AN Alliance Party MLA has praised the resolve of a Lisburn GAA club who are celebrating their 60th anniversary this year.
Lagan Valley MLA David Honeyford was speaking during Members Statements in the Assembly on Monday. He said that on Friday evening he joined St Patrick's club members at their anniversary dinner where he listened “to its story of the sectarian abuse that the club and its members have faced over the years”, which he said was “deeply moving”.
Speaking in the chamber, he said: "At the end of the 1990s, members were unable even to step on to their own pitch at a new facility that the club had built, so it made the difficult decision to walk away in order to protect its players. For some clubs, that could have been the end of the story but, thankfully, not for St Pat's. I pay tribute to Michael Lynch and others, who refused to give in. That quiet, determined spirit, rooted in the community, is what has carried St Pat's through six decades."
He added: "What a contrast we see today, with a thriving club. Alongside its senior men's and ladies' teams, it has strong membership across every age group, a brilliant youth development structure and even a really vocal mothers and others' team, which I saw the other night. All of that has been built with a real sense of pride and belonging. The club is also looking forward with confidence. Having played for many years at the Ministry of Defence pitches at Kirkwoods Road, it is now finalising the purchase of that land. That is transformational and an opportunity to secure the club's future for generations to come."
Mr Honeyford said St Patrick's GAC is not only marking 60 years in existence but celebrating "the resilience of its founding members and the power of sport and our community to overcome even the toughest of times".
"We have so many brilliant sporting clubs in Lagan Valley, and St Pat's is a key part of the wider sporting family," he said. "I congratulate every person involved and wish the club every success in the future."
