Young Harris Chances His Puck

That new hockey pitch in sleep mode. Pic: Aidan O’Toole

atest press release from Temple Carrig School, issued on Friday, January 10th 2025…

An Taoiseach, Simon Harris TD officially opened a new Olympic Standard Hockey Pitch today at Temple Carrig School in Greystones.

The pitch, which is a Polytan Poligras Paris GT Zero pitch was installed by manufacturers Polytan to the same standard as the pitch that they installed for the 2024 Olympics. The pitch has been certified by the International Hockey Federation to meet the requirements of a Category 2 field and as such is certified for both national and international matches.

The €1.2m project was completed over the summer by contractors Dunwoody and Dobson and Polytan with a project team led by Ian Keogh of IKEO.

Funding for the pitch was provided through school fundraising, from a contingency fund built up over the last 10 years from pitch rental fees, philanthropy and from the funding provided by Bray Hockey Club and Leinster Hockey. The pitch will be used by the school and outside school hours by Bray Hockey Club.

While opening the new pitch Taoiseach Simon Harris said: “This new pitch will have a transformative impact for Greystones.

“Looking back on 2024, we can be proud of the amazing achievements of our Irish athletes. We had an amazing year and we must continue to invest in our sport facilities and build on the incredible legacy of our sporting achievements in the past year.

“The pitch we are opening today and the level of investment we have dedicated to this facility shows the commitment of this community to bring us to new heights in the years ahead.

“I want to thank and congratulate all who have been involved in bringing us to this point.

Welcoming the new pitch, Garrett Fennell, Chairperson of the Temple Carrig Board of Management, said; “The fact that a pitch of such quality has been installed in Greystones is testament to what can be achieved by organisations and people in the community working together. We have a strong record of positive community activity in this area, such as the It Takes a Village Initiative, or the recent community based efforts to reopen the Cliff work. All of which involve people working together, often in a voluntary capacity to make transformational change in our local area”.

“In the 10 years since Temple Carrig School was established, we have worked very closely with local sports clubs, including Greystones Rugby Club, Eire Og, Greystones Sailing Club and Greystones United.

“In this vein, we have established a strong and valued partnership with Bray Hockey Club to the benefit of both the school and the club. Current and former Temple Carrig students provide the bedrock of a lot of the Bray Hockey Club teams at all levels. This new facility will be a major addition to the sports infrastructure in the area and add to the excellent facilities that are already here.”

Steven Jones, President of Bray Hockey Club said; “Bray Hockey Club are delighted to have been able to assist Temple Carrig School in bringing this fantastic new hockey pitch to our community. Not long ago, we were a small sports club in Wicklow with big ambitions.

“Today, with this new international standard pitch and nearly 800 members, we have become one of the biggest hockey clubs in Leinster. Together with Temple Carrig School, our talented team of coaches are regularly providing boys and girls into both the provincial and national hockey pathways, which is a real testament to the passion and dedication shown by everyone involved.

“We look forward to a bright future with Temple Carrig School, and want to thank everyone involved in the project for this incredible achievement.”

Launch day pics by John McGuinness.