Holm Park is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It is the home ground of

Armagh City F.C. Armagh City Football Club is an intermediate, Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League. History The club was founded in 1964 as Milford Everton in the village of Milford, just outside Armagh city. The origin ...

The stadium holds 3,000. It is also used by Windmill Stars F.C.

History

Holm Park was built after Milford Everton were unable to continue using their home ground, Holm in

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

due to changes in ground criteria of the

Irish League B Division The NIFL Premier Intermediate League is the third division of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national association football league in Northern Ireland, and the highest intermediate division in Northern Ireland, occupying level three in ...

. In 1988, Milford Everton moved to Armagh and looked for a suitable place for a new ground while groundsharing with Armagh Old Boys and renaming themselves Armagh City. Holm Park was built after a lease of land from

Armagh City and District Council Armagh City and District Council was a district council in County Armagh in Northern Ireland. It merged with Banbridge District Council and Craigavon Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to beco ...

in 1991. The pitch was laid in 1992 and several additions to the ground continued until 1994. In 2002, Holm Park was at the centre of a dispute over the location of the Mid Ulster Radcliffe Cup Final between

Lurgan Celtic Lurgan Celtic Football Club is a Northern Irish intermediate football club based in Lurgan, County Armagh, that currently plays in the Mid-Ulster Football League Junior Division 3. The club was founded, 1903 & re-formed in 1970 who plays in a st ...

and

Loughgall Loughgall ( ; ) is a small village, townland (of 131 acres) and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the historic baronies of Armagh and Oneilland West. It had a population of 282 people (116 households) in the 2011 Census. ...

after it was moved from

Mourneview Park Mourneview Park is a football stadium in Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, and is the home ground of NIFL Premiership club Glenavon. The stadium holds 4,160 and was originally built in 1895. The 2008–09 Irish League Cup, 2010–11 Iris ...

due to alleged threats against Lurgan Celtic. Holm Park was selected by the Mid-Ulster Football Association as the venue for the final, however Lurgan complained to the

Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team. ...

that the vote included Loughgall votes. The IFA referred the matter back to the Mid-Ulster FA who voted again for Holm Park to be the final venue. In 2009, Holm Park was used by

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

based

Ballinamallard United Ballinamallard United Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Championship. The club, re-formed in 1975 after being dormant since the 1960s, hails from Ballinamallard, near Enniskillen, County Ferma ...

for their home matches in the

IFA Championship 1 The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Lough 41 Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national football league in Northern Ireland. Clubs in the Championshi ...

as their

Ferney Park Ferney Park is a football stadium in Ballinamallard, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the home stadium of Ballinamallard United. It was first used by Ballinamallard United in 1975, when the club was founded. History Since 2006, Ferne ...

ground did not meet the

's ground criteria. In 2010, due to constant pitch damage as a result of several matches played on it in short time periods because of postponements, Armagh City applied to

Sport Northern Ireland Sport Northern Ireland ( ir, Spórt Thuaisceart Éireann) is the regional government sports council (funding body) for Northern Ireland. History It was established under the Recreation and Youth Service (Northern Ireland) Order 1973 as the Spor ...

supported by Armagh City and District Council for a grant to install a 3G pitch at Holm Park. At a cost of £425,000, the FIFA approved pitch was installed. It was officially opened with a match between Armagh City and

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...

team

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

but the first match was a

Bob Radcliffe Cup The Bob Radcliffe Memorial Cup is an intermediate football competition in Northern Ireland run by the Mid-Ulster Football Association. It was introduced in 1978. The competition culminates in the final which has traditionally been played on Boxing ...

match against

. Holm Park has also hosted the final of the

Mid-Ulster Cup The Mid-Ulster Cup is a senior football competition in Northern Ireland run by the Mid-Ulster Football Association (founded 2 April 1887). The competition has historically featured teams based in County Armagh, east County Tyrone, and west Count ...

as well as

Northern Ireland national under-19 football team The Northern Ireland national under-19 football team also known as Northern Ireland under-19s or Northern Ireland U19s represents Northern Ireland in association football at under-19 level. It is controlled by the Irish Football Association and ...

matches.

References

External links

IFCP photos from Holm Park
{{coord, 54, 20, 21.36, N, 6, 37, 34.34, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Association football venues in Northern Ireland Sports venues in County Armagh Buildings and structures in Armagh (city) Armagh City F.C. Sport in Armagh (city)