Annagh United manager Ciaran McGurgan thankful for support from football family after "heartbreaking" flooding

Northern Ireland had its fifth wettest October on record with 191.8mm of rainfall throughout the month while County Armagh – Annagh’s BMG Arena is located in Portadown – and County Down both had their wettest October ever according to the Met Office.

It has resulted in Annagh’s pitch being submerged and almost certainly needing to be replaced for competitive action to resume at the venue while their youth clubhouse has also been destroyed.

Their main clubhouse remains unaffected at the moment, but boss McGurgan says it’s still too early to tell the full extent of damage caused.

"We'll have to wait until the water goes down which could be up to a week and we'll assess the damage then,” he said. “We have spoken to a couple of pitch specialists and it likely won't be salvageable for playing on again.

"I think it's gone. We would need to have it replaced.

"Our fear was that the water could rise further because it's sitting right on the borderline of the entrance to the clubhouse, which so far has been saved.

"The youth clubhouse down the back is gutted and the pitch is gone.

"We're looking at it every hour just to be sure it doesn't get into the clubhouse."

As well as hosting senior matches, the BMG Arena is also used by Annagh’s youth section, which currently has over 300 players across age groups, and is a hub for the local community.

McGurgan admits there are now long-term worries about the potential for something like this to happen again in the future and has called on governing bodies and councillors to help them out.

"We have put a lot of work in to the club over the past 10 years with the pitch and infrastructure around it,” he added. “We've been building our youth section and have over 300 kids at the club who are going to be without football now.

"The kids are off for mid-term break this week so it has bought us a bit of time to try and source something for them.

"We also have the IFA who use it, Portadown, St Mary's, coaches, personal trainers, schools - the list goes on.

"People know what has happened in the past with the likes of Institute and things like that are going around in our minds too.

"If this happens once, what happens when it happens the next time? You can't keep firing money at it. That is a long-term worry for us.

"We just need to get as much support as we can from the IFA, UEFA, NIFL or whoever it may be.

"We want councillors to contact us to help us and see where it takes us.

"Anything that anyone can think of from any funding at all would be a massive help."

A host of clubs around Northern Ireland offered their support on social media when Annagh posted the devastating images and the local community also rallied around the club to help in any way they could – something McGurgan will always be grateful for.

"A big thank you to them for the messages and support from clubs throughout the country that are offering help,” he said. “It has been unbelievable.

"As much as we can stay positive out of what has happened, the way the football community has come together to offer their support is certainly one.

"The local community has been brilliant. They have been out helping us.

"We got our own sandbags in and then the housing sandbags arrived while we were doing our work so we were able to repay the favour and get their houses all sorted too.

"The community has really come together.

"Small clubs are built by the community and serve the community. It's heartbreaking when that is taken away from you.

"I know how much work goes into the club from top to bottom and when you're looking at it just sitting under water, it's heartbreaking."