Meet the man trying to bring professional ice hockey to Ireland
When the Rolling Stones headlined the Slane music festival in 1982, Tom Kennedy arrived in style, cycling from Dublin to the Boyne Valley with his sleeping bag tied to the back of his bike.
More than four decades later, Kennedy reckons it will be an awful lot easier for patrons to find their way to the planned Dublin Arena, a €190 million venue slotted for Cherrywood in south Dublin.
Prime Arena Holdings, a company chaired by Kennedy and headed by Dermot Rigley, a former commercial director at Pro14 Rugby, has unveiled plans for a multi-purpose venue that will include the Republic's first dedicated ice hockey arena.
The plan is to attract an Elite Ice Hockey League franchise to Dublin, who will play at the 5,000-seater
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Courier
2 days ago
- The Courier
Potential St Johnstone advantage for cup clash revealed as East Kilbride boss hails Simo Valakari
The manager of St Johnstone's first opponents of next season has spoken of his admiration for Perth head coach, Simo Valakari. SPFL new boys, East Kilbride, will host Saints in the Premier Sports Cup opener on Saturday, July 12. Their boss, Mick Kennedy, is a fan of the Finn's footballing principles. And he's excited about the prospect of going head to head with the McDiarmid Park side next month. 'St Johnstone is a massive game to kick us off after getting into the SPFL,' said Kennedy. 'I know they had an unsuccessful season and had a new manager come in, but I have a lot of admiration for Simo Valakari in terms of how his side plays. 'He is trying to implement a possession-based style of play so I think that will make for a good game between us. 'We will go to try and win all the games, and we'll certainly show no fear.' Raith Rovers, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Elgin City are the other sides in Group F. And Saints may have an advantage in getting East Kilbride, who were promoted into League Two through the play-offs, first. 'We will try and get one friendly in before the cup starts but that will be our pre-season,' said Kennedy, who guided his team to SPFL Trust Trophy victories over Airdrie and Ayr United last season. 'Because we finished a lot later than the SPFL teams and the boys needed their break we need to use the competition as our pre-season.'
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Daily Record
East Kilbride land St Johnstone in cup: Big scalps last season show we'll have no fear in Premier Sports clashes, says boss
Kilby will take on the likes of St Johnstone and Raith Rovers in their cup section next month East Kilbride boss Mick Kennedy says his side hold no fears going into the Premier Sports League Cup groups this summer after pulling off some cup scalps last season. Newly-promoted Kilby are still riding the crest of a wave after reaching the SPFL last month and they are now looking forward to their first matches as a League Two club after the draw for the League Cup was made last week. Kennedy's side have been drawn in Group F alongside top seeds St Johnstone, who were relegated to the Championship last season, Championship side Raith Rovers, League One Inverness Caley Thistle and League Two rivals Elgin City. EK defeated the likes of Championship sides Airdrie and Ayr United in the Challenge Cup last term, so Kennedy believes they can punch above their weight again. Reacting to the draw, which will see Kilby host Saints at K-Park on July 12, Kennedy said: 'I look forward to these occasions because it gives us a chance to test ourselves against some big teams. 'Nothing changes in terms of our style of play, so they are always interesting occasions. I'm looking forward to it. 'It's a really good group. There's three full-time clubs in there so it will be a big test, but we showed last season that we can compete with Championship clubs on our day. 'St Johnstone is a massive game to kick us off after getting into the SPFL. I know they had an unsuccessful season and had a new manager come in, but I have a lot of admiration for [boss] Simo Valakari in terms of how his side plays. 'He is trying to implement a possession-based style of play so I think that will make for a good game between us. 'We will go to try and win all the games and we'll certainly show no fear.' With East Kilbride being involved in the end of season play-offs last term, Kennedy says they will need to use the cup as pre-season. EK are due to play one friendly on Saturday, July 5 against an as yet unnamed opponent before the cup campaign gets underway. League Two will kick-off on August 2. Kennedy added: 'We will try and get one friendly in before the cup starts but that will be our pre-season. 'We need to use the competition as our pre-season because we finished a lot later than the SPFL teams and the boys needed their break.'
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Daily Record
East Kilbride boss: We won't be making 'big name' signings now we are in SPFL
Mick Kennedy has stressed Kilby won't be splashing the cash on 'stellar' signings over the summer as he aims to stick to successful model that won club promotion East Kilbride boss Mick Kennedy has warned fans not to expect any glamour signings now the club is in the SPFL. But he has targeted six fresh faces to spearhead Kilby's push for the League Two title next season. The Lowland League champions won promotion to the fourth tier last month with a play-off victory over Bonnyrigg Rose to claim their place in the professional ranks for the first time. Work is well underway to strengthen the side for a title-tilt but while Kennedy admits they will bring in plenty of fresh faces, he says he won't be going for any so-called big names in the transfer market. Kennedy said: 'Our style of play dictates our recruitment. There's only a certain type of player who can fit into our structure. 'Some people are maybe expecting us to come up and announce some stellar names and stuff like that. There won't be any of that nonsense, like us signing Championship players. 'It will be boys about 23 or 24 who have played some degree of games in the SPFL. There will be nothing major happening. 'It's people we think we can coach well and develop, and who will give us the best opportunity to get out of League Two. 'The squad during my time has always been made up like that. Now and again there have been some experienced boys we've managed to get hold of. 'But there will be nothing that will make you go 'wow', I can assure people of that. 'I am not saying it isn't possible for us, it is just not my style. I really don't think there will be anything significant in terms of a 'name', but we are confident that if we get the players we are trying to bring in, we will certainly have one of the strongest squads in the league. 'There are deals in place that we are hoping to announce shortly. We will bring in six players as we look for a squad around 20. 'Once things settle we will start to look at the loan market and see what is available. We are working away and hopefully we will start to get some over the line this week.' East Kilbride announced last week who will be retained for next season and who has been released. The club has 13 players from the promotion winning squad sticking around with Sean Fagan, Jordan McGregor, Jamie Hamilton, David Ferguson, Reegan Mimnaugh, Lewis Spence, Joao Balde, Nathan Flanagan, Cami Elliott, Luke Main, Broque Watson, John Robertson and skipper Jack Leitch all retained. Those being released are Chris Truesdale, David Wilson, Adam Livingstone, Ian McShane and Scott Ferguson, while loan stars Matty Connelly (Motherwell), Daire O'Connor (Hamilton Accies), Cameron McKinley (Stirling Albion) and Zander Craik (Kilmarnock) return to their parent clubs. There are names among the retained list who could attract interest from bigger clubs, with the likes of ex-Hamilton Accies man Reegan Mimnaugh having a great campaign in 2024/25, but Kennedy is confident none of his key players will be going anywhere during the transfer window. He added: 'The retained players are those we've had conversations with and who all want to stay. I have a good enough relationship with the boys that if something came up they would speak to me. 'I wouldn't imagine anyone on the retained list is going to go anywhere. They enjoy the environment, the style of play and how the club is run. No disrespect to other clubs, but I think many of them would struggle to find something similar at this level. 'East Kilbride is arguably the best-run part-time club in the country and everybody has said they are fully committed for next season.'
