CRICKET
There are many historical sportsgrounds in Northern Ireland and Lisburn Cricket Club is one of the more familiar ones. Chris McCullough met up with groundsman Dean Simpson to see how he and his team look after the ground set amongst the historic Wallace Park in the heart of the city
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teeped in history and dating back to 1836, Lisburn Cricket Club is the oldest cricket club in Northern Ireland, and the third oldest in all of Ireland. Over its existence, the club has enjoyed significant success and firmly established its name among the cricketing communities across the UK, Ireland and even further afield. The County Antrim club runs adult teams for both men and women, and has residence in the centre of Wallace Park in Lisburn, which hosts its expanded ground and the Cecil Walker pavilion. As well as the adult teams, the club
Lisburn Cricket Club
Wallace and Simpson! 70
PC February/March 2022
focuses on youth participation of the game, and runs some youth teams with kids as young as eight playing there. Wallace Park extends to twenty-six acres in total and was given to the town of Lisburn by its landlord, Sir Richard Wallace, in 1884 as a public park and recreation ground. Originally known as the People’s Park, it was renamed Wallace Park by the Town Commissioners after Sir Richard’s death in 1890. The Lisburn Cricket Club ground predates the park, having played there since 1854, as does the duck pond which was built in the seventeenth century as the town reservoir. In 2010, Lisburn City Council undertook a
