Contestants to take to the jungle for major Ballinrobe Town fundraiser

TWENTY-FIVE contestants will brave the jungle this June Bank Holiday weekend in aid of a thriving soccer club in the heart of South Mayo.

A large gathering – including a Burmese python - attended the launch of Ballinrobe Town AFC’s ‘I’m A Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here!’- inspired Jungle Challenge Fundraiser, in Fitzpatrick’s Bar in Ballinrobe last Friday.

The event, which takes place in the McWilliam Park Hotel, Claremorris, on May 31, will see contestants from Ballinrobe and the surrounding areas undergo a variety of challenges in aid of Ballinrobe Town AFC.

The club intends to use all funds raised to develop new playing facilities for its growing membership.

Ballinrobe Town re-entered the Mayo Football League at adult level in 2021 and have since secured three consecutive promotions to attain Mayo Super League status.

It currently caters to over 400 members across the South Mayo area, of which approximately 35 percent are female.

Alan Dowling, Chairman of Ballinrobe Town, said the Jungle Challenge Fundraiser concept is still a relatively new one.

“We many big personalities from around the area, hopefully that will bring a crowd in itself. We’ve been very lucky with the support that we’ve had from the community and Ballinrobe town,” said Dowling.

“We’re called Ballinrobe Town, but we cover quite a wide area and we’ve multiple parishes in South Mayo that play for the club. That brings its own challenges; which is surface to play on.

“We’re really under pressure with the facility we’ve got there, to keep trying to improve the ground itself. As good as the volunteers are at constantly trying to maintain it, there’s only so many sessions in a day. There’s only so many hours of daylight that you’ve got so there’s a need for us to try and improve the facilities that we have.”

Dowling said a new playing pitch would be ‘the icing on the cake’ for the club, who train on the town’s Green beside a local playground, rugby pitch and athletics track.

He added that the club currently caters to an ethnically diverse membership, many of whom have moved to the town in recent times.

A total of 16 nationalities represented Ballinrobe Town at all levels in 2023. That number is predicted to rise again in 2024.

“We did an event which is really just to get a lot of the kids that we have in the facilities that we have around here,” explained Dowling. “We put up a post on social media which is ‘We all make different journeys to go and play sport’. Some of us make a half-an-hour car trip. Some make a very big journey to be able to be in place and I think it’s important. I think playing on a pitch with a ball is a great equaliser. Everyone’s the same.

“I think, if you think about it like this, and if you see somebody that’s standing kind of on their own, there’s maybe a couple of teenagers and they are standing on the Green and people treat them sometimes with suspicion because they don’t know them. That’s not to say that they are wrong.  

“When you see someone that’s wearing the club colours of a particular team, straight away I think people can tie them to something. Also, it makes them feel part of something too.

“We had a load of volunteers that helped with the club last week getting ready for the Super League that are from the different facilities around here. We have lots of new faces.

“They see the difference it makes to them to feel like they’re welcome and they are part of something, and they are playing with kids that they are going to school with. It makes such a difference to the future of this community. I think it’s really important. Sport can play its part. But the door has to be open for them to be able to try that.”

Dowling said he would like to see Ballinrobe Town continue to grow and be a ‘community club’ in the South mayo area.

“Whether it’s the people that look after the grounds or the people that organise the training sessions, people like to be part of something. For us, it’s to continue to be open and welcoming to people that are from here, people that are new to the area and for us to continue to help,” he said.

Cummins & Sons Homevalue Hardware and Claremorris and Ballinrobe Credit Union have come on board as major sponsors for the fundraiser.

The club is inviting local businesses and organizations to sponsor individual challenges and contestants.

Anyone interested in sponsoring the event can contact Alan Dowling or Margo Gallagher at junglechallenge@ballinrobetownafc.com.