GAA clubs in Belfast face pitches ‘deficit’ of 45,000 playing hours per year
GAA clubs in Belfast are facing a deficit of playing hours at council facilities of more than 45,000 hours, according to estimates from Belfast City Council.The figures are almost twice the amount of shortages faced by soccer clubs in the city, and higher than the next three sports combined.The statistics were provided to Belfast city councillors ahead of votes on whether to install two new GAA pitches at Boucher Road Playing Fields, replacing its current use as a concert venue.The council approved plans to return the venue to sporting use on Friday.At a special meeting, councillors agreed a measure to end concerts at the 40,000 capacity space after 2027 and use it for sports pitches.It is now intended to use the space for two full-size GAA pitches and one intermediate soccer pitch.The decision had been deferred earlier in the week, with some councillors objecting to moving forward without a replacement venue for concerts in mind.A row was also sparked after plans were discussed at council to convert a community garden at Lower Botanic in south Belfast to a GAA pitch.Figures showcasing the level of pitch shortages in Belfast were provided to councillors as part of a restricted report discussed at council last week after council officials had conducted an analysis of pitch shortages.The figures, seen by The Irish News, show an estimated deficit of 45,158 hours for GAA clubs in the city. Soccer clubs face a deficit of 24,347 hours, while rugby and cricket clubs have 9,620 and 6,263 respectively.The figures show GAA clubs in Belfast have a requirement for five times as many playing hours as the 10,752 they are currently allocated by the council.An analysis of pitch shortages in the Belfast City Council area Soccer clubs have a demand of around 92,000 hours per year currently and are provided with more than 68,000 of those.Meanwhile, GAA clubs in the city have a requirement of almost 56,000 hours, and only receive 10,752 currently.Stephen McCourt, a member of Greencastle Wolfe Tones in the north of the city, said an imbalance in the figures needs to be “urgently addressed” by an upcoming Belfast City Council pitches strategy.READ MORE: Plans to turn Belfast community hotspot into GAA pitch met with backlash“Report after report over the last 10 years has laid bare the scale of the pitch deficit facing Gaelic games across the city,” Mr McCourt told the Irish News.“The previous pitches strategy failed to reduce this deficit in any meaningful way. Nowhere is that failure more stark than in North Belfast, which remains without a single dedicated GAA pitch despite being home to thousands of Gaels and some of the most active clubs in the county. “That reality can’t be passed off as an oversight, it represents a structural imbalance in provision that must now be urgently addressed.“The proposed developments at Botanic and Boucher are welcome and should be recognised as positive steps forward. “However, these projects must be seen as part of a broader, citywide commitment rather than isolated successes.”Séamas de Faoite, SDLP councillor for Lisnasharragh, says there is a “historic under-provision” of GAA pitches in the city.“There is a historic under-provision of GAA pitches in Belfast and we are trying to address that,” Cllr de Faoite said.“Sport in general has exploded, particularly since Covid and there is a desperate need for more facilities in response to that.“We have a pitches strategy due to come to the People and Communities committee in March and we look forward to seeing that being delivered.”A Belfast City Council spokesperson said: “The council recognises there is a growing demand for sports facilities in the city, with requests for bookings outstripping our current provision. This is most acute for GAA, soccer, rugby and cricket. “Analysis carried out by council officers, based on booking enquiries from clubs in the Belfast area against the playing hours available on council-owned pitches only, shows the following shortfall per year: 45,158 hours – GAA 24,347 hours – soccer9,620 hours – rugby 6,263 hours – cricket “A new ten-year Pitches Strategy, outlining proposals to help meet demand from these four sports specifically, is due to come before elected members for consideration in March 2026. “With a budget of £15 million already agreed, the strategy will look at how our existing facilities are managed and how best we could work with partners to increase provision across other pitch facilities in the city, alongside future capital investment options. “Elected members have also agreed to progress with any Department for Culture, Media and Sport-IFA Grassroots Funding Programme applications for improvements at Suffolk, Hammer and Dundela.”
