Kilkenny GAA club unveils exciting plans for new ground – but it will have to move from its traditional home

A Kilkenny GAA club has unveiled ambitious plans for a new grounds development it hopes will cater for the growing numbers of both male and female players it has on its books.

Carrickshock GAA has lodged plans with Kilkenny County Council as it looks to build the new development, not at the club’s traditional home at Hugginstown, but up the road to Stoneyford.

A Carrickshock spokesperson said the move to a new site is necessary as playing numbers grow.

“Currently we have one pitch in Hugginstown and it is just not possible for it to serve the needs of all the teams we have. Both hurling and camogie. It’s impossible to juggle it,” they told KilkennyNow.ie. 

“We will be retaining the pitch in Hugginstown as well – both pitches will be used constantly by the club.

“We would be following a model of St Martin’s and of the Rower/ Inistioge who have two locations where they have pitches. Please God we will have pitches in Stoneyford and then we will have our current location on Huggintown as well.”

The Carrickshock GAA development earmarked for Ballycoam in Stoneyford will be a massive undertaking. The club hopes to create two pitches, a main playing pitch and a second training pitch as well as an all-weather synthetic playing pitch incorporating a ball wall and fencing. All the pitches will be covered by floodlighting as part of the plans.

A brand new clubhouse is proposed for the site which will include dressing rooms, meeting room, kitchen, gymnasium and spectator toilets. It is hoped planners will allow the construction of a spectator stand at the new club grounds.

“This will definitely be a phased scheme,” the spokesperson told KilkennyNow.ie. “We have requested 10-year planning permission and I feel it will take ten years to do develop the grounds and it could take 20 years to pay for it.

“We won’t try kid anyone by saying we can build it any quicker, we at Carrickshock GAA understand the scale of this development.”

The club has also requested permission to build a new vehicle entrance of the main road, car and bus parking, as well as equipment storage and sheds.

A decision on the planning application is expected to be made by Kilkenny County Council late next month.