Club celebrates pitch-perfect move to £0.5m Carrickfergus facility

For the past 20 years, the club (formerly Carrick Ladies and Greenisland Ladies) has played and trained on a pitch at the town’s Amphitheatre.

But following the completion of the floodlit £500,000 2G surface at Carrickfergus Grammar School, the club has relocated to the North Road venue, which received funding from the Education Authority, Sport NI and Mid and East Antrim Council.

The Mayor and Mayoress, Alderman Noel and Sheila Williams, visited the facilities recently and paid tribute to the club, management and players for their continued dedication to the sport.

Ald Williams said: “I commend all those associated with Castle Hockey Club, which plays a vital role in encouraging participation in sport locally as well as placing Carrickfergus on the map for the club’s exploits on the pitch.

“Council has been delighted to host the club on our pitch for the past two decades and as Mayor I wish Castle Hockey Club a very successful and hopefully trophy-laden next 20 years at its new home.

“Sport is so important within our community in terms of health and wellbeing, the camaraderie it brings and the promotion of community relations. As a Council, we champion our local sporting organisations and deeply appreciate the work they do.”

Much Appreciated

Club co-president, Peter Stevenson said: “Castle Hockey Club, and previously its constituent clubs Carrickfergus Ladies Hockey Club and Greenisland Ladies Hockey Club, has over the past 20 years very much appreciated its tenancy on the synthetic hockey pitch located adjacent to Carrickfergus Amphitheatre.

“But when we were given the opportunity to re-locate our training and match play activities to the superb new pitch now based in Carrick Grammar School grounds, we were delighted to do so.

“As a proud Carrickfergus-based club, a sizeable core of our exciting young hockey players are students of either Carrickfergus Grammar School or Carrickfergus Academy, so it’s particularly pleasing for Castle now to be based on their home pitch.

“We’d just like to take this opportunity to thank the Council and the Amphitheatre staff for so ably facilitating our 20 year stay on the Leisure Centre pitch as we now look forward to a long and happy tenure on the new North Road pitch.”