In the Autumn of last year, Greenfields Hockey Club was due to celebrate its 50th anniversary, but, like most things during the pandemic, this was not possible.

However, past president and committee member Cliona Kennedy says the club is hoping that a celebration can take place later this year. “It’s a milestone. We had the date set, October 20, 2020, and it was a pity we couldn’t mark it. We might try to plan again for this October. We still can have a good celebration because it is a great way of meeting people.”

Although the club in its current guise was founded in 1970, the Greenfields name was in existence prior to this in the 1950s and early 1960s. With no outlet for many Galway City second-level students to play hockey, a Greenfields school team was established.

In 1954, that Greenfields team contested their first Connacht Schools’ Hockey final, losing to the Bower Covent, Athlone, before returning the following year to claim the Palmer Cup when defeating the same opposition in the decider.

However, the team became defunct in the mid-60s when a number of city schools established their own teams. Yet, the name was not forgotten, and it was revived in 1970. That year, Greenfields HC, as it is now, held its first AGM, with Cecily Heskin elected as President. Kennedy’s mother, Adie O’Byrne, was appointed senior captain.

“My mum was keen to play on the new all-weather pitch at Dominican College, Taylor’s Hill. There were other schoolgirls not affiliated to clubs and others finishing college who also wanted to play. So, she kind of got that group together and they formed a third club in the city. A lot of it came about, though, because the nuns had built the pitch and the girls were keen to use it.”

By April of 1971, the senior team was not only up-and-running, but excelling as they reached the final of the prestigious Cross Cup, a competition held in Galway and in which the best teams from all over the country competed in.

They lost that final 1-0 to Ling Physical Education College from Dublin. The team consisted of Joyce O’Beirne, Patricia Hosty, Adrienne (Adie) O’Byrne, June Smith, Norita Owens, Martina O’Dea, Lucy Warner, Emer Maloney, Marjorie Ryan, Olga Scully, Sheelagh Conneely and Aoife Morris.

Still, a trophy was only a couple of seasons away as they defeated Sligo 2-1 to claim their first Connacht Senior Cup in 1973. The victors boasted five of the Connacht side that retained the interprovincial title that year, including Connacht captain O’Byrne.

Greenfields were captained by Mary O’Shea while the hero was 14-year-old Salerno student Frankie Clarke, who scored both their goals in the decider. In all, Greenfields have won the Connacht Senior Cup 10 times: 1973, 1986, ‘87, ‘88, 1991, ‘92, 2007, ‘12, ’15 and ‘17.

The Greenfields squad who were defeated by Ling Physical Education College, Dublin, in the final of the Cross Cup competition in April 1971. Back row, from left: Lucy Warner, Emer Maloney, Marjorie Ryan, Olga Scully, Sheelagh Conneely and Aoife Morris. Front: Joyce O’Beirne, Patricia Hosty, Adrienne Byrne, June Smith, Norita Owens and Martina O’Dea.

“I remember the ladies who ran the club in the early 1980s and they would have been players involved in the very early days: Helen Royleston, Mary Heaslip, Marie Halliday, Mary Greally, Patricia Hosty, Imelda Brennan, Deirdre O’Connor, Carol Conroy, Theresa Concannon and Martina Molloy.

“They were just really organised and they taught myself, Finola [McGuinness], Catherine [Moore] and Claire O’Grady how to run a club. They did everything right and they were just great role models for us. I suppose, it instilled that in all of us, just to keep this going. When the going did get tough, you were thinking, ‘oh my God, they’ll kill us’,” she laughs.

One person she praises is Marie Halliday, who started the primary school hockey programme, coaching children at 9am every Saturday for 13 years.

“Many of the mothers of our present primary school players started playing hockey with Marie,” she notes.

Over the years, Greenfields HC has seen good times and bad. In the mid-1970s, they attempted to set up a men’s section, but it only lasted a few years; while in the mid 1990s they were left homeless after their 25-year tenancy at Taylor’s Hill came to an end.

They subsequently set up in Dangan – sharing facilities with a plethora of clubs – but this did not impede their progress as they continued to thrive on the field and, indeed, enjoy success off it.

In 2006, Greenfields player and secretary Catherine Moore was honoured at the inaugural Irish Hockey Awards as Volunteer of the Year, before Greenfields was chosen ahead of hundreds of clubs as the ‘Emerging Club of the Year’ at the national awards the following year.

This came on the back of victories in the Connacht Senior and Junior Cups and the U-16 Connacht League. In addition, 10 of their U-16s were on the Connacht Squad and they had eight on Connacht’s U-18. Four Greenfields players also represented Ireland that year: Tara Melvin and sisters Irene and Dora Gorman at U-16; and Rosie Carrigan at U-18.

Certainly, underage hockey in Galway had momentum and this was further reflected when the Coláiste Iognáid girls claimed the Kate Russell Cup national title in 2009. Coached by Greenfields’ Imelda Brennan, the Jes were the first Galway school since 1988 to win the All-Ireland Senior Schools ‘A’ crown.

Brennan, a stalwart on the Greenfields teams in the ’70s and ’80s, was again to the fore in the club’s best spell in 2012 and 2013, when she managed the senior team to Irish Trophy wins.

In doing so, Greenfields, coached by Deirdre McDermott, became the first Connacht club to win a national trophy and, in 2014, they also became the first Connacht team to compete in the Irish Hockey League.

Since then, the club has continued to feature in finals, winning Connacht Senior Cups in 2015 and 2017 and contesting the Irish Trophy decider in 2019, but Kennedy notes that the success of the club is not all about winning silverware.

Riona Johnston, Connacht Branch President, presenting the Connacht Junior Cup to Ciara Murphy, captain of the Greenfields team which defeated Athlone 3-1 in the Connacht Junior Cup final in 2017.

In keeping with tradition, she notes that of the club’s first players from the 1970s, many of their daughters and granddaughters are coaching and playing.

“We also have a wonderful committee, led by [president] Claire O’Grady, which is made up of parents and former players.”

One person she singles out for particular attention is senior coach Catherine Moore.

“Catherine would never mention it, but she is the glue that keeps the show on the road. She is instrumental in all the things that happen in Greenfields.”

The biggest challenge facing Greenfields – and, indeed, all hockey clubs in the city and county – is access to facilities. Although they have slots in Dangan, Kennedy would love to see Greenfields return to their spiritual home at Taylor’s Hill.

“We have a strong connection with Dominican College and we would love to get back to where we were founded. As we saw from back then, if you have a facility, anything can happen. We are a bit like that at the minute now, trying to get the facilities. I think, if we did, the sport would really grow and history has shown that.”

Moore is keen to get players young and old back training

Although a line has been drawn through the current hockey season due to the pandemic, Greenfields senior coach Catherine Moore is hopeful that the club’s players – adult and juvenile – will be back on the field in the not-too-distant future.

With the hockey season traditionally concluding at Easter, the Connacht Branch made the call at the turn of the year to cancel the season. Under the circumstances, it was the correct call, but Moore says that their players would still embrace a return to activities when restrictions are eased.

“As soon as we can go back and play, we are going to go back,” says Moore. “Although we will have no matches, we will do a bit of training up until the end of May. And if we can play, we might try and get a few challenge matches.”

Catherine Moore

Moore took over as senior coach this season, with Greenfields lining out in only two games. The team is managed by Maura Gilligan, now in her sixth year, with Moore assisted in her coaching duties by Trish Garrett and Alma Whelan. Sinead Collins is goalkeeping coach.

“We have been trying to keep the senior players engaged and it has been working out well,” says Moore. “Trish Garrett is a PE teacher in Taylor’s Hill, but she also does sports nutrition. So, we have had a couple of sessions on Zoom where she has done sports nutrition with girls.

“We also do yoga once a week and we have hooked up with the Train Station gym and are doing Zoom classes with them. So, we have been keeping them busy. It has been a different sort of coaching, trying to come up with ideas to remotely train.”

Moore, Garrett, Whelan and Collins were all members of the Greenfields team that won back-to-back Irish Trophies in 2012 and 2013. Greenfields were the first Connacht team to do so, and their triumphs resulted in the club becoming the first side from the province to compete in the Irish Hockey League in 2014.

“Becoming the first Connacht team to win an Irish cup in 2012, and to retain it in 2013, was a huge achievement. Those were great days for the club and for all the founding and former members who put so much into its development over the years.

“It raised the profile of hockey in Connacht and because of this success, Greenfields went on to represent Connacht in the Irish Hockey League in 2014, the first Connacht team to do so. I think it is important to mention that despite the challenges, including [lack of access to] facilities, we were able to win an Irish Cup two years in a row.”

For Greenfields and the other hockey clubs in Galway city and county, this has been a major obstacle in developing the sport. The lack of hockey facilities is having a detrimental effect, no more so than on young girls wishing to play.

Currently, the clubs operate out of Dangan, but with so many placing demands on the facility, time on the field is limited. “We have about 315 members; that would go from underage all the way up to senior. We have another 120 [underage] on the waiting list.

“Some people have actually stopped putting their names on the waiting list, because the waiting list is so long in some age groups, but if we can try to sort out some facility, that would help, it would make a huge difference to our kids and adults. From Senior Infants all the way up to 6th Class, we only have two hours on a Saturday and we have to accommodate all those kids. Our first, second, third and fourth years have two hours on a Friday. So, it is all very tight.”

Moore herself began playing hockey as a 13-years-old and, since then, she has dedicated her life to the sport, as player, official and coach. It hurts her to have to turn children away. As a primary school teacher, she recognises the value sport plays in children’s lives.

“Usually, the season would finish around Easter, but I think it would be important to try and get the primary school kids back [on the hockey field] for a couple of weeks. So, we are going to extend it [season].”

Meanwhile, although Greenfields, who compete in the Connacht Senior League, contested the Irish Trophy final in 2019, they failed to qualify for the Irish Hockey League for the 2020 season. Moore says that a “rebuilding” phases needs to be completed if they are to compete again.

“My aim is to try and get more older players back playing. We’ve had an awful drop off. A lot of girls who go to college either stop playing when they go to college or play through college but then don’t keep playing. So, we were trying to get that mid-to-late 20s age group back and we have got a good few.

“We’ve got a lot of the students or people who had left college and are now working from home and some of those who moved back to Galway during Covid-19,” says Moore. These players, she says, should help to bolster their three adult teams across the various divisions.