All About Cork: Harlequins officially open new pitch

It was a special day for Cork Harlequins Hockey Club last Saturday as they officially opened their new state-of-the-art hockey pitch at Harlequin Park.

The Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Fergal Dennehy cut the ribbon to open the pitch and said he was delighted to be present to do so.

He said the club have played a major part in the history of sport in Cork and he wished them well for the season ahead.

The club is celebrating its 100th anniversary at present, with a number of event having already taken place, including a centenary dinner at the Rochestown Park Hotel.

“Having successfully received a grant in last year’s sports capital grant funding, along with a huge fundraising effort driven by a dedicated committee, we were able to get our top pitch resurfaced after 27 years,” said club chairperson Cathy Minehane.

“This pitch was originally laid in 1998. William Carpenter, one of our club’s founding members in 1925, along with Micheál Martin and other dignitaries turned the first sod in September 1998.

“This pitch has served the club well but deterioration of the carpet has meant that we have had some challenges with flooding in heavy rain conditions over the last seven years.

“With a large membership of more than 700, and a youths section of 400-plus members, we are delighted to now have two top class pitches in full operation.

“We have also been very generously gifted two 68-seater stands, these will be in situ mid-October.

“Along with changing our floodlights to LED three years ago this ensures that Cork Harlequins is among one of the best facilities not only in Munster but also nationally. We are one of only three clubs in Munster that have their own clubhouse.

“Having chaired our great club for the last two years I look forward to welcoming everyone to the club over the coming season and would like to thank all who played a part in this development.”

Councillor Horgan calls for Fingerpost to remain as is

Labour Party Councillor in the South East Ward Peter Horgan has sought for the plans to remove the Fingerpost to be removed from the forthcoming final plans of BusConnects, saying that it can be made safer and have pedestrian and cyclist and bus priority without removing the whole infrastructre.

“The information provided to me previously by the National Transport Authority for the first time in this BusConnects process outlines what needs to be improved in terms of pedestrian, cycle and motorist safety,” said Cllr Horgan.

“This information is welcome and it is vital that the public made aware of these points ahead of the final plans being published.

“However, we must also take into account the historic and cultural history of the Fingerpost and its place in the history of the local area. Options like a signalised roundabout rather than junction would be useful to explore that can give pedestrian and cyclist priority also.

“I have called repeatedly for more pedestrian safety enhancements here and all along Maryborough Hill for years.

“Ultimately, we want to address the issue of congestion in Douglas by encouraging more public transport usage but to simply remove the Fingerpost in its entirety at this stage requires a lot more other options considered and published, especially as local engineers apparently gave commitments previously that it wouldn’t be removed.

“Using it as a signalised roundabout would be an option to consider. What about the free-flowing roundabout at the Douglas Court entrance on the ‘relief road’?

“My motion seeks to codify the position of Cork City council on this. I look forward to the NTA response on this but we must save the fingerpost.”

In some of previous correspondence Mr Horgan received from the NTA they stated: “As part of the Maryborough Hill to City Sustainable Transport Corridor, it is proposed to replace the Fingerpost roundabout with a signalised junction. Before addressing the substance of your question, it is worth setting out the rationale underpinning this proposal.

“While roundabouts can work very well for general traffic movement, particularly where traffic flows are similar across the roundabout arms, they do not work well for pedestrian, cyclist or bus movements.

“Roundabouts can be particularly hostile environments for people on foot seeking to cross the junction, and for cyclists trying to navigate their way safely through a roundabout. In addition, roundabouts do not facilitate effective bus priority.

“Overall, a signalised traffic junction is much safer and better for vulnerable road users – pedestrians and cyclists – as well as enabling faster and more reliable movement for buses through bus priority measures.”

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