A LONG time ago in a parish not far away, an average GAA club was able to get by on one pitch. For years now, one pitch hasn’t been enough.
Even for football-only clubs, the development of the ladies’ game means they have basically doubled in size – twice the teams, twice the training and twice the games. In Armagh, for example, 39 clubs are now registered with the LGFA and only six of those haven’t yet reached adult level. Three of those six could get there next season and the other three will be there soon.
Ladies’ Football is growing rapidly. Here’s a stat for you: Armagh LGFA had 3666 registered members in 2022. This year the number was 4632.
So, across the country those clubs still operating on one pitch are desperately looking at ways to add another and those already with two now need three and so on.
For many clubs it’s not just as simple as buying the field next door. Urban clubs are restricted for space and, even for the rural clubs, land is very expensive to buy, expensive to develop and - as anyone who has seen a bill for servicing the club lawnmower could tell you – it’s expensive to maintain.
The GAA club scene is bursting at the seams as teams from U6 to adult level clamour for space and time to play and intricate timetables are drawn up to accommodate them all.
One solution to the issues facing many clubs would be to hire council pitches but across the North the number of council-maintained pitches suitable for Gaelic Games ranges from inadequate to non-existent. Recently Tiarnan O Muilleoir took it upon himself to find out exactly how many council-maintained GAA pitches there were across the 11 council areas.
Via council responses to his Freedom of Information requests, Tiarnan established that, in all, there are 52 pitches in the North. Of that total, 20 are in Belfast and that figure includes 13 single-use pitches and seven multi-sport pitches with goalposts that are suitable for Gaelic Games.
Wolfe Tone’s GAC in Greencastle, North Belfast doesn’t have a pitch of its own. Their grounds were sold off for the development of the M2 in the 1970s and, after losing their home, the club went out of existence for almost 50 years. The demand for GAA in the area meant the Tones were reformed in 2019 and returned to competitive action the following year.
The cost of buying land and developing it makes having their own grounds virtually impossible and since 2020 they have been using an over-subscribed multi-sports facility at The Valley Leisure Centre which is maintained by Antrim and Newtonabbey Borough Council.
Many of the Wolfe Tones members come from North Belfast but there is only one Belfast City Council-maintained GAA pitch in the north of the city - that’s one pitch between Wolfe Tones, Ardoyne and Pearses who, between them, field 65 teams and all three clubs are growing at a rapid rate.
Pearses and Ardoyne share the Cricky pitch (also used by a soccer team) at the Cliftonville Playing Fields leaving Wolfe Tones with the multi-sports facility at the Valley. This year – because of a lack of availability due to competition with other sports - their men’s team wasn’t able to play a single ‘home’ game.
They are trying to build a club that includes men’s, women’s and underage football on five hours’ of pitch time (Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings) per week. Unless these issues are addressed urgently, growth is impossible, even their survival is at risk.
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In 2011, Belfast City Council published a survey of sports pitches and the findings were unequivocable. The survey found that there was a shortfall in the provision of GAA facilities which amounted to 64 pitches! The recommendation was that 38 new GAA pitches should be developed to meet the demand.
Unfortunately only a handful of those pitches have been delivered in the 12 years since the strategy was published.
The 2011 strategy also found that there was too many soccer pitches in the city - a surplus of 43.
Belfast City Council have indicated that they will embark on a new pitches strategy which will start next year but Gaels could be forgiven for believing that the can is simply being kicked further down the road. A pitches strategy has already been conducted and the recommendations of it weren’t implemented. It’s time for action, not more talking.
But while there is room for improvement in Belfast City, some of the North’s council areas don’t provide any GAA pitches at all. Ards and North Down Borough Council provide zero GAA grounds and it’s the same in the Mid and East Antrim council area.
Meanwhile, the cost of hiring the one pitch provided by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council is £181.60. But in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area the price is £38.
What is the role of our 11 councils if it’s not to provide for their rate payers and if those rate payers want to play Gaelic Games then the proper facilities should be provided.
Gaels, you have grounds for complaint.
