Archive for year: 2019

Hockey Ireland has today accepted the resignation of senior women’s head coach Graham Shaw as he takes up the position of head coach of New Zealand’s senior international women. Shaw has long since been a member of the Hockey Ireland family both as a senior international player and as part of the coaching set up since 2010. He was assistant coach to Darren Smith before taking the head coach role in the summer of 2015 prior to the Eurohockey Championships II in Prague.

After nearly 4 years at the helm of the Green Army Graham is moving to New Zealand to take up the role with the world number 6, the Blacksticks offer an exciting challenge as they compete in the Pro League and have their sights firmly set on Tokyo 2020.

Speaking about the move, Shaw said “It was an honour to coach my country and I am very grateful for the opportunity. We have had some incredible times together that I will never forget. I have worked with an outstanding staff over many years; your professionalism, honesty and friendship will stay with me forever.

I would like to thank Hockey Ireland, Sport Ireland, SINI and Sport Northern Ireland for your unwavering support over the past years and long may it continue. I’d also like to recognise the staff of Hockey Ireland for all their work behind the scenes and their friendships over the past several years.

To the players I would like to say a massive thank you. Your drive, dedication and loyalty has been relentless and it has been an absolute pleasure to lead the program over the past 4 years. I would like to wish the squad all the best for the future. I hope you continue on this journey, inspiring the next generation of hockey players in Ireland and I hope to see you in Tokyo”.

The Green Army have gone from 16th to 8th in the world during Shaw’s tenure and qualified for their first World Cup since 2002. The recent 2018 World Cup is perhaps what Shaw will be most recognised for as he led the squad to an historic silver medal and a first ever World Cup final for any Irish team sport.

Jerome Pels, Hockey Ireland CEO, was quick to praise the legacy that Shaw leaves behind “We would like to thank Graham for all he has done for the senior women’s programme over the last several years. Graham has given a huge amount to Irish hockey over the last 2 decades both as a high-performance athlete and a coach. We wish Graham all the very best with this new opportunity with Hockey New Zealand”.

Performance Director Adam Grainger echoed Pels’ sentiment “Graham has undoubtedly left the Green Army programme in a better place and has put the building blocks in place for the squad to continue with this cycle successfully, with the primary goal being Olympic qualification. Graham’s commitment to the programme, both on and off the pitch, is a testament to his character and we wish him every success in the future”.

Green Army captain, Katie Mullan, also hailed Shaw’s influence “On behalf of the Green Army I would like to thank Graham for all that he has given to our team. He led us to a moment none of us will ever forget at the World Cup and the Blacksticks are very lucky to have him, we wish him all the best with this new adventure”.

Three Rock Rovers advanced to the EuroHockey Indoor Challenge I promotion pool as group winners in Oslo following an ever-improving set of performances.

Indeed, it could have been a very different complexion to their tournament had they lost their opening tie when they trailed Ukraine’s OKS SHVSM Vinnitsa 5-2 with four minutes to go.

But a quickfire run of three goals changed their whole momentum with Ross Canning scoring on the final hooter for what proved an important draw on Friday morning.

They backed that up with a 3-2 win over Cardiff & Met, pulling clear with two more late goals from Jody Hosking and Canning in the last five minutes.

It left them in second place overnight, facing the other leading side Bologna – both on seven points out of 10 – with a win confirming they would go through.

The first half was tight with the Italians on top but Conor Quinn kept Rovers’ noses in front 2-1 with a brilliant corner save. And then Rovers went on a second half rampage, scoring three times in quick succession after half-time to seal the win before running up another three goals late on for an 8-1 success.

Cardiff’s 2-2 draw with Vinnitsa, meanwhile, meant Rovers go through to the promotion pool along with Bologna, carrying with them the points and goal difference from that thumping win.

Reflecting on the group stages, coach Liam Canning said: “That comeback [against Vinnitsa] was massive. It comes from playing regularly in these tournaments indoors and in the EHL, the experience and belief the lads have to fight back is huge.

“They are developing that calmness and composure in tough situations. Against Bologna, it was tight in the first half with the Italians on top. We changed a few things at half time and played some outstanding stuff.

“Overall, we have a really good squad now and when we make subs, the standard doesn’t drop a level at all really. That makes a big difference. Quinner has made some big saves and Jamie [Carr] came in to keep things calm.”

Three Rock will now represent Ireland at the Euro club Trophy in February 2020. This is the first time since 1996 that Ireland have have had a men’s team at this level.

EuroHockey Indoor Club Challenge I (Oslo, Norway)
Friday: HC OKS SHVSM Vinnitsa 5 Three Rock Rovers 5 (R Canning 2, J Hosking, H Morris, B Walker); Cardiff & Met 2 Three Rock Rovers 3 (E Geyer, J Hosking, R Canning)
Saturday: Hockey Club Bologna 1 Three Rock Rovers 8 (R Canning 2, H Morris 2, J Hosking, J McAllister, D Walsh, H Morris)

Standings: 1. Three Rock Rovers 12pts (+8) 2. Bologna 7pts (-5) 3. OKS SHVSM Vinnitsa 6pts (0) 4. Cardiff & Met 4pts (-3)

By Stephen Findlater, original article appeared here.

Sport Ireland today announced an investment of nearly €32 million in National Governing Bodies for Sport, direct athlete support and the Local Sports Partnership Network for 2019.

The funding announced, which represents a significant increase on 2018, includes an investment of €12.845 million in the core activity of National Governing Bodies for Sport (NGBs), €8.46m in NGB High Performance Programmes, €820,000 in high performance funding for the Olympic Federation of Ireland and Paralympics Ireland, and €7.29 million in the work of the Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs).

Sport Ireland also announced €500,000 in targeted funding for projects, to assist with the preparation for key events in 2019, along with a further €1.93 million for the International Carding Scheme.

The funding announcement is a welcome boost for Hockey Ireland following an historic 2018 for Irish hockey and 2019 could well follow in a similar vain with Olympic qualification on the horizon. To support both senior teams campaigns to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Sport Ireland will lay a state of the art hockey pitch at the National Sport Campus in April. The new pitch is a welcome addition to the thriving campus and will prove invaluable for all Hockey Ireland national teams.

The first major tournament on the road to Tokyo comes in the form of the FIH Series Finals, Ireland’s men are bound for Le Touqet in France while the women will play host in Dublin. The tournament will mark the first major competition hosted at home for the Green Army since World League 2 in March 2015. It offers the perfect opportunity to see the World Cup silver medallists in action over the course of the 9-day tournament, with plenty of chances for fans to meet members of the Green Army at the dedicated Fan Village.

Both senior teams will enjoy an increased budget this year, attributed to a rise in sponsorship revenue and a notable increase in high performance funding from Sport Ireland. The additional funding has presented both teams with the much-needed opportunity to train more frequently as a team and increase their international fixtures against top opposition in preparation for major tournaments.

In August, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross TD announced that Hockey Ireland would receive €500,000 of €1.5 million that was being invested to assist NGB’s with Olympic and major competition preparation. Hockey Ireland continue to be extremely grateful for this investment and commitment to the sport, and the funding greatly assisted in covering the deficit that arose from two World Cup campaigns in 2018. The funding has also played a role in facilitating the establishment of a carding scheme for the senior international athletes, whereby the senior international athletes receive financial support.

Another positive step in the right direction is a targeted investment in our Junior Age Group programmes as they continue to progress on their journey to senior internationals.

2019 is off to an extremely bright start and is shaping up to be another momentous year for hockey, as echoed by Hockey Ireland CEO Jerome Pels “We are very grateful to Sport Ireland for their increased investment in hockey and their continued support. The new pitch in Abbotstown is a big step for our sport and the establishment of a purpose-built training facility for our international squads will only aid our ambitions to continually compete with the best teams in the world.”.

Head coach Alexander Cox, who has recently signed a contract with Hockey Ireland that will see him lead the Green Machine up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, said “We are of course grateful for the funding and support we receive from Sport Ireland. The new pitch at the National Sports Campus along with this increase in funding will prove a vital boost to our training and the amount of camps we can have at home, working towards Olympic Qualification”.

For full details of the Sport Ireland funding announcement, click here