The club's origins lie in the
Cliftonville area of north
Belfast. The club played games at
Solitude before finding a permanent home with the
Cliftonville Cricket Club at the
Cliftonville Cricket Ground on the other side of the Cliftonville Road. In late August 1972, the clubhouse was burned and looted during civil unrest. Physical sectarian intimidation prevented the members from entering the grounds. The club sought help without success from local and government authorities, in the hope that the club could be protected and assisted in the continue playing hockey and cricket at the ground. As a result, the club abandoned the ground and took up a nomadic existence.Cliftonville Cricket Club web archive The first grounds used in exile were the
Girls' Model School pitches at Dunkeld Gardens. In 1981, the club moved to Boucher Road Playing Fields. Then, in 1986, the Boucher Playing Fields were closed and Cliftonville moved to the
Queen's University pitches until taking over the tenancy of Belfast YMCA all-weather pitch at Bladon Drive in 1987. In 1992, the decision was made that all 1st XI home games would be played on the artificial pitch at the Olympia Leisure Centre. The club found a new permanent home with CIYMS Sports Club at Belmont in 2004. Today the historic original ground is the property of the
Belfast City Council and is used by the local community but not for cricket or hockey. ==1960s and 1970s==