formed in 1984. The club colours are red and black. Soccer in Castlecomer goes back to the early 1950s when the first team was formed, the club names have changed over the years but Deen Celtic is the most recent name and longest established club in the town. A floodlit all-weather pitch was installed in 1999. Deenside Wheelers is the local cycling club. This club is an affiliated member of Cycling Ireland the Governing body of all Cycling in Ireland. Castlecomer also has an 18-hole golf course, designed by Pat Ruddy. It is a Par 72, 6,180m links course. Castlecomer Athletics Club and Castlecomer Basketball Club have been running in the town for many years also. Castlecomer Community Hall also hosts a range of sport, recreation, drama and other events throughout the year. The Deenside Players pantomime society organise an annual pantomime in early February. Religion The Church of the Immaculate Conception is the Roman Catholic church on Kilkenny Street. For more than two centuries this site has been a place of worship. A simple thatched chapel stood here in the 1750s and was replaced some forty years later by the Church of the Holy Cross which served the people until the present church was built. The foundation stone for the present Gothic style church was laid on 16 August 1844 by Father Joseph Butler P.P. and was completed in 1852 during the ministry of his successor Father Edward Aylward P.P. The church, designed by William Deane Butler, Dublin, was dedicated to the honour of Our Lady under the name ‘ Church of the Immaculate Conception'. Greatly admired features of the Church include: The matching altar, ambo and chair, The painted ceiling, the stained glass windows, the Stations of the Cross and the very ornate sanctuary lamp. St Mary's Church is the Church of Ireland church on the Dublin Road. It stands on the site of the ancient parish Church of the Holy Cross in Castlecomer. In 1374 Alexander, Bishop of Ossory, confirmed the Church of Castlecomer to the Prior and Canons of Saint John's Abbey, Kilkenny. In the early 15th century, the Revd Walter Comys was excommunicated by the Bishop of Ossory in 1428 when he held on to the church and refused to hand it over to William Stakboll, Prior of Saint John's Abbey. In 1540, St John's Abbey was suppressed at the English Reformation; its possessions, including