Irish hockey is delighted to announce a new hockey club for County Mayo which will be called Gortnor Abbey HC. The club, based in Crossmolina, will officially be unveiled tomorrow at 11.15am and is the result of hard work by IHA Qualified Coach Ann Carroll, and the IHA Western Development Officer Phil Oakley. Ann, who has been working with Gortnor Abbey School for some time now as well as with two additional primary schools who had not played hockey before, has generated sufficient interest within these schools to warrant the creation of this new club. The club will cater for 8 – 14 year-old girls with training taking place each Saturday at GortnorAbbey School. The club will also enter teams to compete in the Connacht Junior Competitions.
Gortnor HC is the first new club in the country since the introduction of Regional Development Officers by the IHA. To mark the occasion, the IHA will be presenting the club with some hockey equipment at tomorrow’s unveiling to help get them started and off on the right foot. Commenting on the new club was National Development Officer Fiona Mills, “This is a very exciting development and it is great to see the pay-off from both Ann and Phil’s hard work over the last year. I would also like to express Irish Hockey’s sincere thanks to the massive support received from Women in Sport and also to the Connacht branch. I look forward to seeing similar developments taking place in the future in other areas around the country,” continued Mills. This new club will provide a massive boost for hockey in Connacht and for its provincial team, which has already demonstrated what talent they have by winning the 2008 U16 Interprovincials. And, who knows, Gortnor Abbey may well have a few representatives on the Connacht squad in a few year’s time so watch this space. For more information, contact Western RDO Phil Oakley on 086-8252046.
