Lisnagarvey Hockey Club

Lisnagarvey Hockey Club is the most successful Irish men's hockey club. The club is based in Hillsborough, County Down, Northern Ireland. It has a current membership of 700. The club also has a ladies section.

In September 1901, at a meeting held in the Lisburn Temperance Institute it was decided to form a hockey club to be called Lisnagarvey. The three founder-members were R C Bannister, who became Captain, E L Wilson, the Honorary Treasurer and W S Duncan, the Honorary Secretary. The annual subscription for playing members was set at five shillings, and the original colours were light and dark blue.

Often referred to as Garvey they initially only played friendly matches. It was not until the 1903-04 season that the first competitive games took place.

Lisnagarvey has played at several locations in its history.

The first home was located off the Antrim Road in Lisburn, where a pavilion complete with toilet facilities was built.

In the 1950s the Club moved to its famous Blaris pitches, under the shadow of a huge BBC transmitter. Off the field, a team of back-room helpers worked ceaselessly to establish a social and financial base for the Club. The Club made various structural changes to their premises at Blaris and the venue was used to host International and Interprovincial matches and Cup Finals.

In the 1980s the decision was taken to establish the first artificial pitch complex in Ulster at a completely new venue nearby. This significant move was made possible by the sale of the 'old' Blaris grounds to a private developer for retail use. The new home was named New Blaris.

In 2002 New Blaris was sold to another retail developer and the club was forced to play its home games at the Queen's University facilities at Upper Malone. Work on a new home at Comber Road, Hillsborough was started in 2004. This facility featuring a new clubhouse and two water-based artificial turf pitches was completed in time for the start of the 2005-06 season.

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