Official Opening of new all-weather pitch at Nenagh College

By Thomas Conway

Even the piercing cold of an early November day couldn’t weaken the warmth of the atmosphere at the official opening of Nenagh Hockey Club’s new state-of-the-art astroturf pitch on the grounds of Nenagh College last Monday afternoon. An assembled crowd of students, teachers, club members, politicians and ETB representatives gathered on the bright green surface in the middle of the new pitch to celebrate the formal launch of the development, which represents an extraordinary milestone for Nenagh Hockey Club, Hockey Ireland, Nenagh College and Tipperary ETB.

It was made all the more extraordinary by the presence of An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who was on a whistle-stop tour of North Tipperary last Monday and was warmly received by all in attendance. The Fianna Fáil leader was beginning a busy week of engagements on the national and international stage, but his visit was very much appreciated by the people present. In the words of Clodagh Kelly, the chief executive of Tipperary ETB, “it was a big day for education and sport in Nenagh.” She made those remarks as Gaeilge, but even those who didn’t speak Irish understood the sentiment. It was indeed a very big day for sport and education in the town.

There were a number of concise speeches delivered, with Cllr Roger Kennedy (FF), the chairperson of Tipperary ETB, the first to speak. He paid tribute to all who had helped bring the project to fruition, before noting Micheál Martin’s packed schedule and admitting that he didn’t know how the Taoiseach managed to get to everything, prompting chuckles of laughter from the crowd. The Taoiseach then began his address by branding the new development as “another step forward for sport, for health and for community life in North Tipperary”. He praised the “collaboration and partnership” between Nenagh Hockey Club, Hockey Ireland, Nenagh College and the ETB, and described the entire project as “an investment in community” that would serve the town and its hinterland in the months and years to come.

“Sport is one of the great gifts of life,” he said, adding that “sport is the glue that holds us together as a community”, before also citing the importance of music and the arts and gesticulating towards the Nenagh College trad band, who so wonderfully provided the soundtrack to the day’s events. The Taoiseach also made reference to female participation in sport and its critical importance, encouraging the female students and club members in attendance to keep playing and pursuing sport for as long as they possibly could. Disability was another focus of his speech. “There is a revolution happening around disability in sport,” he emphasised.

‘Statement of intent’

Given that Micheál Martin is a proud Cork man and a GAA enthusiast, it would have been remiss of Clodagh Kelly not to make some sort of reference to Tipperary’s 2025 All-Ireland final victory over Cork, and the Tipperary ETB chief did not waste the opportunity, noting that one of the Tipperary players, Silvermines star Jason Forde, is a member of the teaching staff at Nenagh College. She went on to say that today was a day about “partnership, opportunity and shared ambition” and that the new pitch facility represented more than just an investment. “It was a statement of intent.”

She also noted that “there are so many roads to learning” and that sport was one of those roads, before singling out a number of individuals for their contributions to the development, including Nenagh College caretaker Garry Byrne, who was an instrumental behind-the-scenes component in bringing the project life. There were tributes to Fianna Fáil TD Ryan O’Meara for his role in the project, as well as North Tipperary’s other TDs Alan Kelly (Lab) and Michael Lowry (Ind), both of whom were present. Tipperary County Council Cathaoirleach Fiona Bonfield was among those present, as was Cathaoirleach of Nenagh MD JP O’Meara, who also played a pivotal role in the development.

CEO of Hockey Ireland Richard Fahey delivered a short but well-worded speech expressing his delight at the progress made by Nenagh Hockey Club since it restarted in 2019. He said that three ingredients were required for a sport to thrive: people, programs and a place to play. Nenagh always had the first two, but they now have the third component and that, he said, would pave the way for the stars of the future to emulate Irish internationals like Roisin Upton and Caoimhe Purdue, who hail from Limerick and Cashel respectively. Finally, Nenagh Hockey Club chairperson Edel Kennedy described the opening as “a special and emotional day” which represented the “beginning of a new chapter”. With that the crowd gradually shuffled to the pitch entrance, where the Taoiseach finally cut the ribbon to inaugurate the facility, approximately five months on from the moment the sod was turned to begin work on the development. Installed by the Cashel-based firm JNC Premier Pitches, the development was supported with state funding of €475,000 from the Community Sports Facilities Fund, as well as major local fundraising and a loan from Community Finance Ireland.