Archive for category: General

May 14, Dublin: Interim Head Coach of the Ireland Women’s National team, Facu Quiroga, has announced an 18 strong squad to play in the FIH Nations Cup being hosted in Terrassa, Spain this June.

Ayeisha McFerran misses the tournament due to injury and this has led to Holly Micklem being called into the squad with Liz Murphy.

Before the Nations Cup competition, the squad will head to Antwerp on Thursday May 16th to play three warm-up games. The first of these will be against Italy on Friday May 17th, the second will be against Belgium on Saturday May 18th, and the third will be on Monday May 20th against India.

The squad will then head to Spain on Monday 27th May ahead of their opening game of the FIH Nations Cup. There will be two further warm up games in Spain on Wednesday 29th May in Terrassa, Ireland will take on Chile and then they complete their warm-up games by taking on New Zealand on Friday 31st May.

The participating nations in the competition are :-   Spain, Japan, Korea, Ireland, Chile, Canada, Italy  and New Zealand 

Korea, Italy, Spain and Ireland are drawn in Group A. Each of these opponents will be difficult and present a strong challenge for the Ireland team. The FIH Nations Cup itself gets underway on Monday June 3rd with a game against Spain in Terrassa with an 18:30 start (local time). In their second game of Pool A they play Italy on Tuesday June 4th with a 16:00 start (local time). In their third game of Pool A they play Korea on Thursday June 6 with a 16:00 start (local time).

The place matches get underway at that stage and the format is the 3rd placed Team in Pool A plays the 4th placed team in Pool B and the 4th placed team in Pool A plays the 3rd placed team in Pool B. These are the 5th/8th placed play offs. The top two in each pool are deemed semi-finalists and the draw for those semi-finals is already known and is as follows. The 1st placed team in Pool A plays the 2nd placed team in Pool B and then the 1st placed team in Pool B plays the 2nd placed team in Pool A. And the winners of the two semi-finals will play off for the FIH Nations Cup while the two losing semi-finalists will play off for 3rd and 4th place.

This competition counts towards ranking points and could have a bearing on Ireland’s World Rankings which again could have a bearing on how difficult a draw might be for the team in future qualification competitions at European and World Cup level in the coming months and years.

SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT

ELIZABETH MURPHY

HOLLY MICKLEM

SARAH MCAULEY

ROISIN UPTON (VC)

HANNAH MCLOUGHLIN

ELENA NEILL

ELLEN CURRAN

CAOIMHE PURDUE

MICHELLE CAREY

SARAH HAWKSHAW

CHARLOTTE BEGGS

CHRISTINA HAMILL

KATIE MCKEE

NIAMH CAREY

KATHRYN MULLAN

NAOIMI CARROLL

SARAH TORRANS

SIOFRA O’BRIEN

NON-TRAVELLING RESERVES

CAITLIN SHERIN

MIKAYLA POWER

IRISH JUNIOR CUP FINAL (WOMEN)

RAILWAY UNION  1 LORETO 1 [Railway win shoot out 6-5]

Railway Union started the game strongly and dominated possession in the opening stages. They took the lead through a Kate Lloyd goal from open play in the 6th minute. Loreto grew into the game as the quarter progressed and finished the first half strongly. It remained 1-0 at half-time to Railway Union, however the equaliser came from a well-worked move by Loreto which resulted in Sophie Maxwell finishing from open play in 46th minute. Heading into the fourth quarter it was still 1-1.  And it remained that way until the final hooter, and we were faced with a shoot-out.

Kate Lloyd had to retake her first penalty for Railway Union in the shoot-out, which was probably just as well. Having missed the initial effort, she made no mistake with her retake, 1-0 in the shoot out to Railway Union. Ella Kenny took Loreto’s first and it was saved by Railway Union goalkeeper Jade Arundell so it remained 1-0 to Railway. Co-captain Hannah Rooney took the second one for Railway and this was saved by Ava Doyle still 1-0 to Railway Union. Isabelle Kealy scored the second one for Loreto and it was now 1-1 in the shoot out. Matilde Errico took the third one for Railway Union but Loreto’s goalkeeper was penalised for using the back stick to save it and she was asked to retake the penalty. Matilde Errico made no mistake from the re-take, Railway Union went 2-1 up in the shoot-out. Mollie Lennon took the third one for Loreto and scored to make it 2-2 in the shoot-out. Leah Warren took the fourth one for Railway Union and missed so it remained 2-2. Ella Pasley took the fourth one and  scored  to put Loreto 3-2 up. Claudia Coyne took the fifth one for  Railway Union and scored to equalise for Railway Union to make it  3-3 and so it went to sudden death.

In sudden death the team that did the first five penalties first now goes second and vice versa.

First up for Loreto in sudden death was Isabelle Kealy whose effort was saved and it remained 3-3. Claudia Coyne took the first sudden death effort for Railway and hit the backboards, but the eight seconds allowed had elapsed and it did not count and it remained 3-3. Mollie Lennon took the second sudden death penalty for Loreto and scored to put them 4-3 ahead. Matilde Errico took the third sudden death penalty for Railway Union and scored to equalise it at 4-4.  Ella Pasley took the fourth sudden death penalty for Loreto and scored to put them 5-4 ahead. Kate Lloyd took the fourth sudden death penalty for RU and scored to put them level at 5-5. Katie Dunne took the fifth sudden death penalty for Loreto and her shot was saved by Jade Arundell but she used the back stick and Katie Dunne was able to retake it. Jade Arundell saved the retake legally this time and it was still 5-5 as Railway Union still had to take their final effort. Co-Captain made no mistake, Railway Union won 6-5 on a shoot-out and are Women’s Irish Junior Cup winners for 2024.

RAILWAY UNION:-  Jade Arundell  (GK); Siúin Woods; Grace Rooney; Kate Lloyd; Hannah  Rooney [C]; Claudia Coyne; Matilde Errico; Ali O’Leary; Aoife Sexton; Elena Quinn; Charlotte Walsh; SUBS USED;-Zara Delany [5 mins]; Alex Gallagher [6 mins]; Jessica McConn-Walsh [6 mins]; Gile Martin [6 mins]; Leah Warren [6 mins]; Sophie Kennedy [9 mins]

LORETO;- Lorna Bateman (GK); Ella Pasley; Zoe Dunne; Sophie Doyle; Ella Cotter; Rebekah Fitzpatrick; Ana Kennedy; Katie Dunne; Isabelle Dunne; Sophie Maxwell; Ella Kenny SUBS USED; Ava Doyle (GK) [36 mins]; Mollie Lennon [3 mins]; Ruth Gardiner [C] [4 mins]; Sophie  Dolan [4 mins], Eilis O’Neill [5 mins]

 

IRISH JUNIOR CUP FINAL (MEN)

CORINTHIANS 3 LISNAGARVEY 3 [CORINTHIANS WIN 3-2 IN SHOOT-OUT]

This game went all the way to the wire before a winner could be found. Seventy minutes of regulation hockey could not separate the sides, it was 3-3 at full time. Five penalties each in the shoot-out couldn’t end the stalemate either. It took a further five rounds of sudden death penalties before a home could be found for the 2024 Men’s Irish Junior Cup title and at the end of the day it will be heading to the clubhouse of Corinthians after an epic contest at Belfield on Sunday.

Corinthians took the lead in the 2nd minute when Max Caulwell scored from open play to put The Reds 1-0. Gregory Williams increased Corinthian’s lead in the 11th minute when he converted a penalty corner for 2-0. It was 2-0 at the end of the first quarter and remained that way till half-time. Corinthians increased their lead in quarter three when Gregory Williams got his second goal of the day from open play to make it 3-0 in the 51st minute. Lisnagarvey began their monumental comeback when Tom Archbold scored from open play in the 52nd minute. His brother Harry Archbold narrowed the gap by converting a penalty corner in the 58th minute to leave the score 3-2 to Corinthians. Within a minute Lisnagarvey were back level when Daniel Murray scored from open play and when the final hooter sounded it was still 3-3.

The penalty shoot out ensued and Corinthians took the first one. Max Caulwell had his effort saved by James Ritchie in the Lisnagarvey goal 0-0. Harvey Beggs had the first one for Lisnagarvey and missed still 0-0. Ross Willis too the second effort for Corinthians and his effort was saved by James Ritchie. Still scoreless and then up stepped Matthew McKibbin for Lisnagarvey for their second penalty and he also missed so it was still 0-0. Gregory Williams stepped up to take the third one for Corinthians but the time elapsed before he could fire in a shot on goal still 0-0. John Cunningham attempted a cheeky lobbed which was brilliantly parried over the bar by Euan Mackay in the Corinthians goal still 0-0. Ross Howard took the fourth one for Corinthians and his first effort was saved and the time elapsed before he could shoot the rebound- still 0-0. Harry Archbold took the fourth one for Lisnagarvey, his first effort was saved by Mackay and so was the rebound. One penalty each to go and still nothing to show on the scoreboard. Stephen Reid took the fifth one for Corinthians and scored 1-0 to the Reds. Daniel Murray took the fifth one for Lisnagarvey and he too scored so it was 1-1 in the shoot -out heading into sudden death.

Lisnagarvey took the first of the sudden death penalties and John Cunningham scored to put The Blues 2-1 ahead. Gregory Williams took the first sudden death penalty for Corinthians and equalised to make it 2-2. Daniel Murray took the second one for Corinthians, his first effort was saved and he hit the rebound, it too was saved and a third effort was completed within the eight seconds and it too was saved. Still 2-2. Stephen Reid hit the second one for Corinthians and he missed. It remained 2-2. Matthew McKibbin took the third sudden death penalty for Garvey and it was saved by Euan Mackay the Corinthians goalkeeper so it stayed 2-2. Ross Willis attempted a shot for the third sudden death penalty for Corinthians and hit it over the bar still 2-2. Harry Archbold hit the fourth effort for Lisnagarvey which Corinthians goalkeeper Euan Mackay saved and that left one effort from Ross Howard who duly scored, and Corinthians won the Men’s Irish Junior Cup 3-2 in the shoot-out. For coach Peter Caruth it was a special occasion. He had coached two Irish Junior Cup inning sides before, but they were Corinthians Women’s team who won the Junior Cup in 2022 and 2023. As coach of the Corinthians Men’s second team this season, he has now won three Junior Cups in succession, two women’s and one men’s.

LISNAGARVEY:– James Ritchie (C) [GK]; Adam McCann; Tim Curragh; Matthew McKibbin; Milo Thompson; Paddy Watson; Mackenzie Connor; Daniel Murray; Max Spence; Matthew Morris; John Cunningham SUBS USED:-  Timothy Cockram [10 mins]; Tom Archbold [10 mins]; Andrew Forrest [10 mins]; Tim Curragh [11 mins]; Craig Getty [11 mins]

CORINTHIANS:– Euan Mackay [GK]; Gregory Williams; Ross Howard; Paul Fitzpatrick; Brinsley Powell; Ross Willis; Max Caulwell; Luke Fitzpatrick; Ciaran A O’Shea; Andrew Crowe SUBS USED:– Harry St. Leger [5 mins], Callum McCourt [7 mins]; Neil Pelow [8 mins]; Robbie Clarke [10 mins]; Elijah Breen [11 mins], Charlie  Beatty [11 mins]

 

IRISH HOCKEY CHALLENGE (MEN)

WESTON 4 LIMERICK  2

The Irish Hockey Challenge was decided in the final quarter just when it looked like Limerick’s late comeback might result in another draw on this day of shoot outs at Belfield.

Weston took the lead when Cian Tucker scored in the 18th minute from a converted penalty corner. They increased their lead when Cian Tucker scored in the 44th minute to go 2-0 ahead. Limerick began their comeback in the 54th minute when Gerard Hodkinson scored from open play. Weston leading 2-1 at this stage. But as often happens in these types of scenarios just as the comeback looks on, the team that has been in the lead finds a second wind and Weston rattled in two late goals to run out 4-1 winners.

The third goal came in the 60th minute when Davitt Meenaghan scored a converted penalty corner to make the score 3-1.  They added a fourth in the 65th minute when Karl Goodwin scored and sealed the win for Weston.

Limerick went up the far end in the 67th minute and Conor Beck converted a penalty corner and scored to make it 4-2 to Weston who won their first ever National title in Men’s Hockey.

WESTON:- Sean Butler (GK); Darrell Carey; Davitt Meenaghan; Eoin Ryan Doyle; Stephen O’Shaughnessy; Cian Tucker; Neil Ryan Doyle; Karl Goodwin; Adam Clayton; Jake Quinn; Enda Tucker (C) SUBS USED:– Philip Barron [10 mins]; Keith Bell [10 mins]; Matthew Plack [18 mins]; Peter Kirwan [26 mins]; Matthew Cunningham [53 mins]

LIMERICK:–  William Langford (GK); Matthew Plack; Gerard Hodkinson; Damien Kelly; Ronan Shire; Brian O’Gorman [C]; Craig Morrow; James Hodkinson; Harry Hughes; Conor Beck; Jack Perdue; SUBS USED:– Abdul Baqi Achekzai [23 mins]; Jim Madden [26 mins]; Abdul Wasi  Achekzai [36 mins]; Yohann Dsouza [40 mins]; Milan Janicke [65 mins]

 

There are two days of finals this coming weekend in two different venues. On Saturday May 11th, 2024, the action will be at Comber Road, home of Lisnagarvey Hockey Club. It’s a huge day for Kilkeel hockey club whose women’s team are in the opening game and whose men’s team are in the closer. The first game is the women’s Irish Hockey Challenge Final which pushes back at 11:45am. It’s an all Ulster tie between Kilkeel and Bangor.

The second game of the day at Comber Road will be the women’s Irish Hockey Trophy Final in which Glenanne take on Lisnagarvey which pushes back at 13:45. The third game on Saturday will be the men’s Irish Hockey Trophy Final between North Down and Kilkeel which pushes back at 15:45.

SATURDAY MAY 11 2024

 

IRISH HOCKEY CHALLENGE WOMEN’S FINAL  11:45 COMBER ROAD

KILKEEL  V BANGOR

 

IRISH HOCKEY TROPHY WOMEN’S FINAL  13:45 COMBER ROAD

GLENANNE  V LISNAGARVEY

 

IRISH HOCKEY TROPHY MEN’S FINAL  15:45 COMBER ROAD

NORTH DOWN V  KILKEEL

On Sunday the action moves back to Dublin and home of the Irish Senior Cup finals at UCD’s Belfield Water. The first game is the Women’s Irish Junior Cup Final between Loreto and Railway Union whose second teams face each other.  Given the intense rivalry between these two clubs’ first teams this will be an equally intense game. It pushes back at 11:45.

The second game is the Men’s Irish Junior Cup Final between Lisnagarvey and Corinthian which pushes back at 13:45. Given the women’s team made a final on Saturday and the Men’s 2nd team are in this final and Lisnagarvey hosted Saturday’s finals, it’s a huge weekend for their club. The third game of the day and the entire weekend is the men’s Irish Hockey Challenge Final between Limerick and Weston which pushes back at 15:45

SUNDAY MAY 12 2024

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS FOR UCD FINALS HERE.

IRISH JUNIOR CUP WOMEN’S FINAL  11:45  BELFIELD 

LORETO  V RAILWAY UNION

 

IRISH JUNIOR CUP MEN’S FINAL 13:45  BELFIELD

LISNAGARVEY  V CORINTHIAN

 

IRISH HOCKEY CHALLENGE MEN’S FINAL 15:45 BELFIELD

LIMERICK  V  WESTON

THE IRISH SENIOR CUP FINALS 

WOMEN’S IRISH SENIOR CUP FINAL

 

RAILWAY UNION 1 CATHOLIC INSTITUTE 0
Railway Union won their first Women’s Irish Senior Cup title since 2013 by beating Catholic Institute 1-0 at Belfield on Saturday.  The two sides had met seven days ago in the Champions Trophy semi-final in Havelock Park, Banbridge and it too was a one goal game in favour of the Dublin side.  International commitments meant that Railway Union had to do without the services of Sarah Hawkshaw, Michelle and Niamh Carey, Roisin Upton and Katie Mullan. Catholic Institute were missing their forward Naomi Carroll. But these forced omissions didn’t seem to affect either side that significantly.

This game while equally tight was a little more open and had better moments than last week’s semi-final. Railway Union dominated possession in the opening quarter and had the lion’s share of what chances there were. They did hit the backboard but their “goal” was ruled out for an infringement. It was 0-0 at the end of quarter one and also 0-0 at half-time. Catholic Institute having survived a handful of goalmouth scrambles enjoyed more possession in quarter three and carved out a number of half chances none of which were converted. The final quarter was even enough but Railway Union were beginning to reassert their dominance in the closing minute. In the 67th minute the final breakthrough came Railway Union had possession inside the Catholic Institute circle the ball ricocheted around the goalmouth before Katie Fearon managed to poke it home and it proved to be the only goal of the game.

It was a particularly special occasion for Holly Jenkinson one of four survivors of the 2013 Cup win who was playing in her final match for the Railway Union first team as she intends to hang up her stick from first team hockey at the end of the season. Holly Jenkinson had won her very first Senior Cup medal as far back as 2009 when she helped UCD end a 58 year wait for another irish Senior Cup win. UCD haven’t looked back since then adding multiple titles in the intervening 15 years. Holly won her second medal in 2013 with Railway Union and today in her final match she added a third. For the other three survivors of the 2013 win, Orla Fox, Emma Smyth and Kate Dillon the decision as to whether to give it another go will be decided during the summer break. Head Coach Una McCarthy missed the game because she had booked a holiday months ago assuming that it would not be a problem. But what a season for her and her team 2nd place in the League title race, EY Champions Trophy and Irish Senior Cup double winners.

RAILWAY UNION;– Emma Buckley; Orla Patton; Sarah Patton; Kate Fearon; Lisa Mc Carthy; Aebfhinn Burke; Emma Smyth [C]; Orla Fox; Niamh Shaw; Saoirse Griffin;  SUBS USED;– Kate Dillon [5 mins]; Holly Jenkinson  [5mins] Ailish Long  [5 mins], Clodagh Ferry [8 mins]; JL  [mins]

CATHOLIC INSTITUTE;- Pamela Smithwick-Hearne;  Roisín Begley; Aoife Hickey; Leah Clery; Laura Foley; Michelle Barrett  Ciara Moloney; Eimear Ryan [C]; Anna Horan; Emilie Ryan-Doyle; Jennifer Clein; SUBS USED:- Aoibheann Collins [ 7 mins] ;  Sarah Fitzgerald [ 8 mins] ; Tory Byrne [10  mins] ;Seodhna Dervan   [15 mins]

 

MEN’S IRISH SENIOR CUP FINAL

LISNAGARVEY 3 BANBRIDGE 2

Ireland’s Blue Riband and the World’s Oldest Knockout Hockey Competition trophy will be heading to Comber Road after this epic encounter at Belfield. Lisnagarvey started out of the traps in the first quarter and looked the more dangerous of the two sides early on. They took a lead in the 5th minute when Lisnagarvey’s captain Andrew Williamson converted a penalty corner in the 5th minute. Banbridge were back on terms with Louis Rowe scoring from open play in the 12th minute for 1-1.

It was 1-1 at the end of the first quarter. Banbridge looked to be in control of the match for a time in the second quarter and took the lead again when Philip Brown converted a penalty corner in the 28th minute and it was a lead they held at half-time. Lisnagarvey got back on level terms in the 40th minute when Daniel Nelson converted a penalty corner to open his account in the final. Banbridge had a chance to restore their lead in the 49th minute but James Milliken made a timely save and then Lisnagarvey broke from defense and a Matthew Nelson pass to his brother Daniel resulted in him scoring his second of the game, in the 50th minute from open play, to put Lisnagarvey 3-2 ahead and it was a lead they maintained.

Banbridge had one more chance of note to equalise however, Jonathan Bell, playing in his final game on the national stage, made a timely tackle to deny Banbridge an equaliser late on.  Perhaps for some of the players on both sides this may have been a game too many, but nevertheless Lisnagarvey emerged triumphant on a 3-2 scoreline to regain the Cup title they previously won in 2020. Both sides meet in Ulster’s Kirk Cup Final on Tuesday night and could yet meet up again in the Anderson Cup Final later this month.

LISNAGARVEY:–  James Milliken; Jonathan Lynch; Jonathan Bell; Mark McNelis; James Corry; Peter McKibbin; Andrew Williamson [C];  Daniel Nelson; Harry Morris; Ryan Getty; Andrew Edgar; Matthew Nelson  SUBS USED:- Jonathan Bell [9 mins]; Oliver Kidd [9 mins] ;  Ben Nelson [9 mins]; James Lorimar [10 mins]; Ben Thompson [10 mins] ;  Milo Thompson [ 10 mins] ; Matthew Aughey [ 11 mins]

BANDBRIDGE :-  Luke Roleston; Luke Witherow; Alexander Tinney [C]; Charlie Rowe; Jake Rowe; Louis Rowe;  Sam Farson; Owen Magee; Ben Walker SUBS USED:- Bruce McCandless [8 mins] ;  Thomas Orr [8 mins] ;Thomas Dobson [ 9 mins] ; James Evans [ 10  mins] Mark Barlow [ 22 mins]