Harps welcome Minister O'Donoghues announcement.

November 16, 2006

Finn Harps welcome the announcement by Minister John O Donoghue of his approval in principal for our proposed Stadium and FAI Regional Development Centre at Stranorlar. Funding will be determined and allocated by the Department under the Sports Capital Programme over the next few years.  It is expected that the 2007 allocation will be announced in March 2007.

The announcement was made after a meeting held in Dublin yesterday where Club Officials made a presentation of their plans.  The meeting was also attended by Senior FAI Officials and Ministers Mary Coughlan and Pat the Cope Gallagher, whose support and assistance has been significant and is greatly appreciated.

This is great news and a major boost for the Club and its supporters.  The Club would like to pay tribute to our Ground Development Committee and various other local groups who have assisted in bringing the project to this stage.

We could not have brought the project to this stage without the assistance of other local groups and organisations.  We would like to pay particular tribute to County Council officials and members, the local Trust, local landowners and other local groups who have facilitated the Club.

This is the culmination of 6 years work behind the scenes.  While there is still a lot of work yet to do, this has clearly made all the effort to date worthwhile.

The overall project is much more than a senior soccer stadium.  The FAI have designated the complex as one of their Regional Development Centres, which will be the base for their coaching and excellence programmes, giving promising youngsters an opportunity to get top quality coaching locally in Donegal.

The long term aim is to have an Integrated Sports Complex at Stranorlar, where the Club will play its part with Donegal County Council, Finn Valley AC and other groups, in sharing a range of facilities for the benefit of the community.

To hear the clip from the Highland Radio Interview Click Here.