Ireland started the first day of the Home Nations Women’s Masters tournament with three strong wins by the O-40s, O-45s and O-50s.
Ireland’s men scored another emphatic win at the Hamburg Masters as they beat Austria 7-2 on a day when Eugene Magee became just the second Irish player to reach the 250 international cap mark.
Ireland’s men stretched their unbeaten run to 12 games with a 4-1 dismissal of 10th ranked Spain on the opening day of the Hamburg Masters.
Grange Road will this week host hundreds of Masters hockey players in the Home Nations tournament when seasoned internationals and World Cup winning player compete for the title of Home Nations Champions.
Sinead Loughran is set for her world ranking tournament debut as she earned a place in Graham Shaw’s final plans for the Irish women’s tilt at 2018 World Cup qualification via the World League Semi-Final which takes place in Johannesburg next month.
Ireland will travel to the Hamburg Masters this week without a trio of Olympians who played their part in the recent series win over Pakistan with Conor Harte, Peter Caruth and Kirk Shimmins not taking part this time.
Ireland’s Under-21 women produced wins on Saturday and Sunday to see off Scotland at Queen’s, using 30 players across three games as they continue their Euro preparations.
Ireland beat their second world top ten side in quick succession as they saw off Korea 2-1 at the Berlin Four Nations Invitational, adding the ninth ranked side to the scalp of Germany claimed last Thursday.
Ireland’s women came back down to earth with a bump in Berlin as three goals in the closing 17 minutes saw them fall 5-2 to China.
Hockey Ireland chief executive Jerome Pels says the current infrastructure, primarily the lack of a suitable stadium, meant that it was not financially viable to take part in the first wave of the Hockey Pro League.
Ireland produced a superb win over Germany, courtesy of Katie Mullan’s winner two minutes from time to beat the 2016 Olympic bronze medalists in Berlin.
Jeremy Duncan says his move to Belgium to take up a contract with Herakles is part of a “conscious decision to live a high performance lifestyle and see how far I can take myself”.
Ireland’s bid to be part world hockey’s Pro League came to an end as they were left out of the International Hockey Federation’s final list, released on Sunday, for the first four seasons of the competition that launches in January 2019.
Ireland’s women face top level preparation games against three of the world’s top ten sides next week as they meet hosts Germany (seventh in the world), Korea (ninth) and China (eighth) in Berlin.
Hermes-Monkstown closed out their European challenge on a high as they beat Russia’s CSP Krylatskoye on a shoot-out to end seventh; Pegasus finished sixth in Munich
Ireland scored back-to-back 3-2 wins over Pakistan to win their three-game series 2-0, an impressive feat against a side they had only beaten once in 10 previous all-time attempts.
Hermes-Monkstown will look to bounce back today in the women’s EuroHockey Club Champions Cup after a chastening 9-0 loss against a star-studded Den Bosch; Pegasus had a win, loss and a draw in the Trophy
Shane O’Donoghue struck a late winner for Ireland as they beat Pakistan 3-2 in their second tie of three at Comber Road in a far more open tie than Thursday night’s draw.
Conor Harte celebrated his 200th international appearance in style as he fired home a 17th minute penalty corner in Ireland’s 2-2 draw with Pakistan at Comber Road.
Hermes-Monkstown coach Rudi Wortmann is looking to pull off the biggest shock in women’s EuroHockey Club Champions Cup history on Friday when his side face Den Bosch; Pegasus head to Munich
Conor Harte will become the fifth Irish man to reach 200 international caps this evening when he lines out to face Pakistan at Comber Road (7.30pm) on Thursday evening.
The women's Irish Under-21 have an extensive programme in place for the summer which coach Dave Passmore can form part of an ongoing cycle for developing elite players
Two goals in the closing four minutes saw Ireland close out their series in the US with a well merited draw against the world number six side after two losses earlier in the trip.
