Our #Home4Cuala ambassadors are Jennifer Dunne and Con O'Callaghan (football), Seán Moran (hurling), and Sinéad Wylde (camogie).
As representatives of the club nationally, they highlight the potential of each child and young person in the club to succeed at the highest level. Their achievements at club level and at county have helped put Cuala on the map, but they also recognise the need for new facilities to ensure a sustainable future for our club.
Here are some of their words of support...
Seán Moran
I have such fond memories of Saturday mornings in Cuala as a young academy member.
Those games of no-mans-land, making new lifelong friends and those Saturday mornings would not be complete without the much-coveted reward of an orange cadet and animal bar. That is where my journey began, a journey which has since brought me some of the happiest days of my life.
I am extremely proud and excited to be involved in this extraordinary initiative #home4cuala which deepens the relationship between Cuala GAA and its surrounding community. This new state of the art facility is a pivotal milestone in equipping the future generation of Cuala members with the best possible tools for them to fulfil their potential both on and off the field.
"Cuala is where my journey began, a journey which has since brought me some of the happiest days of my life."
Jennifer Dunne
I have been playing in Cuala since I was 5 years old. My dad and grandparents were heavily involved in the club so it was never really an option for me not to play.
Growing up I trained in the Cuala hall every Saturday with the Academy. I still remember getting our Fredo bars and bottles of water at the end of every single training session.
Over the past few years the hall has become very worn. At the moment there are teams - both male and female - trying to source gym facilities and equipment to carry out strength and conditioning programmes. This will change once the new facilities are developed. It will allow players and the wider community to gather and spend time together in the club itself.
I am really looking forward to this new development and am privileged to be an Ambassador for the project. Cuala is like a second home to me. It is a place I cherish dearly. Through my involvement in the club I have made amazing friends for life and have great memories.
"Cuala is like a second home to me. It is a place I cherish dearly."
Sinéad Wylde
I’m delighted to be an ambassador for the new #Home4Cuala project and excited to be part of it becoming a reality rather than a distant vision.
Having played with Cuala since I could hold a hurl, I have trained in every sort of facility imaginable, from the hall in Scoil Lórcáin to the underground gym on Pottery Road. The thought of having this all under one roof in Dalkey is amazing.
Not only will this project enhance the performance side of our club but will also add hugely to the social aspect of Cuala life. The proposed café will open Cuala up to the wider community of Dalkey and will be a friendly place for a cuppa and a chat.
Cuala has been a massive part of my life since as far back as I can remember and it excites me to see how far we’ve come since I first joined and how much further we can progress, both performance wise and as a community, with the development of our new #Home4Cuala.
"It's high time we had a facility that matches our ambition as a club."
Con O'Callaghan
For me, a redevelopment of the Cuala clubhouse and a new state of the art facility would establish a home for Cuala players and members, both young and old.
I am lucky to be part of both our football and hurling adult teams. The success we have experienced in recent years at every level within the club would have been hard to imagine only a few years ago. My 1996 team, managed by Johnny Twomey and Tadhg Murphy, struggled to field 15 players on any given week; to see children in their hundreds at the Academy playing alongside the ‘All Stars’, and the unbelievable numbers we have at every level underage is a huge source of pride for me.
The culture in Cuala is thriving; however, we lack the adequate facilities to help support our continued success as a club. A new clubhouse and facilities would not only provide a platform for every Cuala player and team to improve in a sporting capacity; it would also act as a base; a home for our club situated at the heart of our community accessible to all Cuala members.
