Re-establishing curling in Ireland is a primary goal of the ICA.

Curling is a sport worth trying, but it is difficult so far for folk in Ireland. The two permanent ice rinks in Ireland (Dundalk and Dundonald, in Belfast) say they are "too busy" for curling, though we have tried to persuade them.

On the horizon and hopefully coming to fruition is the Ice Arena in Santry just outside Dublin. In March 2012 ice was being put down and Ice Hockey will be played there. We are trying very hard to rationalise a slot in the timetable to allow curling to gain a foothold but further than that, we are pursuing another avenue within the same building to potentially provide a dedicated curling rink which would unlock some more substantial funding from WCF. John Burns and Robin Gray (in Ireland) have been busy meeting with the stakeholders. Hopefully this will not turn out to be yet another false dawn but we are doing our absolute utmost to ensure that it is not.

A new ice rink is possible in Coleraine and they had promised curling one day a week scheduled to start in 2011. However, progress in the current economic climate is on hold but we are still in touch and hopeful for the future.

There has also been curling on various temporary ice rinks in Cork and Dublin at Christmas time.

Another option is coming over to Scotland - there's a curling rink beside the ferry terminal at The North West Castle Hotel in Stranraer where you can plan a day out for eight people.

To help us you can lobby your local ice rink and let them know there is a real interest in the sport in Ireland.