Mungret St. Paul’s go from strength to strength on and off the pitch:

Mungret St. Paul’s go from strength to strength on and off the pitch:

By John Harrington

Regardless of how Sunday’s final group match against neighbours Ballybrown goes, Mungret St. Paul’s are guaranteed of a place in the quarter-finals of the Limerick SHC for the first time in 40 years.

That’s the latest milestone in the increasingly upward trajectory of a club you’re likely to be hearing a lot more about in the coming years.

Located on the outskirts of Limerick city, Mungret St. Paul’s have harnessed a growing population to transform themselves into a powerhouse both off and on the pitch.

Their vibrant One Club model has energised the local community, their underage teams in all codes are becoming serial winners, and they’ve recently completed a €1Million development that’s just Phase One of even bigger things to come.

“We’re a part rural, part urban club,” says Mungret st. Paul’s Chairperson, Donal Fitzgibbon.

“For people who might not know, we’re located beside the Raheen industrial estate and the Limerick regional hospital. we’re on the Cork side of the city.

“Over the last 30 years we have been a fast-developing club. The population has been increasing and our numbers are growing.

“We would obviously have lots of members born in the parish but it has also become the club of many people who come into the parish to make Mungret their home.

“People who are working in the industrial estate and have bought a house and have gotten very involved in the club.

“That’s obviously very linked to the successes that we’re now enjoying on the field as well as off the field.

“We have approximately 1600 members. We field 46 teams in hurling, football, camogie, and ladies football. And we also run the community centre for the community. It’s a GAA facility but it’s known as the Mungret St. Paul’s GAA Community Centre.

“Every community group including many of the ethnic groups that have now made Ireland their home use it, it’s used for every community activity, so we’re not alone a GAA club which is obviously our primary goal, we’re also a community club making ourselves available for all community activities in the parish.”

Mungret St. Paul’s underage hurling and football teams are among the most successful in the county. 
Mungret St. Paul’s underage hurling and football teams are among the most successful in the county.
A growing population is obviously a great asset to have for any GAA club, but you have to be able to harness it to maximise its potential.

This is something that Mungret St. Paul’s have done very well in a number of ways.

Communication within the club is a strong-point, and is facilitated by the make-up of their 16-person Executive Committee which has a good gender balance.

Fitzgibbon is club Chairperson, and the three Vice-Chairpersons of the club are the Chairperson of the club’s Bord na nÓg committee, the Chairperson of the club’s Camogie committee, and the Chairperson of the Club’s Ladies Football committee.

And because there’s great communal knowledge at Executive level, there’s a greater sense of club unity and a cohesive blueprint of how to drive the club forward in every sphere.

Little things tell you a lot about a GAA club, and the weekly eight-page newsletter that Mungret St. Paul’s issue gives a revealing insight into why they’re very much the beating heart of their community.

Produced for the last eight years by the club’s tireless PR, Wanda Dwane, it provides updates on each of the club’s many teams as well as development and community initiatives.

The excellent weekly Mungret St. Pauls newsletter keeps everyone in the community abreast of the club’s achievements on and off the pitch. 
The excellent weekly Mungret St. Pauls newsletter keeps everyone in the community abreast of the club’s achievements on and off the pitch.
Connecting with their community is a huge part of the club’s ethos, and the reason why they’re close to completing Phase 1 of a development that includes a 50-metre ball-wall and Astro-turf area, an almost full-sized Astro-pitch that will open at the end of the month, and a full-size turf pitch that will be ready for action early in the new year.

The cost of Phase 1, almost €1Million, is already almost fully funded thanks to both donations from club members and local businesses.

“We asked members to contribute a monthly contribution and we also asked local businesses would they get involved in a corporate support for the project, all mostly done by direct debit, and both our members and the local businesses have been extremely generous,” says Fitzgibbon.

“Our next stage will be to do the groundwork around the club itself, and then we plan to develop two more pitches which will start after we finish this work,” says Fitzgibbon.

“And also we’re in for planning permission for a new two-section community centre that will include a hub for people who want to work away from home, meeting rooms, a gym, a shop, and so on.

“We’ve the plans drawn up and are awaiting planning permission. That’s all a bit down the road, the priority is the pitches. It’ll be a few years before the whole job is done, but when it is we’ll have a fully developed 26 acres on the periphery of the city.”

A graphic of how Mungret St. Paul’s grounds might look after all the proposed development work is completed. 
A graphic of how Mungret St. Paul’s grounds might look after all the proposed development work is completed.
Exciting development work off the pitch is being matched by progressive results on it. The club has played 21 hurling matches between Senior, Junior A, and Junior B this year, and have won 20 of them and drawn one.

They won the Limerick Premier Intermediate title two years ago, the Premier Minor Hurling Championship last year, and reached the Premier U-19 Hurling Championship Final this year.

They reached the Premier U-19 Football Final two years ago and many of those players have since graduated to an Intermediate team that looks very much on an upward curve.

“Previously a lot of our young lads were also playing rugby and soccer, whereas what we’ve found in recent years is they’re getting so many games in hurling and football that they’re committing to hurling and/or football, by and large,” says Fitzgibbon.

“So, we’ve a very committed core of players now who play hurling and football or hurling or football.”

A quick scan of the club’s Facebook page will tell you that stock of Ladies Football and Camogie is also rising quickly in the club, with teams contesting finals at all age-grades and winning many of them.

Mungret St. Pauls camogie and ladies football teams are consistently successful at underage level. 
Mungret St. Pauls camogie and ladies football teams are consistently successful at underage level.
The business end of 2023 could well be a very successful one for the club, and the years to come even more so if they continue on their current trajectory.

“We have a lot of talented young players in the club who are benefitting from great coaching, I think there are nine U-21s on the current senior hurling panel, but it takes a while for players to develop and mature physically and all of that,” says Fitzgibbon.

“Our priority this year was to go as far as we could in the hurling championship and we’re in the quarter-final for the first time in 50 years, so that’s progress.

“Our other ambition would be that our intermediate football team who were senior some years ago can go back up senior.

“Another wish would be to play senior ladies football and senior camogie in the not too distant future, we want all our teams playing at the highest level.

“It’s just a very exciting time for the club, both on and off the pitch.”