ARDS Ladies Hockey Club honorary life member Norma Gartside, who has spent 16 years in the role as president, handed over the presidential medal to Gillian Murphy at their recent AGM.
Norma, who is also an honorary life member of Hockey Ireland, a former Ulster Hockey president, international umpire and Irish team manager, succeeded Joan Kennedy as Ards president, whom the medal is named after.
Norma represented Ireland on the Euro Nations Hockey Umpires Panel for 15 years. Prior to her career in umpiring, she played on the Ards team of the 1960s which won every top-level domestic hockey trophy possible, including the All-Ireland Cup. She recently cited 65 years of service to her beloved club and intends to continue to provide support and encouragement from the sidelines.
Taking over as president is Gillian Murphy, who was involved over 30 years ago in the design and creation of the ‘Kennedy Medal,’ guided by local businessman Derek Harkness, so often a valued supporter of the club in the 1980s and 90s.
Herself a former hockey international at various levels, Gillian played for the 1st XI over a period of 25 years and was instrumental in bringing the first artificial pitch to the borough in 1994.
On retiring from the commitments of 1st XI hockey, Gillian continued to play for all the other club teams whilst developing the structures of the successful Ards Junior Club. She is full of admiration of the work that Frankie and Naomi McKnight now put into running the Junior section, as their graduates now form the basis of several of the senior teams representing Ards today.
Currently a single handicap golfer at Clandeboye Golf Club, Gillian has also recently renewed her interest in table-tennis, as a former Ulster and Irish School Junior with the Ards Table Tennis club. She says that the Saturday afternoon buzz at Londonderry Park when watching, umpiring, coaching and supporting has never left her and she looks forward to continuing these in her new capacity, succeeding two amazing presidents of the club which features strongly at every level of Ulster and Irish hockey.
