The new club is aiming to base itself in the same catchment area as St Colmcille’s which draws its players from the Dublin road area of south Drogheda, Beamore, Mornington, Donacarney, Laytown and Bettystown along the Meath coastline.
Some of those behind the creation of Eastern Gaels are outgoing members of St Colmcille’s which have become a dominant underage force in the county in recent years and are viewed as a very progressive club with solid foundations and a strong future.
The breakaway group cite a lack of opportunity for many players and they have set out their case with that in mind, stating in their submission that between 2016 and 2022 there was a 27pc increase in population in the area, from 22,000 to 28,000.
The formation of new clubs by splinter groups of existing clubs always causes controversy, and is almost routinely turned down by county boars nation wide.
However backers of the Eastern Gaels efforts will be afforded a chance to make their case to the county board which it is understood has formed a sub committee to deal with the proposal.
In what is believed to be a detailed and comprehensive brochure/business plan detailing their proposal they say, “We believe this has resulted in a low and unhealthy level of participation in Gaelic games in EMP. There are issues in all counties in maintaining participation rates as players progress their playing careers but the large and growing population in East Meath allied to lack of meaningful game-time has exacerbated the problems locally.”
While the new club proposes to cater for the entire East Meath parish, it is understood it will be centered mainly in the Mornington and Donacarney areas close to Drogheda.
One source told Meath Live, ‘This is aimed at young lads who love playing GAA but might not have made Colmcille’s senior or junior teams, and to be fair to the ‘Cilles while they are doing massive work it would be nearly impossible for them to put enough teams out to facilitate everyone.
‘Most of the suggested underage players on the new set up live on the fringes of Drogheda but crucially live in Meath so unless they all sought inter county transfers they couldn’t play in Louth.
‘There doesn’t appear to have been any falling out or big bust up it is simply a matter of parents wanting their kids to be facilitated in playing games.’
