LETTER: Castlebar is better location for proposed Mayo GAA centre of excellence

Sir,

THE offer by UK-based businessman and former Mayo Man of the Year Bill Durkan to gift almost 27 acres of land at Bohola to the Mayo GAA County Board is extraordinarily generous and altruistic.

It shows Bill to be a person imbued with a deep love for his native place and a desire that present and future generations of young Mayo people will be able to enjoy ultra-modern sporting and leisure facilities.

However, I would strongly contend that the Lough Lannagh area of Castlebar is a more ideal location for the proposed facility.

To my mind, the environs of Lough Lannagh would be the perfect location for what Bill and Mayo GAA are proposing. Everything is set up in the county town for what would be of major benefit to the area.

You have all the restaurants in the county town, more plentiful accommodation, lots of parking, and easier access from other large centres of accommodation.

Users of the new facilities would also be able to avail of the impressive new swimming pool, gymnasium and skate park at Lough Lannagh.

Parents would be able to go on a lakeside walk while their children were training.

I note that Mayo County Council has lodged an application under the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Ireland Fun (LSSIF) for a multi-sports campus in the Knockaphunta area.

What the Mayo GAA County Board proposes for Bohola would tie in ideally with this project and make Castlebar the go-to location for sports and leisure enthusiasts in the western region.

With a good design, this centre of excellence could be multi-functional and self-financing.

It could be used for music festivals, as an international conference centre, and as an exhibition centre for trade shows, to mention but a few.

No disrespect to Bohola, but Castlebar is the place to go when it comes to bringing to fruition what Mayo GAA and Bill Durkan are proposing.

I’m sure the land which Bill is so generously gifting could be put to alternative uses, beneficial to the community.

Yours sincerely,

Seamus Regan,

Maryland,

Castlebar,

Co. Mayo.