Cricket club in Kildare is searching for new home
Halverstown Cricket Club, which has kept cricket alive in mid and south Kildare for more than 140 years
A historic Kildare cricket club is facing an uncertain future as it searches for a new home before its current ground lease expires in 2027.
Halverstown Cricket Club, which has kept cricket alive in mid and south Kildare for more than 140 years, has spent the past two years searching for a new ground.
The club has been based at the Harristown Estate in Brannockstown for the past 30 years, but its lease expires at the end of 2027.
Chairman Des Drumm said the club was grateful to the Beaumont family for allowing it to use the ground but said it had now outgrown the facility.
Halverstown had been asked by Cricket Leinster to become the tenant of a proposed cricket pitch in a new park in Sallins. However, Kildare County Council was unable to provide cricket facilities because of funding constraints.
Attempts to arrange a ground share with another Kildare sporting club have also been unsuccessful.
The club now has more than 100 youth members, five boys’ and girls’ teams and has recently established a women’s team. It also fields two teams in the Cricket Leinster league.
Honorary secretary Stuart Conroy warned that losing the club would be a “very sad day for Kildare”.
Halverstown coaches cricket in 16 primary schools and has introduced the sport to more than 800 children since 2023.
Mr Drumm said the club needs at least five acres of relatively flat, well-drained land and is willing to buy or rent.
“We want to stay in mid/south Kildare,” he said, urging anyone with a suitable property to contact the club.