for Cuala‘ is a fundraising campaign to purchase and develop Cuala’s first pitch.
Cuala has achieved extraordinary success over the years without ever owning their own pitch. However, with our growing membership and ongoing challenges in pitch access, we need to plan for the future. To sustain our achievements and promote lifelong participation in Gaelic games, we must invest in training and playing facilities that our members deserve.
Cuala has now secured a landmark opportunity to acquire sports grounds in Glenamuck, Carrickmines from Bective Rangers FC. Cuala members overwhelmingly supported this purchase at a recent SGM.
Our vision is that acquisition and development of this site will provide first class training and match facilities for the benefit of Cuala members now and into the future.
Our goal with ‘Pitch in for Cuala’ is to raise a minimum of €1M by 31st January 2026 through club fundraising towards the purchase cost. The campaign also aims to create a longer term funding stream to further develop the site into a first class gaelic games facility for our club.
Our ask is to help us to bring this vision to life. With your support, we can create a first class playing facility for generations of Cuala members to come.
This is our moment. Let’s make it our pitch.
Why this Project Matters
Club Infrastructure is one of the four key pillars of the Cuala Strategic Plan. Within this pillar the Hyde Park Sports Centre is a fully-funded project which will deliver state-of-the-art clubhouse facilities, including indoor hall, gym, meeting rooms and café at Cuala’s home in Hyde Park, Dalkey.
A second infrastructure objective is the acquisition of pitches. Cuala has never owned a pitch and relies on the booking of designated DLR pitches and the rental of private facilities. This presents a number of challenges for the club:
- With 3,500 members from juvenile to adult in Cuala, and membership continuing to grow, demand for pitches is extremely high, often resulting in players using inadequate facilities.
- The club has no direct control over playing surfaces or additional amenities such as backnets or floodlights.
- Coaching can be compromised due to insufficient access to high quality facilities appropriate for coaching gaelic games.
- We currently incur significant financial costs (€170,000 in 2024), renting private grounds, particularly during the winter months when floodlit facilities are required.
Driven by these challenges, Cuala has now secured a landmark opportunity to purchase sports grounds in Glenamuck, Carrickmines from Bective Rangers FC. This was overwhelmingly supported by Cuala members by vote at an SGM. Acquisition and development this site by Cuala has the potential to realise a number of short and long-term strategic benefits for the club:
About the Pitch in Glenamuck
The Glenamuck Sports Grounds site is located off the new Glenamuck Distributor Road in Carrickmines, and is approximately 15-20 mins drive from Cuala, Hyde Park, Dalkey. The grounds comprise:
- Main grass pitch area with floodlights (138m x 80m)
- Smaller grass training area with floodlights (80m x 35m)
- Dressing rooms/clubhouse building
- A new vehicular entrance from the Glenamuck District Distributor Rd
While the site can be used immediately for juvenile and underage training and matches, there is potential for phased upgrading. This could include works to realign, enlarge and resurface the main pitch to a high-quality full-sized pitch facility, while converting the training area into an allweather facility with wall ball. Upgrading of the clubhouse building and additional carparking could also form part of any future development works.
Our Fundraising Strategy – We Need Your Help
Our strategy is to fundraise a minimum of €1M by 31st January 2026, with the balance made up from large scale donors and a bank loan.
Our aim is to minimise debt taken on by the club.
The fundraising strategy is centred on 3 pillars: member and friend donations, fundraising events and the club lotto.
We have established a range of donation packages to suit different budgets and hope that as many members as possible can give what they can to invest in the future of our club and make this pitch our own .
As Cuala is an approved sports body, if you donate over €250 in a tax year you can make your donation go even further by donating your tax relief to Cuala.
Find out more about donation packages and tax relief on donations below.
A fundraising committee is working on developing key fundraising events in the coming months to help towards achieving our fundraising goal (while giving members an opportunity to have some fun too!). Our aim is that these events become part of our annual calendar, creating a sustainable source of funds for the development of the pitch and club.
Our next major event is Cuala at the Races. Join us for a thrilling day of racing, food and company on 29th December at Leopardstown racecoures! Find out more here or email cualaraces@cualagaa.ie for more information and booking.
All funds raised from our recently relaunched Cuala lotto will be added to the ‘Pitch in for Cuala’ fundraising campaign. With a new guaranteed weekly jackpot of €20,000, there has never been a better time to play. Be in with a chance to win while supporting fundraising for this project.
The club lotto is powered by Clubforce. You can play in-app or online. Find out more via the links below.
Donate to ‘Pitch in for Cuala’
We have established a range of donation packages to cater to different budgets. We ask that as many members and friends as possible give what they can to help Cuala achieve its vision of purchasing and developing its first pitch for the benefit of generations of Cuala members to come.
Don’t forget that as Cuala is an approved sports body, if you donate over €250 you can make your donation go even further by donating your tax relief to the Cuala.
Donate €250 to the Pitch in for Cuala campaign.
Donate €500 to the Pitch in for Cuala campaign.
Donate €1000 to the Pitch in for Cuala campaign.
Donate from €50 to the Pitch in for Cuala campaign.
Tax Relief on Donations
As Cuala is an approved sports body, if you donate over €250 you can make your donation go even further by donating your tax relief to the Cuala. Simply complete the SR1 form below and return the completed form to treasurer.cuala.dublin@gaa.ie
