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Seventh Heaven for Ireland Men

 

Ireland – 7 Austria -0

Ireland bounced back from their opening day defeat to Austria with a comprehensive 7-0 win over the visitors in the second of the three-game series.

Michael Robson converted a penalty corner in the 5th minute to put Ireland 1-0 up. Lee Cole scored from open play in the 12th minute to make it 2-0 to Ireland. John McKee got his first of the game a minute later to put Ireland 3-0 up. Jeremy Duncan added a fourth on 28 minutes to leave the half time score at 4-0.

Shane O’Donoghue converted a 33rd minute penalty corner to make it 5-0 to Ireland. Ben Johnson grabbed a goal to make it 6-0 in the 52nd minute and Johnny McKee got his second of the game to make the final score 7-0 three minutes from time.

After the game, Coach Mark Tumulty was pleased with the clinical nature of the finishing from the team and the improvement over the first game. He stressed the need for the team to achieve a level of consistency and is looking for more of the same from their third game on Saturday afternoon.

IRELAND:  David Harte, Luke Madeley, Johnny McKee, Kevin O’Dea, Shane O’Donoghue, Sean Murray (c), Peter McKibbin, Michael Robson, Lee Cole, Conor Empey, Ben Johnson

AUSTRIA: Mateusz Szymczyk (GK), Oliver Binder, Benjamin Koelbl, Benjamin Stanzl, Franz Lindengrun, Nikolas Wellan, Fabian Unterkircher, Leon Thoernblom, Fulop Losonci, Xaver Husun (C), Oliver Kern.

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Game 1 Match Report. IRL V Austria

 

IRELAND 1 AUSTRIA  2

Ireland opened their three game series on Thursday with a 1-2 defeat against Austria. The games, which are part of the final preparations ahead of the European Championships II, are hosted by Ireland from July 23-29 in Abbotstown. They are taking place over the next few days, finishing on Saturday July 15th with an afternoon game against the same opponents.

On a wet and miserable evening in Abbotstown, the home side started strongly and Conor Empey put Ireland 1-0 up in the 12th minute from open play. Austria equalized through a field goal by Josef Winkler on the stroke of  half-time.

It was 1-1 at the break. One of the remarkable aspects of the game was how few Penalty corners were awarded .

Then they grabbed what proved to be the winner through Fulop Losonci’s field goal in the 43rd minute. Although Ireland did try to get back on terms, it was to no avail and it ended 2-1 to Austria.

 

IRELAND: James Milliken (GK), Luke Madeley, Daragh Walsh, Shane O’Donoghue, Sean Murray (c), Mark McNelis, Louis Rowe, Sam Hyland, Mark Samuel, Nicholas Page, Alistair Empey. SUBS: James Carr (GK), Kevin O’Dea, Jeremy Duncan, Jonathan Lynch, Conor Empey

AUSTRIA: Mateusz Szymczyk, Oliver Binder, Benjamin Koelbl, Benjamin Stanzl, Franz Lindengrun, Fabien Unterkircher, Leon Thoernblom, Fueloep Losonci, Xaver Hasun (C), Oliver Kern. SUBS: Peter Kaltenboeck; Daniel Froehlich, Moritz Frey, Josef Winkler, Mateusz Nyckowiak, Clemens Rusnjak

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Sports Capital Equipment Programme 2023 Announced

The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D., and the Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne T.D., yesterday announced that a new round of the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) will open for new applications from 17 July. The SCEP is the Government’s primary vehicle for providing support to sports clubs and communities to develop sports infrastructure around the country.

Applicants for local projects can now apply for up to €200,000, increased from the previous maximum grant of €150,000. The maximum valid grant available for projects deemed to be of regional significance has been increased from €300,000 to €500,000.

In addition, this year’s SCEP “Guide to Making an Application” has a focus on climate action and sustainability for the first time, supporting local clubs to take steps to reduce their energy consumption and applying for more efficient lighting.

In the last round of the SCEG in 2020, Hockey saw a 167% increase (2,192000) in their allocation compared to the previous 2018 round. Despite this increase, this still accounts for only 1.3% of the total allocation given across all sports. We still believe, as a sport, we need to be ambitious and further increase the total funding in order to in order to grow the game and provide our players with better facilities.

We would ask that all clubs, based in ROI, to fill in the following form – this will help Hockey Ireland understand what clubs are applying for, so we can offer support and guidance through the process. https://forms.office.com/e/EcvaNhiA5a

Key dates:
12th July – Launch of guide – please note this has been updated and we would recommend ALL clubs study this in depth. https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/263205/e3ef65bd-9531-4b28-b6c5-2ac0ab5d08a5.pdf#page=null
17th July – Application opens
18th July 13.00 – 14.00 – Hockey Ireland webinar 1
20th July 19.30 – 20.30 – Hockey Ireland webinar 2
8th Sept – Applications close

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IRELAND SQUAD FOR EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP II ANNOUNCED

Coach Mark Tumilty has announced the 18 players who will represent Ireland in the European Championship II which Ireland will be hosting at the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown between July 23-29, 2023.

Ireland begin their campaign with a game against Czech Republic on Sunday 23rd July with a 6pm start. They follow this with a game against Ukraine on Tuesday 25th July with a 7:15pm start and complete their pool section with a game against Portugal on Wednesday 26th July with a 7:15pm start. Tickets are available at www.irelandhockey.sportlomo.com.

The squad, which has a rich blend of youth and experience as well as players in the mid-part of their careers, seems ideally suited to the task of getting Ireland back into Europe’s top tier and ultimately the Olympics in Paris for 2024.

Mark Tumilty’s selection sees the welcome return of some veteran players such as David Harte who was FIH World Goalkeeper of the Year on two occasions, who has been out of international action for almost 4 years.

There are players in the squad who have considerable previous tournament experience of events such as Rio 2016 and the 2019 Hockey World Cup in Bubaneshwar as well as players who were too young to have experienced the bitter disappointment of missing out on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and the 2023 World Cup.

Ireland preparations continue this weekend as they begin a three match series with Austria also at the National Sports Campus at Abbotstown. On Thursday July 13th at 7:45pm Ireland play their first game with Austria. Game two takes place the following day Friday July 14th at 7:45pm and the series is completed by a game with Austria at 3:30pm on Saturday July 15th

 

David Harte GK
Jaime Carr GK
Peter McKibbin Outside Back
Lee Cole Outside Back
Luke Witherow Outside Back
Luke Madeley Centre Back
Kyle  Marshall Centre Back
Shane O’Donoghue Centre Back
Nick Page Centre Midfielder
Sean Murray (Captain) Centre Midfielder
Jonny Lynch Outside Midfielder
Charlie Rowe Outside Midfielder
Michael Robson Outside Midfielder
Ben Walker Forward
Ben Johnson Forward
Conor Empey Forward
Johnny McKee Forward
Jeremy Duncan Forward
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IRL V Wales Day 3 Match Report

IRELAND 3 WALES 0

Ireland clinched their series against Wales in style with a decisive 3-0 win in the final game of the  series on Sunday.

Ireland started off well and forced a penalty corner which was converted on 9 minutes by Luke Madeley. As had been the case on Saturday when the Welsh fell behind, they came more into the game as the half wore on. There were no further goals for either team in the rest of the first quarter or in the second quarter. It remained 1-0 at half time.

The third quarter became a bit of a Ben Walker show as he opened his account on 39 minutes to put Ireland 2-0 ahead. Ben, then got his second goal of the afternoon, sixty seconds later in the 40th minute to leave the score 3-0 to Ireland.

That might have been the end of the scoring, but it was far from the end of the action. In a hectic final quarter Wales had a goal overturned on an Irish appeal. They were also awarded a stroke which was saved by David Harte.

Wales were reduced to 10 during that final quarter for 2 minutes when Jacob Draper was green carded. Double goalscoring hero Ben Walker was green carded in the 59th minute, meaning that Ireland finished the game with 10 players on the field.

Next up for Ireland’s men is a three game series with Austria beginning July 13th at the Sports Ireland Campus in Abbotstown.

 

IRELAND: Jamie Carr. Luke Madeley, John McKee, Kevin O’Dea, Peter McKibbin, Michael Robson, Ben Walker, Jonathan Lynch, Sam Hyland, Ben Johnson  SUBS: David Harte (GK), Charlie Rowe, Shane O’Donoghue, Mark McNellis, Jeremy Duncan, Conor Empey, Nicholas Page

WALES: Toby Reynolds-Cotterill, Daniel Kyriakides, Alf Dinnie, Jacob Draper, Rhys Bradshaw, Jolyon Morgan, Hywel Jones, Jack Pritchard,  Benjamin Francis, Luke Hawker, Gareth Griffiths.  SUBS: Rupert Shipperley , Rhodri Furlong, Owen Sutton, Owain Dolan -Gray, Fred Newbold

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IRL V Wales Game 2 Match report

IRELAND 5 WALES 2 

Ireland came back into the series with an emphatic victory over Wales in the second game of the three game series.

Ben Walker had two chances in the first three minutes of the opening quarter of the second game in the Ireland -Wales series at Comber Road. Ireland took the lead a few minutes later. Luke Madeley’s free was shot to the net by Johnny McKee in the 8th minute. 1-0 to Ireland. Wales had a succession of short corners in the final minute of the first quarter. Jamie Carr made a point blank save from the first one. The next one hit an Irish foot producing a third. This one deflected off an Irish stick forcing Carr to palm it over the bar at the expense of a long corner. Having withstood all the Welsh pressure it remained 1-0 to Ireland at the end of the quarter.

A succession of penalty corners for Ireland in the second quarter from the 23rd minute on resulted in a penalty stroke being awarded and Lee Cole made no mistake 2-0 to Ireland. Wales had a number of circle entries between then and the rest of the quarter, without creating any clear cut opportunities. It was 2-0 at the half time break.

In the third quarter it was honours even early on. Ireland were awarded a penalty corner in the 35thminute which was saved by Wales goalkeeper Reynolds-Cotterill at point blank range. Wales forced two penalty corners in succession which produced a shot wide of the post from Jacob Draper. But their pressure finally paid off on 39 minutes when Fred Newbold shot to the net following a succession of penalty corners to get Wales on the scoreboard. 2-1. Ireland increased their lead in the final minute from a penalty corner won by captain Sean Murray. Conor Harte converted the 44thminutepenalty corner into the net to leave Ireland leading 3-1 going into the final quarter.

Ireland forced two penalty corners in a row in the 49thminute. The second of which was dispatched to the back of the net by Luke Madeley for his second goal of the game to leave Ireland 4-1 up.

Wales were awarded a penalty corner a minute later when captain Sean Murray was green carded. A second penalty corner followed for the visitors but it resulted in a shot wide of goal. Ireland put the result completely beyond doubt in the 54thminute when Lee Cole Harte converted a penalty corner to make the score 5-1.

Goalkeeper David Harte made a welcome return to International hockey , after an absence of four years late in the fourth quarter and almost his first task was picking the ball out of the net as Owain Dolan Gray got a last minute consolation goal for Wales .

Speaking after the game Ireland coach Mark Tumilty said ,“The most pleasing thing about today’s game was the performance. We adjusted our press from the previous game. I was pleased with our attacking play. We were much better from corners. We have options. I am happy with where we are with penalty corners. I am pleased to get the win. It’s important to get the winning mentality ahead of the European Championships later this month. There is more in this group and we have to go again tomorrow for the final game in the series”.

 

IRELAND: Jamie Carr, Luke Madeley, Peter McKibben, Lee Cole, Charlie Rowe, Jonathan Lynch, Jeremy Duncan, Jonathan Lynch, Nick Page, Sean Murray (Capt.), Conor Empey, Ben Walker. SUBS: David Harte (GK), Conor Harte, Sam Hyland, Kevin O’Dea, Johnny McKee, Ben Johnson

WALES: Toby Reynolds-Cotterill, Daniel Kyriakides, Jacob Draper, Rupert Shipperley (Capt.), Rhodri Furlong, Stephen Kelly, Jolyon Morgan, Jack Pritchard, Hywel Jones, Gareth Griffiths, Fred Newbold. SUBS: Dewi Roblin (GK), Alf Dinnie, Rhys Bradshaw, Michael Wood, Owain Dolan -Gray, Benjamin Francis, Luke Hawker

 

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IRL V Wales Game 1 Match Report

IRELAND 0  WALES 2

Coach Mark Tumilty began the final preparations in earnest for European Championships II in July with the first game of a three-game series against Wales at Comber Road last night.

Ireland are taking on Wales at the home of  Lisnagarvey in a series spread over four days, ending on Sunday, which will resemble the sort of demands which will be placed on the players when they host the European Hockey Championships II in the Sports Ireland Campus, Abbotstown in late July. The target from those Championships is to secure promotion back to the top tier of European Championships and ultimately to reach the next Olympics in Paris 2024.

The first game didn’t go to plan as two goals from Welsh player Jack Pritchard, one in the second quarter and the other three minutes from time, were enough to give Wales a first win in the series by 2-0.

Ireland lost goalkeeper James Milliken at the end of quarter one with Jamie Carr going into goal at the start of the second quarter.

One consolation was that these goals came from open play and not from penalty corners.  A largely even first quarter ended scoreless with Jack Pritchard grabbing his first goal from open play, coming in the 23rd minute. Wales led 1-0 at the break.

Ireland tried to get back into the match in the third quarter but were unable to put the ball into the net. Their cause was not helped by being reduced to 10 players on 51 minutes when John McKee was green carded and then 9 players when captain Sean Murray was also made to sit out on a green card a minute later.

However, there was no further scoring during Ireland’s period of being shorthanded. As the game was nearing its end in the fourth quarter, Jack Pritchard got his second of the match on 57 minutes to secure a first win for Wales in the series. Both sides will resume the series on Saturday at 3 p.m. following a rest day on Friday. The series will conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m.

 

IRELAND:  James Milliken, Conor Harte, Shane O’Donoghue, Mark Samuel, Peter McKibben, Michael Robson, Sean Murray (C), Charlie Rowe, Alistair Empey, Johnny McKee, Jeremy Duncan

SUBS:  Mark McNellis, Rory Patterson, Johnny Lynch, Kevin O’Dea, Louis Rowe, Ben Walker, Jamie Carr (GK)

WALES: Toby Reynolds-Cotterill, Daniel Kyriakides, Jacob Draper, Rhodri Furlong, Stephen Kelly, Owain Dolan-Gray, Jolyon Morgan, Hywel Jones, Benjamin Francis, Luke Hawker(C), Gareth Griffiths

SUBS: Rupert Shipperley, Owen Sutton, Jonathan Fleck, Jack Pritchard, Fred Newbold, Rhys Bradshaw.

TO PURCHASE TICKETS FOR THE 2 REMAINING GAMES, CLICK HERE

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Two new appointments for Hockey Ireland

Hockey Ireland is delighted to have recently appointed 2 new Development Staff in Munster and Connacht.

 

David Granero Fuertes brings a wealth of experience from club development from his role in Valencia Hockey Club as club coordinator. In this role David implemented a successful development programme in local schools while also enhancing the quality of existing players via a players development programme. David brought these skills to Connacht when he moved to Galway and has coached in Galway Hockey Club as well as Salerno School. David will work 3-days a week in the region.

 

Brendan Woods started with Hockey Ireland in recent weeks as Regional Development Officer for Munster on a 3-day a week contract. Brendan has a strong passion for hockey having been a player, coach and captain. Brendan is also from a fitness background, having set up a successful Personal Training Business and is also involved in mainstream tennis coaching, as well as working with disability groups.

 

David and Brendan will be responsible for ensuring continued growth of hockey in their respective regions, via club, school, volunteer, coach and umpire development. Development Officers can offer help with many issues and can help you implement programmes in your club/ area such as:

 

David and Brendan are contactable at the email addresses below:

 

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Hockey Ireland announces new Chief Executive Officer.

Dublin, June 27: The Board of Hockey Ireland is pleased to announce the appointment of Anne McCormack as Hockey Ireland’s new Chief Executive Officer.

McCormack joins from Golf Ireland, where she was Chief Operating Officer and a key member of the team that created Golf Ireland in 2021, transitioning the Golf Union of Ireland and Irish Ladies Golf Union from separate gender-based entities.

She brings a passion for sport, having played golf at an elite level representing Connaught and Ireland at underage levels, and was the driving force behind a number of major Golf initiatives including ‘Get into Golf’, ‘Golf4Girls4Life’ and ‘LevelPar’.

As a powerful advocate of inclusion and equality, she further bolsters Hockey Ireland’s already strong track record of gender representation at Board and Executive level roles.

 

Speaking about her new role, McCormack said:

“It’s a privilege to be joining such a vibrant and passionate community, and I look forward to working alongside Hockey’s stakeholders, its talented athletes, dedicated staff, as well as the Provinces and Clubs. Sport is a huge part of my life and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work closely with the Board and continue to drive hockey across the island forward. I firmly believe that through collaboration, innovation and a shared vision, we can take the sport to new heights of success and make a lasting impact for all in the hockey community”.

Commenting on the appointment, Hockey Ireland Chair Trevor Watkins commented:

“Anne was a standout candidate in the interview process and brings very relevant credentials as we look to build on our historic International sporting success, further develop the game of Hockey in Ireland and maintain the current positive momentum we have within the organisation.”

McCormack will take up the role from mid-September and joins at a very busy period for Hockey as the Senior Men host the EuroHockey Championship II in July at the Sport Ireland Campus and both the Senior Women and Senior Men International teams look to Olympic qualification in 2024.

Hockey Ireland Chair further commented:

“Matt McKerrow continues as interim CEO until September, and Hockey Ireland would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank Matt for his contribution as we make this transition.”

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Ireland Senior Men’s Head Coach Mark Tumilty selects squad for upcoming IRL Vs Wales three game series.

Dublin, June 22: Ireland Men’s Hockey Head Coach, Mark Tumilty has chosen his squad for the forthcoming three game series with Wales from June 29th – July 2nd at Comber Road in Hillsborough, home of Lisnagarvey Hockey Club. Ireland who are currently ranked 13th in the FIH World Rankings will take on 15th ranked Wales in the 3-game series over 4 days.

The games against Wales will push back at 19.45 on Thursday June 29th, 15:00 on Saturday July 1st and then 13:00 on Sunday July 2nd 2023. The Ireland Men’s team will follow this with a three-game series against Austria from July 13th-15th at Sports Campus Ireland,  Abbotstown in Dublin,  in preparation for the Euro Hockey Championship II, Men tournament July 23-29 at Sport Ireland Campus.

Speaking after the announcement of the squad, head coach Mark Tumilty said:

“We’ve had a busy summer already with games against FIH Pro League Nations Spain, Argentina and Australia. I am happy with where the squad is, at this point in time. Wales and Austria are the ideal opponents in the coming weeks to help the squad prepare for EuroHockey Championship II. We will work hard on developing our attacking playing against Wales and Austria with the focus on winning these games to build confidence going into the July tournament. I know the squad are very excited about the opportunity to play games in Ireland and we hope the Irish Hockey community can get behind the team over the coming weeks as we aim to gain a spot in the Olympic Qualifier”

Thursday 29th June Saturday 1st July Sunday 2nd July
Jaime Carr David Harte David Harte
James Milliken Jaime Carr Jaime Carr
Mark McNellis Luke Witherow Luke Witherow
Mark Samuel Peter McKibben Peter McKibben
Peter McKibben Kyle Marshall Kyle Marshall
Conor Harte Luke Madeley Luke Madeley
Shane O’Donoghue Lee Cole Lee Cole
Rory Patterson Conor Harte Shane O’Donoghue
Michael Robson Charlie Rowe Michael Robson
Sean Murray Sean Murray Sean Murray
Kevin O’Dea Sam Hyland Sam Hyland
Jonny Lynch Kevin O’Dea Nick Page
Charlie Rowe Nick Page Jonny Lynch
Jeremy Duncan Jeremy Duncan Jeremy Duncan
Louis Rowe Johnny McKee Johnny McKee
Ben Walker Ben Walker Ben Walker
Ali Empey Ben Johnson Ben Johnson
Johnny McKee Conor Empey Conor Empey
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