Strabane Sigersons Pitch Fencing & Walkway Upgrade

Aim

Strabane Sigersons are hoping to install a secure fence around our training pitch with a walkway to increase our current walkway to 1.31km.

Project Aim:

Strabane Sigersons are hoping to install a secure fence around our second pitch with a walkway to increase our current walkway to 1.31km.

Who are Strabane Sigersons?

Strabane Sigersons GAA is located the Ballycolman Estate, Strabane. The GAA in Strabane dates back to 1902, Strabane are in fact the second club ever to have won the Tyrone Senior Football Championship in 1905/06 under the previous name Strabane Fág-a-Bealach after being defeated in the final in its inaugural year. The club have only ever won one other Senior championship in 1945. A Strabane team also won the first ever Tyrone Senior Hurling Championship title in 1905.

The GAA in Strabane for the next 80 years struggled despite periods of success until 1986 when the present-day club was reformed and has been in existence ever since. Since 1986 the club has grown massively, in 1993 the club purchased its first ever piece of land at the bottom of the Ballycolman estate, in 1996 the grounds were officially opened and from then we have built a top-class facility for the people of Strabane.

We have two full size pitches, two training pitches (one floodlit), a clubhouse, a set of female changing rooms, a ball wall and a 0.77km walkway.

The club has over 650 members split into over 300 adult members and over 350 youth members, we have teams ranging from under 6 right through to adult teams both male and female. In 2025, the club had teams represented at Under 6, Under 8.5, Under 10.5, Under 12.5, Under 13, Under 14, Under 16, Under 18, Two adult men teams and an adult female team.

Strabane Sigersons pride ourselves on being a focal part of the community in the town of Strabane, with areas of the town falling into the top 10% most deprived in the North of Ireland we aim to provide people a cost-effective way of playing sport, representing their families, community and town. Through the club we aim not just to provide Gaelic Games but be a crucial part of the community structure in Strabane via community health and wellbeing programmes. As an inclusive club over the past few years we have ran a very successful GAA for ALL programme accommodating dozens of youth people with additional needs who may not get the access to sport in the same way, this has been absolutely fantastic for the young people but also the parents, many of whom have become involved in the club since.

Since 1986 the club has never stood still and always have tried to keep developing our facilities so that we can facilitate more and more activities within the club, our club grounds are never closed, this facility is for the community and everyday you will see people young and old in the grounds, whether its playing on the pitches or people in for a walk on our walkway, the club is never quiet.

Why are we crowdfunding?

We are fundraising to develop our second pitch, the pitch was built in 2007 with floodlights, however due to funds and priorities within the club we never got to complete the project of erecting a perimeter fence with a walkway to allow games to be played on the pitch safely.

As mentioned above our grounds are used every single day by walkers and runners as well as our club teams. When teams are training many parents stay and walk around the facility, the club is a safe place for people to come and walk as there are always people about. However, we would like to extend the current walkway into our second pitch, this would mean fencing the pitch for safety and installing a footpath around the perimeter to meet our existing walkway and take the overall footpath around the club to 1.31km.

Additional benefits of the security fencing and walkway would mean that we can host competitive games on this pitch right throughout the winter period. We already offer our facility out to local schools for primary school blitzes, secondary school games and to other clubs in the area if they need to avail of floodlighting for training. The facility is also used by Strabane Shamrocks Hurling club weekly.

The walkway would be a huge boost for not just the club but the local community, it would enable walking club initiatives but most importantly the facility is a safe space away from dangerous roads for walkers with prams and young children, we would hope to futureproof the walkway for lighting right around the facility to allow it to be used every evening of the year.

In recent months the club has been working directly with Derry City and Strabane District Council on the proposed Strabane to Sion Greenway, Strabane Sigersons have had positive discussions with council and the proposed route will be going directly along the River Mourne through our facilities, we would hope that this proposal to extend our walkway would link in with councils plans and could further extend the high-quality active travel infrastructure in the area. The walkway proposed would be fully accessible for walkers, wheelchair users and others.

The councils Strabane to Sion Greenway plans are out for consultation currently and our club will be playing an active part in promoting this crucial piece of infrastructure.

How will we spend the money raised?

Every bit of money raised will go directly to installation of perimeter fencing and the extension of our walkway, this will in turn massively improve our facilities so that more people in the community of Strabane can enjoy a safe inclusive facility for sport and recreation.

Our fundraising target is £50,000, If we raise 25% (£12,500) Sport NI will contribute 75% (£37,500) through the Olympic Legacy Fund.  

What will the money raise be spent on?

New perimeter fencing with one vehicle gate and four single gates - £37,902

Concrete Walkway around the perimeter of the fence - £29,376

Total Project Cost: £67,278

Offer Rewards:

Our main sponsor Parkland 33 has got on board with supporting this project by offering a £10 voucher to be used in the restaurant for the first 10 people who donate and tick the box to receive the reward.

We also have other rewards available from Giuseppes Pizzeria (10 x £10 vouchers), McBrearty's Mace (10 x £10 vouchers), O'Neills Sportswear (5 x £20 vouchers, The Label Menswear (2 x £25 vouchers) and Dylan Arnold Fitness (2 x £25 vouchers).

How you can play your part:

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target and make this project a reality.

1. Donate. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success, all donations are greatly appreciated!

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!

Funding method

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