One of Galway's best known hurling clubs has been fielding an innovative youth programme, nurturing up and coming young hurlers and camogie players.
Castlegar GAA, previous All-Ireland Senior Club Championship winners and All-Ireland intermediate camogie champions from 2012, have unveiled an ambitious plan to be back at the "top table".
They are starting early by investing time and resources into their nursery programme using novel training methods with the emphasis on fun.
The club has undergone extensive refurbishment with a state-of-the-art indoor arena.
Matthew Conroy, a volunteer and head coach of the nursery programme at Castlegar, says that the club actively champions inclusion and diversity.
He said that the club strives to ensure that children feel welcome and secure in a safe setting.
"We are expanding all the time and now have over 1,200 members," he said.
"Our volunteers are committed to making Castlegar top notch again and we have 100 very enthusiastic three and four-year-olds training here each week.
"The big attraction is Saturday morning and we welcome more boys and girls to come along and see what we do."
The club proudly displays a painting by local artist, Patricia Lambert which they say "captures the spirit of Castlegar GAA beautifully" and was on display at the museum in Croke Park for a number of years.
Club member and Castlegar native Joe Connolly captained Galway to the All-Ireland title in 1980 and his rousing winning speech is shown regularly on 'Reeling in the Years'.
He is passionate about growing the sport and attracting more young people at an early age. However, he says it is vital that clubs like Castlegar have the necessary facilities to survive.
"We need facilities like this arena to keep up our numbers in the club," he said.
"We simply don't have enough pitches and it's a huge cost to rent other sporting facilities."
Mr Conroy agrees and said that while the new arena has a great indoor training venue, it is essential to ringfence more outdoor areas for sport.
"The powerful positive impact on physical and mental health for aspiring young athletes cannot be over estimated," he said.
Castlegar's roots are deeply rural but the area on the outskirts of Galway city has become increasingly urbanised.
The hope now is that more new families will enrol their children in the "Cub Nursery Programme" and help grow the future of the club.
