Award-winning groundsman hopes grass surface is here to stay

The man who has been honoured by the FAI as the top groundsman in the country on three separate occasions says he hopes suggestions about possibly replacing the grass pitch at Eamonn Deacy Park with an artificial surface do not come to pass.

Noel Connolly, the head groundsman at the Dyke Road venue, says that while he understands the attraction of looking at installing artificial surfaces at high-demand venues in the West of Ireland due to the high levels of rainfall, he is not so sure of their suitability for good football.

“With the demand on the pitch, there has been talk of putting in an all-weather pitch here. It was mentioned by the local soccer fraternity, it has been priced similar to what was done in Athlone, but hopefully it will stay grass.

“There is a big demand on the pitch and it is difficult, especially in the West of Ireland as we have such a high rainfall level, so all-weathers [pitches] are suitable for this part of the world – but I’m not so sure they are suitable for good football,” says Connolly, who was named groundsman of the Year in 2007 and 2008, the first two years of the award.

The award was rebranded as Pitch of the Year in 2009, a gong which was awarded to Eamonn Deacy Park in 2015, earning Connolly his third award.

Connolly was speaking as he was preparing to begin this year’s pitch maintenance programme, something he was unable to carry out as normal last year, when he had to settle for a scaled-back version.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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