About Us

In 1958, after the annual past pupils versus present pupils hockey match in Santa Sabina, the idea of forming a local hockey club in Sutton was raised. After a little research, Doreen Howe and Pauline Scott went into the Leinster Branch to register this new Northside Club. Unsure of what to call themselves, they choose the name Dominican Past and their Club crest was a seagull. The Club uniform was the same uniform worn by the pupils in Santa Sabina at the time. However, Dominican Past adapted the bottle green skirt slightly by stitching red ribbon around the bottom of it! Matches were played in Santa Sabina on a pitch with a hill!

Before long the Club’s name was changed to Suttonians Hockey Club they then moved to Suttonians Rugby Club to play their matches. New wood was purchased and the instructions in the rule book were meticuously followed to put the goal posts together. The pitch was marked and Suttonians Hockey Club were ready for action. There was even a Clubhouse of sorts. A corrugated lean to shed was put up, so that there were changing facilities and somewhere to have a post match chat over a cup of tea, which was freshly brewed on a primus stove!

However, before long Suttonians Hockey Club were on the move again. This time to a field in Kilbarrack. The pitch was even (enough!) but the grass needed cutting. When this was done, the goal posts were put up again, the lean to shed was moved out along with the primus stove. However, Kilbarrack was not to be a permanent home as the land was needed for housing. The next move was to St. Anne’s in Raheny. This move was aided by Fergus O’Shee. The pitch in St. Anne’s was hired from the Dublin City Council. The grass was cut but the Council did have difficulty with the hockey goal posts. They were used to GAA and soccer in those days. A room was provided in the Club house to change and the trusty primus stove ensured that the Sutton Ladies were still able to make that all important cup of tea. The move to St. Anne’s coincided with another change in Suttonians. This time it was a change in uniform. The arrival of the famous Suttonians pink skirt. The pink skirts became synonymous with Suttonians Hockey Club but the pitch location didn’t. The move to St. Anne’s meant more organising and more costs. So fees went up and fundraising commenced. While this sojourn was much more salubrious, it was too far from the confines of the peninsula so Suttonians moved back to their birth place, Santa Sabina. This time there was a grit pitch in Santa Sabina which was more appealing to play Saturday matches on than grass. However, training at night meant that  Holy Faith Clontarf was rented as they had lights. However, their pitch was not full size and so Suttonians moved to DCU, Glasnevin for training.  Our stay there didn’t last long as the travelling became a hardship and so we moved onto ALSAA, Colinstown.

The Club has changed greatly in the past number of years. The principal change has been the laying of a state of the art AstroTurf Pitch in 1998. The new surface has enabled the Club to attract many new players to ensure future success on the field. There are currently  in excess of 200 members playing regularly in the much loved pink and black strip. 
The 2006/2007 season saw the Club enjoy its most successful season ever. Promotion for the Ladies 1st team squad to Division 2 in 2007, has given the Club senior hockey status for the first time in its history. Furthermore, Doreen Howe, our Honorary Club Treasurer, was appointed President of the Irish Hockey Association in 2008. Currently the Club has two Women & Men’s teams competing in the Leinster League.  

Liasons with the local schools has helped developed a strong Junior Section in the club.  There are currently in excess of 220 Juniors training mid week and Sunday morning.  The secondary school players compete in the Leinster league and blitzes are organised for primary school players.