Hockey played on rollerblades is a fast physically challenging sport that is popular with young people.
Roller hockey is currently the fastest-growing sport in Ireland and young people in Kingswood have taken enthusiastically to the game. They are coached by Canadian Greg Fitzgerald, a member of the Dublin Flyers ice hockey team.
Brian Pembroke and Alan Fennessy explain the rules and show off their skills in a game at the yard of St Kilian’s Senior and Junior Schools.
In addition to rollerblades and a hockey stick, players wear helmets and protective gear, including padded gloves.
This episode of 'The Grip’ was broadcast on 8 December 1995. The presenter is Sarah O’Flaherty.
'The Grip' was a young people's programme on Network 2 aimed at young people between the ages of seven and 17. It featured interviews with young Irish sports athletes and publicised upcoming sports events and fixtures. Sarah Flaherty and Ryle Nugent, Kevin O'Connell, Sallie McArdle and Tanya White were the presenters and reporters. First broadcast on 12 September 1994, it ran until 1998.
In an interview with the RTÉ Guide in September 1995, 'The Grip' series producer Antony Sellers describes the programme as one which is,
Focusing on the people competing in sport - their aspirations, ambitions, enjoyment, efforts, achievements and failures.
(RTÉ Guide, 22 September 1995, p.68)
