Cliftonville Hockey Club
Club kit
|
|
| Founded | 1896 |
|---|---|
| Colors | Black, green and red |
| Manager | Dixon Rose (Secretary; 2011-2012) |
| Home ground | CIYMS Sports Club, Belmont, Circular Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Conference | Ulster Branch of the IHA |
Cliftonville Hockey Club is a hockey club based at C.I.Y.M.S. Sports Club, Circular Road, Belfast. Home fixtures are played on a sand-filled artificial surface. The club was founded in 1896 and was one of the founding members of the Ulster Hockey Union. The 1st XI currently plays in the Ulster Senior League. The first reported match was played against North Down at Comber in November 1896 where an eight-goal to nil loss was recorded.
The club's origins lie in the Cliftonville area of north Belfast. The club played games at Solitude before finding a permanent home with the Cliftonville Cricket Club at the Cliftonville Cricket Ground on the other side of the Cliftonville Road.
In late August 1972, the clubhouse was burned and looted during civil unrest. Physical intimidation prevented the members from entering the grounds. The club sought help without success from local and government authorities, in the hope that the club could be protected and assisted in the continue playing hockey and cricket at the ground. As a result, the club abandoned the ground and took up a nomadic existence.
The first grounds used in exile were the Girls' Model School pitches at Dunkeld Gardens. In 1981, the club moved to Boucher Road Playing Fields. Then, in 1986, the Boucher Playing Fields were closed and Cliftonville moved to the Queen's University pitches until taking over the tenancy of Belfast YMCA all-weather pitch at Bladon Drive in 1987.
In 1992, the decision was made that all 1st XI home games would be played on the artificial pitch at the Olympia Leisure Centre.
The club found a new permanent home with CIYMS Sports Club at Belmont in 2004.
Today the historic original ground is the property of the Belfast City Council and is used by the local community but not for cricket or hockey.
...
Wikipedia