It’s now anticipated that the new €1.2 million 800-seater stand at Mick Neville Park, Rathkeale, will open in late October.
The initial plan for spectator covering at the venue had been approved in 2012 but this was scaled back in 2019.
Work on the current project, which also includes four dressing rooms/referee area and gymnasium, began late last year. Limerick Secretary Michael O’Riordan has expressed satisfaction with its timekeeping, and indications now are that it will be completed inside the next three months, with a possible opening date of Sunday, October 30th, which would coincide with the date of the 2002 Limerick Senior Football Championship Final.
If ready, Mick Neville Park would host this final, and possibly thereafter any home Munster Club Football Championship fixtures, and home matches in next year’s National Football League, in which Limerick compete in an ultra-competitive Division Two against the likes of Dublin, Cork, Meath, Derry, Kildare and Louth.
Rathkeale, the Centre of Excellence for all Limerick teams, is also in need of upgrading. Mr. O’Riordan told the 2022 Annual Convention: “The 3G pitch will need to be replaced in the coming year and the pitch extended. With the reduced inter-county season commencing earlier each year, there is also a need for additional floodlit facilities. We hope with the next Sports Capital application to floodlight two more pitches at Mick Neville Park.”
For the time being, both Mick Neville Park and the Gaelic Grounds – undergoing pitch remedial work – are out of commission and thus the club championships continue to be staged at venues across the county.
Elsewhere in sport, Jody Thompson of Abbeyfeale has been confirmed as the new Racing Manager at Limerick Greyhound Stadium and took up his position earlier in the week. He replaces James Murray, who has opted for a career break, which he will spend in Australia. Mr. Thompson previously held a similar role at Thurles, but in more recent times worked frequently at Limerick. His family are extremely well known in greyhound circles.