The Bishop of Cork, Dr Paul Colton, who is Patron of the Incorporated Church of Ireland Cork Young Men’s Association (ICICYMA), known as Garryduff Sports Centre, at Garryduff, Rochestown, Cork, has announced that he has appointed Amanda Welch to be a trustee of the Association and Club. She will fill a vacancy among the trustees following the retirement of Sybil Fuller. The other trustees, previously appointed by Bishop Colton, are: John Jermyn (Senior) and Roger Flack.

Amanda Welch was elected President of the Club and served from 1997 to 1998. Her association with the Club goes back much further, however, to the 1960s and her earliest memories are of the Club when hockey was played at the club grounds on Glasheen Road in Cork.

Bishop Colton said:

We are fortunate indeed that we have so many people in Cork, Cloyne and Ross who are willing to fulfil voluntary roles in our Diocese and community. I am most grateful to Sybil Fuller for her years of service and am delighted that Amanda Welch has accepted my invitation to become a trustee alongside both John Jermyn and Roger Flack. Garryduff Sports Centre, which is a great asset to both our Diocese and within the wider community, is not only a large sporting complex but is also a truly excellent one.

ICICYMA has been a sporting organisation in the United Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross since 1870. The main premises were at the Gregg Hall at 52 South Mall. In the early days of the club, chess and badminton were played, in the main, before a men’s hockey section was formed in 1911. Hockey matches were played at the Club’s field at Glasheen Road. There was also a small clubhouse and a bowling green. In 1969 both the Glasheen Road and the Gregg Hall were sold. The club relocated to the countryside at Garryduff, Rochestown, County Cork. City based members who were used to taking the bus to the Gregg Hall or Glasheen Road were encouraged to support the move and taxis were provided for them to travel out to the club in what was then the countryside.