North West club to receive first Mondo Track in Ireland History was made at Lifford Athletic Club on Tuesday 30th January when it was announced that the world leader in synthetic running tracks was coming to Ireland to lay its first Irish track in Lifford, County Donegal. Mondo, the company that have supplied the running surface for the last eight Olympic Games and with the contract for Beijing 2008 confirmed that Lifford will be the site for their first track in Ireland, due to be laid this Summer. A large crowd was in attendance for the launch, and it was a night to be remembered for all concerned when the Lifford AC committee confirmed that it had secured the first Mondo track in Ireland. Announcing the news, Lifford AC Chairman Brendan O’Donnell spoke of the hard work done by the committee over a period of two years to secure the services of the world leader in running surfaces. He spoke of the foundation stones for a tartan track being laid back in the late 1980’s, when the then committee set out on a road of discovery to lay the first such track in Donegal. At the time, funding for sport was not given the priority it is today and after a lot of hard work and fundraising, the club settled for tartan throwing and jumping facilities in 1990, a first for Lifford and Donegal. Mr. O’Donnell recalled the history of success that Lifford had enjoyed for over three decades. Having laid the second track in Ireland in 1972, it was no coincidence that having access to the best facilities and the best coaching, Lifford athletes excelled at local, provincial and national level throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s. In 1990, when the club laid the new tartan surfaces, Lifford went on to produce some of the best jumpers and throwers in the country. It was this ambition to provide the best coaching and the best facilities that has driven the current club committee in recent years to strive for a tartan track for the area. With over six years work on researching, negotiating, and fundraising for a tartan track, 2007 will be the culmination of a dream for Lifford Athletic Club. Referring to the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the Lifford AC Chairman told the audience that Donegal will soon be ideally positioned to act as a training base for teams in the lead-up to the Games. With the completion of a new tartan track in Letterkenny, tartan training facilities scheduled for Donegal Town, and a new Mondo track in Lifford, Donegal will have a network of top class training facilities capable of hosting Olympic teams. With tartan tracks in Derry and Omagh, and tartan training surfaces planned for Strabane, there is a cluster of bases on both sides of the border, all within a confined radius of one another and all capable of hosting an Olympic team. Speakers on the night included Minister Mary Coughlan, Minister of State, Pat the Cope Gallagher, Deputy Dinny McGinley, T.D. Myles Sweeney, Donegal Sports Partnership, Garry Martin, Donegal County Council, Councillor Gerry Crawford, and Councillor Tony McDaid. All speakers praised the Lifford club for their progressive attitude towards sports development in Donegal. They also congratulated the club on the significant achievement of securing the first Mondo track in Ireland. Lifford AC was delighted to announce Haffey Ireland Limited as main contractors for the project. A subsidiary of Clive Richardson Limited and based in Portadown, Haffey’s have had over sixty years experience in award winning landscape contracting, civil engineering and sports ground construction contracts throughout Ireland. Over the years, Haffey’s have been leaders in the introduction of new techniques and equipment into Ireland. They have been key players in the co-ordination and construction of complete multi-sports facilities. Along with the many awards they have received, in 2004 they achieved the prestigious Gold Award at the Bali National Landscaping Awards. Welcoming Stephen McNally from Haffey’s to Lifford, Mr. O’Donnell outlined how integral Stephen was in securing the final deal with Mondo to agree to their first Irish track in Lifford. Addressing the large crowd, Mr. McNally spoke of his delight at bringing Haffey’s expertise to the project which will bring Mondo athletic tracks to Ireland for the first time. Referring to Lifford AC’s history, Stephen McNally said it was fitting that this installation would take place in Lifford, having been leaders and innovators in facilities development for nearly forty years. He spoke of his delight at being associated with the writing of a new chapter in the history of the club. Mr. McNally also referred to the single-minded ambition of the Lifford AC committee to strive to achieve the best surface for its members. Having secured Mondo’s services, Mr. McNally outlined how it was this partnership’s ambition to show that the standard of the Olympics could be brought to local clubs throughout Ireland. Mondo’s Irish agent, Mick Farrell was welcomed to Lifford having travelled from Longford for the event. An Olympics supplier since 1976, Mondo is the undisputed world leader in the sports rubber flooring sector. Guaranteeing high performance levels, Mondo has made it possible to create long-lasting surfaces with low maintenance costs. Because it is manufactured in a factory environment, the Mondo prefabricated surface is not affected by laying conditions and guarantees a uniformity of product. Mr. Farrell referred to the significance of the project for Lifford and spoke of Mondo’s delight at Donegal being the location for its first Irish track. Mr. Farrell spoke of the importance of community for the Mondo brand and outlined how Mondo was involved in the development of several community projects across Europe. Mr. Farrell referred to the fact that it is often the quality of the track that is compromised to ensure an overall project comes in within budget. As a result, many clubs end up with all the ancillary facilities in place such as paths and fencing, and an inferior quality track to what has been originally sought. Mr. Farrell commended the Lifford club for putting quality first and told of how he looked forward to working with the club in the coming months to deliver a top class IAAF accredited running track for the area. Bringing the launch to a close, Lifford AC Chairman Brendan O’Donnell said it was now up to everyone to make this project happen. He paid tribute to the current club committee, namely Michael McKinney, Maeve and Pat McElroy, and Sharon and Martin Gallen for bringing the tartan track dream a big step closer. He spoke of how none of the committee was overawed at the significant cost of the project and how they were prepared to do what was required to make sure the best track available was put down in Donegal. Finally, the club acknowledged the work of all those to the forefront in the development of the club, including those training athletes, parents involved in fundraising, funding agencies, sponsors for their valuable contributions, and the local community for their ongoing support. With Lifford Athletic Club bringing club facilities to a new standard, the future for Donegal and Ulster athletics augurs well for the future.