Kilmurry Ibrickane GAA pitch receives lighting upgrade

Background

Kilmurry Ibrickane GAA club is the only sports facility in the County Clare village. The club engages in activities such as Quilty National School Sports Day, Cúl Camps, and training for Clare Senior Men's, Ladies and underage teams.

It also provides an important community space for music classes, circuses, farm plastic collection and more. Local events from fun runs to funerals coordinate via the club. The club was part of the Clare Community Response Team that was set up by Clare County Council at early stages of Covid-19.

Project Details

The GAA pitch was previously unplayable during much of the year due to lack of light.

Kilmurry Ibrickane GAA applied to the local Community Benefit Fund to upgrade the standard floodlighting for the club's main playing pitch. The new floodlighting would allow the pitch to be used from dusk until dark all year round and a greater use of the general facilities.

Glenmore Extension Wind Farm, located in Clare, helped fund the lighting upgrade. This was done as part of the Community Benefit Fund, which connects members of the RESS scheme with communities who may need funding for certain projects.

Results

The project was successfully completed. The new LED lighting is more energy efficient and also allows the community to enjoy the facility all year long.

Abut the Community Benefit Fund

A feature of the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) is that all renewable electricity generation projects must establish a Community Benefit Fund to be used for the wider economic, environmental, social, and cultural well-being of the local community.

The contribution is to be set at €2 per Megawatt hour of generation of the RESS Project. This means there are real and quantifiable funds being made available annually for the benefit of the local community. The Fund will be aligned to incentivise investment in local renewable energy, energy efficiency measures and climate action initiatives. The community benefit funds under RESS-1 will deliver approximately €4.5million a year to sustainable community initiatives targeted at those communities living near the Projects.