Abbeylara to open new double complex

Abbeylara handball club has been serving the North Longford community since 1924, and later this year will open a state of the art handball complex. This new handball, sports and social centre will insure that local handballers have top facilities on hand to develop and master the art of handball.

The ambitious project began in July 2004, and when completed will consist of one 40x20 and one 60x30 court, with a large viewing area, as well as a meeting room, kitchen, shower and changing facilities.

According to Anna O'Reilly of Abbeylara Handball Club, the new facility will enable club members to enhance their skills and hopefully it will attract new members to the club. "It will increase their level of skill, thus increasing their confidence and ultimately increase their chance of success at the indoor games. This will eliminate the 'distinct disadvantage' that for so long has demoralised and marginalised our players and seriously limited their potential at the most popular 40x20 game and the traditional 60x30 four wall game," she explained.

The All-Ireland winning club has a thriving membership from the locality but until now has been operating in an outdoor one-wall facility. This has restricted the playing season and has also confined members to playing in just one-wall competitions, but this recent development promises to create new handball opportunities for those in the local area and further a field.

This major rejuvenation of the handball scene in Abbeylara is mainly thanks to ambitious plans from the local development association. A few years ago, Abbeylara Parish Development Ltd embarked on the redevelopment plan that will overhaul existing sports facilities and create a new community centre in the North Longford parish. Three different organisations in the parish have come together to formulate the impressive development plan comprising of the construction of not only the two new handball alleys, but also a new community centre and the complete refurbishment of the football pitch and facilities. The vast majority of the funding for this project will be generated by the monster draw with further funding from grants, sponsorship from local businesses and Abbeylara descendants living abroad.

Abbeylara is most noted in handball circles for its annual One-Wall competition, which attracts competitors from all over the country in late summer. This year the competition returns after a two year absence due to concentration on the building of the new courts, and if previous tournaments are anything to go by, this promises to be one of the best yet.