Ireland men's national field hockey team

Ireland
Association Irish Hockey Association
Confederation EHF (Europe)
Coach Craig Fulton
Assistant coach Jonathan Caren
Manager Peter Jackson
Captain John Jackson
FIH ranking 15
　
First kit
　
Second kit

Ireland national field hockey team represents Ireland at men's international field hockey. It is organised by the Irish Hockey Association. Usually the team represents the entire island of Ireland and plays under a special flag. The exception is Olympic hockey, where the team represents only the Republic of Ireland and plays under the Irish tricolour.[1] Prior to the IHA's formation in 2000, the team was organised by the Irish Hockey Union (IHU).[2]

Ireland has qualified for the Hockey World Cup twice, finishing 12th in 1978 and 1990.

South African Paul Revington is the current coach, he succeeded David Passmore in November 2008.[3] He appointed his first panel in December 2008 and officially took up the post in January 2009.[4]

Olympic Games

At the 1908 Olympic tournament in London, the Ireland team won silver medals, losing the final to England. The teams were two of four from the Home Nations of what was then the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and their medals are credited to Great Britain. Since 1920, the United Kingdom has fielded a single Great Britain team at the Olympics.

Until 1988, the Olympic hockey tournament was by invitation only and, since the establishment of the Olympic Council of Ireland in 1922, no Irish team was invited.[1] Players from Northern Ireland have participated on the Great Britain team, which plays only in the Olympics;[1] otherwise, England, Scotland and Wales play separately. The IHU entered the qualifying round of the 1992 tournament, in spite of opposition from many of its Northern Irish officials.[1]

Ireland has never qualified for the Olympic tournament. It missed out on the 2008 Olympics after losing on goal difference to Argentina and New Zealand at a qualifying event held in New Zealand. The team then lost the third-place play-off game against France.[5]

Current squad

Roster for the 2013 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship.

Head Coach: Andrew Meredith

  1. David Harte (GK)
  2. John Jackson (C)
  3. Jonathan Bell
  4. Ronan Gormley
  5. Michael Watt
  6. Christopher Cargo
  7. Eugene Magee
  8. Peter Caruth
  9. Kirk Shimmins
  1. Stephen Cole
  2. Bruce McCandless
  3. Michael Darling
  4. David Fitzgerald (GK)
  5. Kyle Good
  6. Conor Harte
  7. Peter Brown
  8. Stuart Loughrey
  9. Shane O'Donoghue

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Sugden, John; Alan Bairner (1995). "British Sports and Irish identity". Sport, sectarianism and society in a divided Ireland. Leicester University Press. pp. 64–66. ISBN 0-7185-0018-0.
  2. ↑ "About us". Irish Hockey Association. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  3. ↑ Revington is new Irish Hockey manager RTÉ
  4. ↑ Revington announces Irish hockey squad RTÉ
  5. ↑ "Irish suffer Olympic heartbreak". BBC Online. 9 February 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2008.

External links