Gaelic Park in Chicago is the home of Gaelic games in the Windy City as well as an Irish cultural centre.
By John Harrington
Gaelic Park in Chicago has been a second home to generations of Irish migrants, their children, and grandchildren, so it seems fitting they’re raffling a house in order to pay for the redevelopment of their facilities.
Opened in 1985 and comprising of 53 acres, Gaelic Park is as much a cultural centre as a sporting venue.
15 Gaelic games clubs use it as their base, and it also promotes Irish music, literature, dance, and theatre.
A hub of social activity, it regularly hosts weddings and baby-showers as well as much of Chicago’s Gaelic games activity.
Roscommon native John Conroy, a director of Gaelic Park, is driving the fund-raising effort that will see a new drainage system put in under a re-laid main pitch, the development of another pitch dedicated to youth GAA, a repaved parking lot, and other assorted developmental works.
Redevelopment work at Gaelic Park will include drainage works being installed under a newly laid main pitch.
Much of his life has revolved around Gaelic Park, so this mission to upgrade the facilities is something of a passion-project for him.
“The land was purchased in 1980 and then they started to develop it in 1983,” Conroy told GAA.ie. “I arrived over in 1984 and was working with my uncle and we put the first roof on the first building we did out there, and it has expanded since then.
“My uncle played here, I played football here, my kids also played here and now my grandkids are playing here. And hopefully my great grand-kids will play here too. It's a real generational thing.
“Gaelic Park just means an awful lot to me and it means an awful lot to other people like me. It's a real safe place for kids to go and play, generations and generations of them. And it's not just about sport, it's a real Irish culture centre. They have Irish music, dancing, and all of that. It's a great place for Irish people to go. All the clubs run their dinner dances there and they're not charged anything for the rooms."
Tickets for the ‘Win a Chicago Home Raffle’ are $100 each and the winner can either opt for a house in the Chicago suburb of Oak Forest, Illinois worth $650,00 or a cash sum of $450,000.
The plan is to sell as many tickets as possible, but Conroy and his fund-raising team have set themselves a target of selling 10,000 which would raise $1M.
An artist's impression of the house worth $650,000 dollars being raffled to raise money for the redevelopment of Gaelic Park in Chicago.
Sales will surely be brisk in Chicago where Gaelic Park is very much an Irish-American institution, but Conroy is hopeful the fundraiser will resonate with Gaels outside of the windy city because so many players have graced the Gaelic Park sod over the decades.
It has regularly hosted the USGAA finals and Continental Youth Tournaments, and countless Irish have spent happy summers playing there.
“So many great players have been out here and played in Gaelic Park, footballers like Jack O'Shea, Sean Cavanagh, and Kevin O'Brien just to name a few,” says Conroy.
“You have J1 students coming out during the summer playing football and enjoying themselves, so countless people have happy memories of Gaelic Park.
“It's a big Irish community here in Chicago and we're trying to keep it going. Gaelic Park needs a bit of work now so we're all trying to get behind it and get this fundraiser going so we can do it.
“You can win either a house worth $650,000 or else $450,000 in cash. It's a great deal for 100 bucks! You couldn't go wrong!
Tickets for the 'Win a Chicago Home Raffe' can be purchased HERE.