Exciting weekend of events for Official Opening of Páirc Chormaic

On Sunday 27^th May the official blessing and opening of the new Páirc Chormaic will take place in Eglish, Co. Tyrone.  St. Patrick’s Eglish GAC is welcoming a host of distinguished Gaelic games guests to celebrate the opening of their new GAA grounds, named in honour of the late Cormac McAnallen. 

A full weekend of celebration activities are planned beginning on Friday 25^th May with a Ceili in the Sports Hall.  Music is provided by the Gold Ring Ceili Band.  A large crowd is expected with music starting at 9.30pm.

On Saturday 26^th May an underage Camogie blitz organised by St. Patrick’s Camogie Club is being held that morning and on Saturday afternoon the Cormac Trust are holding the Annual Cormac Trust 10K Road Race and 3K Fun Run.  This year’s route follows the same format as the 2011 event, with the event’s start and finish in Eglish village.  Registration is being taken from 11.00am and start is at 12 noon.

Entry for the 10K Race and the Fun-Run is £10.  All participants get a free goody bag which includes a themed T-Shirt for the race.  The race will pass two landmarks which are particularly poignant in the memory of the All-Star former Tyrone player – the new Páirc Chormaic and Cormac’s home, where he lived with his parents in the Brantry.

On Sunday 27^th May the official opening and blessing of the new Páirc Chormaic will take place at 3.30pm. This will be preceded by a parade lead by the Artane Boys Band that we have seen perform so often at GAA headquarters in Croke Park.  The band will lead a parade from the existing GAA grounds in Eglish to the new Páirc Chormaic at 3.00pm.  This promises to attract much attention.

Following the blessing the Eglish Camogie team will play Portglenone at 4.30pm and at 6.00pm Eglish and Carrickmore footballers play in the Tyrone Division 1 Reserve League.  The main action of the day will be at 7.30pm when the Brantry Pipe Band leads the senior footballers of Eglish and Carrickmore on to the field to play for two valuable points in the Tyrone Division 1 Senior League.

Kieran Hagan, Eglish St. Patricks’s G.A.C. Chairman, says everyone is excited about the official opening and is delighted to have so many familiar GAA names and dignitaries present at the event along with the Artane Boys Band.

Kieran explains “We have been working on this project for the past seven years.  This is a true example of hard work, commitment and volunteerism; fundamentals that are at the heart of GAA.  The land was purchased back in 2005.  With the help and dedication of so many great Gaels within our community we have finally reached this day.  We see this as a lasting tribute to honour the name of Eglish’s greatest GAA player Cormac McAnallen.  There is still plenty of work to be done.  Apart from the pitch there is work being done on car parking at the moment.  In time we will erect changing facilities and amenities so there is still more to do but we are delighted to be at this stage”.

The new facility will prove to be a welcome addition to the club which has enjoyed mixed success at varying levels over recent years.

The following Saturday, 2^nd June, a Gala Banquet is being held in Eglish Hall.  The winning tickets for the Páirc Chormaic Fundraising Draw will be drawn and a night of celebration is in store for all within the Eglish community.  The names of the winners will be published in the local and national press.

A full schedule of events in Eglish is listed below:

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