Interviews

Flannery’s Roots Go Deep with inspirational new book
September 7, 2017 | 1,059 views | Leave a commentInitially pitched as a book to offer words support for the Jes School senior hockey team in Galway, “Roots Go Deep” – the brainchild of Irish international Brenda Flannery – looks set to evolve into something much bigger.

Shaw ambitious ahead of Green Army Euro battles
August 19, 2017 | 497 views | Leave a commentGraham Shaw says his Irish women’s side is all in good health and raring to go for a shot at history, potentially breaking into the European top four for the first time.

Ireland and Mullan looking to make Euro breakthrough
August 17, 2017 | 771 views | Leave a commentKatie Mullan is ambitious that the Irish women can push on a step further and breach the top four in Europe for the first time.

Frazer to “double-job” with Ulster Elks and Mannheim
July 30, 2017 | 1,364 views | Leave a commentMegan Frazer will be ‘double-jobbing’ in the new season when she will line out for Ulster Elks in the Ulster Premier League and Mannheimer in the German Bundesliga, writes John Flack

Polish magic shows off new-look Green Machine
July 8, 2017 | 783 views | Leave a commentFor Conor Harte, Ireland’s glorious fifth goal against Poland in March provided the moment when there was a feeling that things were coming together nicely for the green machine.

Third time’s a charm as Upton finally gets extended opportunity to shine for Green Army
July 8, 2017 | 582 views | Leave a commentRoisin Upton is hoping to continue making up for lost time with the Irish women’s team as they look to land a 2018 World Cup spot over the course of the next two weeks.

Fulton reading little into healthy stats ahead of HWL3
July 3, 2017 | 1,034 views | Leave a commentCraig Fulton is not reading much into the Irish men’s superb run of form in 2017 to date other than the upbeat mood it has brought the new-look side as a glut of new faces make their mark ahead of the World League Semi-Final

Green Army in confident mood for World Cup qualification bid
July 2, 2017 | 994 views | Leave a commentGraham Shaw’s Irish women’s team jetted out to Johannesburg last Thursday evening in confident mood but wary not to get “carried away” by recent results in the final countdown for the World League Semi-Finals.

IHUA launch new plan to address current umpiring crisis
June 26, 2017 | 1,617 views | Leave a commentThe Irish Hockey Umpires Association (IHUA) has launched a four-year plan for umpiring to address both national and provincial level umpiring as they seek to address the “current crisis”

Purpose-built stadium required to make Pro League viable for Ireland; Pels and McCracken on the Irish bid
June 16, 2017 | 1,419 views | Leave a commentHockey 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.

Herakles-bound Duncan embracing high performance lifestyle
June 12, 2017 | 1,879 views | Comments (1)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”

Fulton lays plans for hectic summer for Irish men
May 26, 2017 | 1,118 views | Leave a commentIreland’s men return to competitive action this weekend for the first time since World League Round 2 as they take on England in a couple of uncapped matches in Bisham Abbey.

Harte breaks yet more new ground with Kampong
May 21, 2017 | 674 views | Leave a commentDavid Harte added yet another major trophy to his incredible collection, becoming the first Irish person to win the Dutch Hoofdklasse, regarded as the best national club competition in the world.

Shaw’s Irish women going above and beyond in pursuit of World Cup ticket
May 19, 2017 | 1,213 views | Leave a commentGraham Shaw says some of the sacrifices made by the Irish women’s squad this summer can see them reach new heights and qualify for a first major world level tournament since the 2002 World Cup.

Bacchus back to hone Irish technical skills
May 18, 2017 | 1,547 views | Leave a commentColin “Bacchus” Stewart has returned to Ireland to link up with Graham Shaw’s women’s side until September as the national technical coach for an intense summer featuring a World Cup qualification bid and a return to Europe’s top tier.

Second surgery set to rule Frazer out of summer series
March 20, 2017 | 963 views | Leave a commentIreland look certain to be without their inspirational team captain Megan Frazer for the World League 3 tournament in the summer which will determine whether they can reach the 2018 World Cup in London, writes John Flack.

Cosgrove’s chance route to Scottish senior squad
March 10, 2017 | 1,264 views | Leave a commentFormer Banbridge man Ben Cosgrove described his route into the Scottish set-up for this week’s World League Round 2 as one of pure chance having previously played with the Irish Under-21s.

Olympic “experience counts in large amounts” for player pathway to top of the game with Ireland
January 12, 2017 | 903 views | Leave a commentFollowing a first Olympic experience, Irish coach Craig Fulton reflects on 2016 and says the player pathway now open in Irish hockey to the top level of the world game can only help guard against players switching to Great Britain.

Funding models and working arrangements need to adapt to continue men’s rise on world stage
January 2, 2017 | 1,229 views | Comments (1)Ahead of a hectic year, Craig Fulton is hopeful that significant headway can be made in the coming weeks to force a change in the way the Irish national teams receive their support from Sport Ireland and government to help progress continue

World Cup 2018 bid finally coming into focus after lengthy lead-in for Shaw’s charges
December 28, 2016 | 1,244 views | Leave a commentGraham Shaw looks back on a year without a world ranking tournament on the schedule as he looked to widen his panel, building towards trying to qualify for a major event, the 2018 World Cup, for the first time in over a decade