St. Paul's GFC/TSL - New Gym & Recreation Space

Aim

Our aim is to build a brand-new indoor recreational and training space that addresses the needs of all of our players, members and community

Who are we?

St. Paul's GFC was formed in 1971 to provide a sporting outreach to a burgeoning community in the newly built Taghnevan estate. We began our journey with an u14 boy's Gaelic football team, with no football strip and no facilities. Much later (in 2007), together with representatives from the local council, we formed a Limited Company, Taghnevan Sports Limited (TSL).

St Paul's and TSL, which also is a non-profit organisation, have a symbiotic relationship, with the committee of each formed from the same community and club. Both working to serve the local community and always working as one

It was through TSL that St. Paul's GFC was able to acquire the council playing fields on a long-term lease.  It is these playing fields that we have invested in and developed over the years that underpin our club's reputation for having enviable facilities.

Having these facilities has enabled our growth, to the extent that we now have approximately 20 male and female teams ranging in age from u6 to senior. In addition to Gaelic football, we now offer overall health, wellbeing, fitness and social support to our local community.

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Why are we crowdfunding?

With the exponential growth in the number of players we have attracted over recent years, we need to continue to enhance the services we can offer so that our teams can realise their full potential.

We are particularly keen to expand our indoor space, as inclement weather, particularly during the winter months, creates added pressures and demands on our pitches and hampers our ability to engage with our players and members on a continuous basis.

We see this as a long-term project which is modular in design. This is the first phase of the programme and this Crowdfund campaign, with the support from the Sport NI Olympic Legacy Fund, will pay for Phase-1 of the project. The target for Phase-1 is  just short of £50,000 but the overall fundraising target to complete the project is between £120,000 and £150,000.

First we have to create the initial space, housed with the basic fundamentals and we plan to grow and enhance the capabilities of the space over time.

This will be a dedicated club performance and community space, designed to support:

🏋️ Strength & conditioning

🔥 Pre-season training programmes

👟 Fitness classes

🧘 Yoga & Pilates

💪 Injury prevention & rehab sessions

👥 Team-based fitness work

This space will allow us to create a year-round training environment that supports player development at every age.

It’s about creating:

✔ A space for our teams to come together

✔ A hub for player development

✔ A facility the wider community can use for classes and events

✔ A sustainable future for St. Paul’s

How we’ll spend the money raised

All funds raised will go directly towards building materials, construction costs, fixtures and fittings and equipment. This will ensure our players and community members have access to safe, high-quality facilities that support physical health and wellbeing.

Community impact

Members of our local community already enjoy the benefits of our existing infrastructure. We are fortunate to have a number of football pitches in an enclosed facility and a large proportion of local residents walk around the perimeter of the pitches on a daily basis, (with or without dogs). We also host a memorial garden and an allotment which are dutifully attended. This recreational space will be one more addition to the portfolio of services we offer our community. Our aim is to utilise this facility in such a way that maximum benefits are realised by maximum numbers of the community. 

It will be open to all members and the wider community, providing a shared space to stay active, connect, and improve wellbeing. This is our way of giving back and creating a resource that will benefit generations to come.

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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!

In some instances when you pledge to make a donation you may be given the opportunity to accept a Community Reward. If eligible, you will have to accept the reward, otherwise it will be offered to the next eligible donor.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you in advance for the support you will offer on this journey. The financial and physical contributions you have made to the club in the past, provide us with the confidence that you will guarantee that this project can and will only be a huge success. 

Go raibh maith agaibh.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made