Hockey Ireland welcome over €2m from Sports Capital Programme

Hockey Ireland has welcomed the allocation of over €2 million for 23 projects in 12 different counties from the Sports Capital Programme.

They were among 1,900 successful applications announced today by Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, and Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport, Jack Chambers, as part of an overall package of €150 million.

“The announcements today on the capital grants by Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D. and Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport, Jack Chambers T.D. are fantastic news for hockey, said Hockey Ireland CEO Jerome Pels, welcoming the news. 

“The development of our playing infrastructure is key to the success of the Hockey Ireland strategy to grow the game and the number of players.  This support comes at a time of significant growth in hockey and will have a real positive impact on the quality of our hockey facilities and programmes.”

Among the projects, the allocation features provision for a first ever astroturf pitch in both Carlow at Leo’s College and Laois at Dunamase College. Both are set to receive €300,000 while the long-awaited new pitch in Galway at Miller’s Lane got the go-ahead with support of close to €180,000.

In total, hockey projects in Donegal, Galway, Laois, Carlow, Clare, Cork, Dublin, Meath, Tipperary, Offaly and Waterford will benefit.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, said: “Sport is crucial for all communities in Ireland. There was a record number of applications for these grants and the government responded with the most significant level of individual awards ever.

“So this is a great day for sports clubs and community groups right around the country and I want to congratulate all of the successful applicants.

“It has been a tough two years for many sports clubs but the pandemic really demonstrated the importance of sport for our collective wellbeing. The grants we are announcing today will significantly improve sports facilities in every county. There is a huge variety of different sports covered and I was particularly pleased that the scoring system placed an even greater emphasis on female participation.”

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