Masters Hockey May Lose Playing Surface In Oranmore

Article by Paul O'Dowd

There was disappointment in Connacht Hockey this week as news broke that the Oranmore Astroturf pitch may be lost to the sport. There are plans to resurface the pitch with a 3G surface, which does not support the playing of hockey.

President of Connacht Hockey, Kevin Keane said, "This is a major blow to our sport. There is currently only one pitch in Galway - at Dangan - which can service all our hockey clubs - Galway Hockey Club, Greenfields, Renmore, Kinvara, NUIG, NUIG Masters, Connacht Interprovincial sides, the Connacht Masters ladies and mens teams and all the school teams in the county. Dangan is currently closed due to Covid 19. There are 1,500 hockey players in Connacht. We can't afford to lose another facility. The Oranmore facility (even though it is not a full-sized pitch) is the only one on the east side of the city. It is used by Kinvara Hockey Club, Renmore Hockey Club, the NUIG Masters, the Connacht Youth Development Squads and Calasanctius College’s hockey teams. Kinvara Hockey Club teams currently travel a 60km round-trip to Dangan in the city to play their home games, but at least they have been able to train and play junior Blitzes in Oranmore. Calasanctius College in Oranmore has had tremendous success, recently winning the Connacht Hockey Championship and developing players who have gone on to star for Connacht and at Irish trials. If the development in Oranmore goes ahead, the Kinvara club would have no suitable surface on which to train. With the Dangan pitch lacking capacity, the club would have to look to travel to Athlone for full-size-pitch training sessions.”

Chairman of the NUIG Masters, Fintan O'Flynn said, "We are a mixed group of 60 members, most of us in our 50’s and 60’s, who have been playing in Oranmore since 2012. For us, hockey is a sporting and social activity. We have always had a great relationship with our hosts in Oranmore, but are very disappointed that hockey may no longer be playable there. 3G and 4G surfaces are not suitable for hockey, due to the nature of the ball. Hockey is a sport which has high levels of participation by women and is a non-contact team sport that can be played competitively and for fun by people in their fifties, sixties and beyond. If Oranmore is resurfaced, our group will have nowhere suitable to play.”

Kevin Keane, who also coaches with Kinvara Hockey Club, added, “I call on our local politicians to get behind the sport of hockey at all levels in Galway – from junior and schools to senior and masters - and ensure that pitches with suitable surfaces are made available without further delay. Hockey in Ireland is experiencing great success at international level. The ladies team reached the World Cup Final in 2018 and gained Olympic qualification in 2019. Now is the time to build on that success and grow the pool of players for our next Olympic cycle. Galway and Connacht need to be part of that. The encouragement of women in sport is a national objective. Hockey clubs are meeting that objective. The National Sports Policy 2018-2027 is promoting “Lifelong Involvement in Sport and Physical Activity”. Masters hockey meets that objective. Supporting hockey in our community for young and old should be a priority for politicians and planners in Galway.”