Web of Intrigue in Cromane

The fishing village of Cromane has no fears of being left high and dry in the new millenium if the local G.A.A. club has anything to do about it. And they do! Realt na Mara are celebrating the new dawn with the launch of its own website (www.cromane.com) on January 1, 2000. The project is another example of the positive and forward looking attitude that pervades the club.

The initial objective of the website is to establish a communication framework that will support the club and community well into this new millenium. The website will keep the Cromane diaspora in direct contact with community activities as they happen. While the website is the first of it’s kind from a football club in Kerry it is not just a gaelic football site. It is expected that the project will act as a base from which an extended community will be developed and nurtured so as to support the development of the club and community into the future.

In 1957 the Cromane club, due to emigration, was forced to amalgamate with their neighbours Killorglin but since they were reaffiliated to the G.A.A. in April of 1985 the club has become the focal point of the community both at home and abroad. Indeed the circumstance that caused the club to disband is one of the reasons that the website has been launched. It will provide access to those abroad to news from home.

It is planned to offer the following services over the web: Match reports as they happen; Jack's Corner for the local gossip and goings-on; Club information and activities; Club history; Pen pictures of players; Golf society news; Local community developments and activities; Video footage of match highlights; Local lotto news and subscription service; Match fixtures, travel arrangements and training schedules for teams, players and supporters. The site will also feature links to other relevant sites on the Internet.

The project is one of the Millenium projects being undertaken by this progressive and vibrant club it also represents an Information Society intiative within the local community. Guest articles of interest will be invited as the club seeks to broaden it’s horizons.

The club, though, has not allowed itself to stagnate over the past few years it has carried out extensive field development. The drainage, railing and floodlighting of the field have given Realt na Mara one of the finest pitches in Kerry, it is one of the few clubs in Kerry with an electronic scoreboard. The club lotto has proved a huge success while the club also issues a weekly newsletter entitled ‘Crosstalk’. All these developments combined prove that the Realt na Mara club with the help of its supporters will continue to grow in the Millennium.