Two and a half acre acre site at Dry Arch on the outskirts of Letterkenny purchased for £1,000 in 1970 is now the site for a €1.25 million development that could rival any of its kind in Ireland.
In the early days, a team called Arcade Athletic was founded by a committee led by Paddy McFadden and based at that two-and- a-half acre plot.
Arcade Athletic evolved into the Bonagee United we know today and there was surely a nostalgia feel for Katie McFadden, widow of the late Paddy McFadden, as she cut the tape on the latest phase of works at Dry Arch Park.
Lights of any sort were in the future for the club in those early days, but six, 18-metre tall floodlights now standing over Bonagee United’s home.
On Friday night, the latest part of the development – the floodlights, the relaying of one of the astroturf pitches and the installation of a wheelchair access area, at a total cost of €150,000 – was launched by Katie McFadden.
“He’d have been so proud of this,” she said, referencing her late husband, as she put scissors to tape.
Larry Maguire and Eric Funston were at the first meeting of the club in 1970 and remain instrumental now.
Donal Coyle, the Club Chairman, referenced deceased members such as Hughie McKay, Barnie Crampsie, Billy Baird, Hughie McGuinness and Paddy McFadden.
Mr Coyle said: “It’s a great night for the club and it’s a development started away back in the 70s. Those men had the foresight and the vision.
“There has been a lot of hard work and a lot of fundraising put in over the years. The great thing about this club is the support we have received in the community.
“From small beginnings, we have a community hall and some of the finest facilities in the country.”
In 1998, the club – backed by grant aid from then Minister for Sport Dr James McDaid – started a massive re-development which went on to incorporate a general purpose hall, two astroturf pitches, a spectator stand, new playing pitch, additional dressing rooms and ancillary facilities.
From the 2015 Sports Capital Programme, Bonagee United received funding of €90,000 while they obtained €7,250 from the Development Funding of Councillors in the Letterkenny Municipal District – and a unique piece of politics.
“What happened this year was unprecedented,” Coyle explained. “We got €7,250 from the Council Development Fund Inititative and all ten
Councillors contributed. That hasn’t happened before and I would like to thank all ten Councillors for their contribution.”
You get the feeling Bonagee United won’t rest on their laurels for long. Coyle said: “We are always looking to develop. You have to keep building and you have to keep developing.”
Photography by Evan Logan
