Who are we?
Our club is located in the heart of rural South Armagh, near the border with County Louth, and has been a central part of the community since its founding in 1887. With over 700 members, ranging from children as young as six to senior citizens, we provide a vibrant environment for all ages. While our daily activities primarily revolve around GAA sports, our impact extends far beyond the pitch.
We actively support a wide range of community initiatives, including programmes with two local primary schools, cross-border collaborations, cross-community engagement, joint ventures with the Dromintee Jonesborough Community Centre, and partnerships with local disability groups.
Our club is governed by an Executive Committee, which is elected annually at our AGM. The Committee follows a structured organisational framework that aligns with our Club’s constitution, ensuring the smooth and effective management of club affairs. We maintain strong governance practices, with subcommittees focused on specific areas of club activity. These subcommittees meet bi-weekly and report directly to the Executive Committee, enabling coordinated decision-making and project management that supports the diverse needs of our members and the wider community.
Why are we crowdfunding?
We are crowdfunding to launch our new sports programme, which is focused on creating new opportunities for girls and young people in sport at St Patrick's Dromintee for future success on and off the field.
It is a new girls programme at our club, to encourage more girls to take up sports and football through new opportunities the programme will create.
We aim to have 50 women and girls actively participating in our sports programme from late November, twice per week over 12 weeks.
To achieve this, we need to ensure that we have the necessary equipment and coaching resources to get more girls in playing sport in our rural area on the border.
Our project is focused on delivering a new "come and try" programme for girls of all ages from November, for 12 weeks.
We also want to increase more football coaching, thereby enhancing their development and skills of the game.
We want to bring in specialist coaches such as goalkeeping coaches.
We want to introduce strength and conditioning to a group of 20 women who have never done much gym work before.
We also want to put more girls through coaching awards, so that they can lead on the development of girls football locally going forward post this Crowdfunding project.
In addition to our regular training sessions, we will be introducing the new "come and try" programme that is girls-only on a Friday evening, 1 hours per week. This will be aimed at girls who have not played much sport before, and are trying GAA for the first time.
This initiative is designed to build a strong foundation for girls' GAA in our rural community, and to grow our female club members next year.
This is very much a new programme and focus for our Club. It is different from our regular Club activities. Our project is aimed specifically at providing engagement for women and girls—many of whom have had limited opportunities in sports locally here in rural Dromintee.
How we’ll spend the money raised
All money raised will go towards the following:
Coaching Fees (£4,000)
Specialist coaches (goalkeeping, strength and conditioning) @ £640 for half day session x 4 sessions.
Coaching sessions for the "come and try" programme over 12 weeks 1 hour each Friday evening delivery and 1 hour prep @ £35 per hour x 4 coaches= £3,360
Equipment (£2,500)
Footballs, cones, bibs, and multi sport training equipment= £1,000
Gym equipment for strength and conditioning sessions= £1,500 (free weights and squat rack)
Indoor Venue Hire & Utilities (£2,000)
Costs for hosting additional training sessions (indoor facilities) over 12 weeks and specialist sessions.
Coaching Awards & Training (£1,500)
Fees for putting 6 women through coaching qualifications= £250 per coach
Community impact
Our Club has a far-reaching impact beyond sports. While the primary focus is on GAA activities, our facilities are used for a wide range of community programmes, benefiting all age groups from children to older people here in the rural border catchement of Dromintee. We partner with two local primary schools, run cross-community and cross-border initiatives, and collaborate with local groups like the Dromintee Jonesborough Community Centre and a disability group. These partnerships enhance social cohesion, provide educational and health-related programmes, and offer a safe space for community engagement, ensuring everyone benefits from our facilities.
Our project aligns well with Sport NI's "Creating Opportunities" programme, as it focuses on increasing participation and inclusion for girls and young women in sport. This initiative specifically targets one of the priority groups, women and girls, and aims to create new opportunities in a rural area, aligning with the programme’s goals of "levelling the playing field." Additionally, the introduction of coaching awards and specialist training, along with cross-community and inclusive elements, aligns with the programme’s focus on innovation and accessibility in sport.
How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!