The site has come a long way since its early beginnings. In the past year, the switch to a website format and the development of the site’s excellent photographic arm, culminating in the Irish Hockey Photographers’ dedicated website, were among the projects undertaken.

During the season, the addition of more video elements and our first ever ‘livestream’ – the vast majority with thanks to Tristan Seaton-Stedham – has been a huge advance.

The first Hook Awards’ night – primarily a fundraiser for Glenanne’s EHL trip at Easter – will hopefully become a regular fixture in the local hockey calendar.

Full league tables, updated on Sunday morning’s based on club submissions were integrated mid-season and the Stats Centre will hopefully be tidied up and improved in the coming months.

For the 2011/12 season, using The Hook’s twitter page, the intention is to be ramp up this service and be able to collate virtually all of the divisional results in a simple, free fashion within minutes of game’s completion and, thus provide the earliest possible league table updates.

During the season, the Hook has endeavoured to travel to as many games as possible, taking in trips to Munster, Ulster, the Netherlands and France to cover as many aspects of our sport to the highest standard.

More details will follow on this in due course but to develop these elements and maintain standards, the site does require a personal financial outlay which is primarily attempted to be covered from those who have donated to the site; 100pc of these funds go back into the Hook’s development.

Should you wish to help the coverage and promotion of Leinster and Irish hockey, feel free to contribute to the site via the ‘Donation’ button on the left-hand side of this page (or follow this link).

Finally, thank you all for taking the time to read, contribute and comment to The Hook. Website hits have increased more close to three-fold this season, an indicator that the Hook’s efforts are being appreciated in some form.

Such indicators, along with the feedback received around the grounds week-in, week-out, make the efforts which go into the site much easier to manage.

All the best for the rest of the summer and I look forward to seeing some of you pitch-side as the Irish men and women pursue their Olympic dream, building toward the European Championships in August.

Stephen Findlater

The fixtures for September and October have been initially been released as per usual with the remainder to follow in due course. The IHA timetable – including the Irish Senior Cup and Irish Hockey League – however will not be finalised fully until November when it will be known which Olympic qualifier, if any, Ireland will be heading to.

Belgium, Japan and India in the spring are the current options subject to continental qualifiers which could see some re-jigging to the national calendar but the first round of the Senior Cup will go ahead in the first week of October with IHL round one following a week later.

Glenanne begin their title defence against Clontarf on their return to division one while the Marlay derby between Corinthian and Three Rock looks an initial highlight on day one.

The Neville Cup is down to be played on the Sunday of week one with three all division one ties opening the competition, notably holders Monkstown against Pembroke.

Mullingar and Portrane are two notable inclusions in this competition having stepped up from division 4 to 2. The second tier gets underway a week later on September 24 with the Westmeath side playing their very first fixture at this level in a league which has been bolstered up to eight teams for 2011/12.

Going down the leagues, division 3 remains as per last term but division 4 welcomes back Corinthian III, Suttonians II and Weston II while St Brendan’s/Phoenix Park drop down.

Div 5 sees Skerries continue their rise back up through the leagues having bossed the sixth tier last time round while Rathgar II come up from division 8, a relocation based on their impressive if ultimately registration-scuppered run in that league.

Twelve teams will contest division six, Kilkenny II, Mullingar II and Athy’s second successive promotion adding to the table.
Division 7 sees the introduction of Portrane II; Bray’s first team will play in this league after their mid-season withdrawal in 2010/11 while Wicklow and Smithfield have stepped up as the promoted sides from division 8.

Men’s League structure:
Division 1: Monkstown, Railway Union, YMCA, UCD, Corinthian, Three Rock Rovers, Clontarf, Glenanne, Fingal, Pembroke Wanderers
Division 2: Portrane, Weston, Navan, Avoca, Rathgar, Suttonians, Dublin University, Mullingar
Division 3: Monkstown II, Railway Union II, YMCA II, UCD II, Corinthian II, Three Rock Rovers II, Dublin University II, Glenanne II, Fingal II, Pembroke Wanderers II
Division 4: Clontarf II, Pembroke Wanderers III, Suttonians II, Kilkenny, Railway Union III, Naas, Glenanne III, Corinthian III, Monkstown III, Weston II
Division 5: Pembroke Wanderers IV, YMCA III, Avoca II, Skerries, St James Gate, Monkstown IV, Rathgar II, St Brendan’s/Phoenix Park, North Kildare, Three Rock Rovers III
Division 6: Glenanne IV, Corinthian IV, Dublin University III, Navan II, Three Rock Rovers IV, Mullingar II, Athy, YMCA IV, Kilkenny II, Fingal III, Pembroke Wanderers V, Monkstown V
Division 7: Bray, Portrane II, Wicklow, Weston III, Railway Union IV, Avoca III, St Brendans/Phoenix Park II, Smithfield, UCD III, Corinthian V
Division 8: Bray II, Three Rock Rovers V, Pembroke Wanderers VII, Pembroke Wanderers VI, Fingal IV, St James Gate II, Clontarf III, Dublin University IV

Early season Leinster Men’s Division One/Two fixtures:
September 17 (Week One)
Division 1: Monkstown vs Railway Union; YMCA vs UCD; Corinthian vs Three Rock Rovers; Clontarf vs Glenanne; Fingal vs Pembroke Wanderers

September 18
Neville Cup Round 1: Mullingar v Weston; Monkstown v Pembroke Wanderers; Glenanne v Corinthian; Avoca v Railway Union; Fingal v YMCA; Portrane v Clontarf

September 24 (Week Two)
Division 1: Railway Union vs YMCA; UCD vs Clontarf; Three Rock Rovers vs Monkstown; Glenanne vs Fingal; Pembroke Wanderers vs Corinthian
Division 2: Portrane vs Weston; Navan vs Avoca; Rathgar vs Suttonians; Dublin University vs Mullingar

Sunday, September 25
Division 1: Glenanne vs Corinthian; Clontarf vs Fingal; Pembroke Wanderers vs Monkstown; Railway Union vs UCD; Three Rock Rovers vs YMCA

October 1 (Week Three)
Division 1: UCD vs Monkstown; YMCA vs Clontarf; Railway Union vs Corinthian; Pembroke Wanderers vs Glenanne; Three Rock Rovers vs Fingal
Division 2: Weston vs Navan; Avoca vs Rathgar; Suttonians vs Dublin University; Mullingar vs Portrane

October 8 (Week four)
Irish Senior Cup – round one
Division 2: Avoca vs Weston; Suttonians vs Navan; Mullingar vs Rathgar; Dublin University vs Portrane

October 15 (Week five)
Irish Hockey League – round one
Division 2: Portrane vs Avoca; Weston vs Suttonians; Navan vs Mullingar; Rathgar vs Dublin University

October 22 (Week six)
Division 1: Corinthian vs UCD; Monkstown vs YMCA; Fingal vs Railway Union; Clontarf vs Pembroke Wanderers; Glenanne vs Three Rock Rovers
Division 2: Suttonians vs Avoca; Mullingar vs Weston; Dublin University vs Navan; Rathgar vs Portrane

Sunday, October 23
Neville Cup Round 2

October 29 (Week seven)
Irish Hockey League – round two

The goals of Stephen Rogan played a large part as they romped to 16 wins out of 18 while only a match card infraction denied them breaching the 50-point mark, recording the biggest margin of victory – 11 points – and topping the goalscoring charts for any division.

Veteran Ally MacMahon was player of the season while brother Brian’s return from Clontarf to coach made a big difference as did Dean Robinson’s solid defence at the back.

Richie Bissett marshalled the troops in a league with Graham Walker’s YMCA IV providing the main opposition over two tough matches.

The seasiders eventually won the title in dramatic fashion in early April when they came from two goals down to beat Corinthian 3-2.

Their only dropped points came at Navan when they travelled with just ten men and at Three Rock but they move up to division five in fine fettle.

They will do so without the services of Jason Rogan who makes the switch to Clontarf but the club wish him well in what looks a promising career.

Men’s Leinster Division Six (click for full results)

It was the biggest day in over half a century, ending a 79-year wait for a national title when they stormed to the Irish Hockey Challenge title last Saturday in Belfield.

The purples reigned supreme in the stands as their growing youth contingent transferred over from a training session in Milltown with heavily-capped Irish internationals Graham Shaw and Shirley McCay to make plenty of noise in the weekend’s opening final.

They say Nasir Munir repeat his heroics from the 2007 Irish Senior Cup, scoring twice in a 6-2, showing his quick hands and trickery have scarcely abated despite tipping the 40-mark.

His influence on the club has also manifested itself in bringing a contingent of his protégées from his coaching in Sandford Park to the north Dublin club.

One such player, Emmett Lawlor-McHugh also weighed in with a pair while Mukhtar Ahmed and Ralph Billings also weighed in with a goal each. Kilkenny’s goals were recorded by schoolboy Eamon Walsh and former UCD club captain Tristan Lynas.

UCC’s wait for a national title continues as they were undone by South Antrim 2-1 in the Irish Hockey Trophy final at Belfield on Sunday.

Roger Gray’s drag-flick had them level but Ian Harbinson flicked high off a rebound to score what proved the winner before half-time.

UCC – for whom sweeper Andrew Gray gave a stunning defensive performance – had their chances to draw level in the second half, Roger Gray’s trickery creating shooting opportunities but Peter Catchpole and Fionn O’Leary were both nudged out when well-placed.

On the women’s side, Katie McQuillan and Katie Morris’ all-round excellence up top for Lisnagarvey were the spurs in a 2-0 victory over Ulster rivals Portadown.

They grabbed a goal each in an impressive success, the latter sealing the win in the closing stages after the former had broken the deadlock.

Limerick claimed the ESB Electric Women’s Irish Hockey Challenge on Saturday when they had far too much in the tank for Dungarvan, Fenagh Smith firing a hat-trick in a 7-0 win.

On the domestic front, Corinthian II claimed the Railway Cup title with a 4-2 victory at St Columba’s, emerging from a minefield of a top half of the draw which featured most of the big-hitters at this level – the likes of Pembroke, Glenanne, Monkstown and YMCA.

Youth and experience was the key with players like Neil Pelow and Ian Stuart being guided by skipper Adrian Missen, Miles Warren and Colm Blennerhassett. Gareth Davis netted twice.

The Rathgar Chiefs seconds picked up their first ever piece of silverware in their inaugural year with Brian Cleere – one of the major organisers in the new club – fittingly scoring the winning goal.

Another of the former Trinity crew, Cian Denham, bagged his side’s first two but Glenanne’s fifth team were not going to give up their Minor Cup up without a battle and pushed the Chiefs to a 3-2 scoreline.

On the women’s side, Corinthian V made it a trophy bonanza for the Whitechurch club as they denied Avoca II a second successive league and cup double with a dramatic 4-3 win for the Division 9/10 Cup title

Skerries IV did, however, get the coveted double in equally exciting fashion, needing penalty strokes to claim the Division 13/14 Cup.

Naas won their tussle with Swords in yet another cracker, this time annexing the Division ¾ Cup with a 4-2 victory, on a brilliant day of finals action at Grange Road.

Men’s Irish Hockey Trophy final: South Antrim 2 (Ricky O’Neill, Ian Harbinson) UCC 1 (Roger Gray)
Men’s Irish Hockey Challenge Final: Kilkenny 2 (Tristan Lynas, Eamon Walsh) Portrane 6 (Nasir Munir 2, Emmett Lawlor-McHugh 2, Mukhtar Ahmad, Ralph Billings)

Railway Cup Final Corinthian II 4 (Gareth Davis 2, Colm Blennerhassett, Adrian Missen) Railway Union II 2
Minor Cup final: Rathgar Chiefs 3 (Cian Denham 2, Brian Cleere) Glenanne 2

Women’s cup results:
ESB Electric Ireland Irish Senior Cup, quarter-finals: Ulster Elks 1 (N Wise) Hermes 2 (L Jacob, J Burke); Pegasus 4 (C McMahon, N Graham, V Surgeoner, M Harvey) Lurgan 1 (C McClure)

ESB Electric Ireland Irish Hockey Trophy: Portadown 0 Lisnagarvey 2 (Katie McQuillan, Katie Morris)
ESB Electric Ireland Irish Hockey Challenge Final: Dungarvan 0 Limerick 7 (Fenagh Smith 3, Lorraine McGowan, Ciara Hayes, Karen O’Flynn, Jenni Lyttle)

Leinster Division 3/4 Cup final: Naas 4 Swords 2
Division 9/10 Cup final: Avoca II 3 Corinthian V 4
Division 13/14 Cup final: Skerries IV 1 Dalkey II 1, Skerries won on penalty strokes

Carlsberg, Ed Sports and Gilmour Sports also came on board to support the event with proceeds from the event going to support Glenanne’s EHL bid over the Easter weekend.

The awards themselves took on a two-part process with clubs asked to nominate players, coaches and umpires from within their own club and from others to produce the main shortlist.

From those shortlists, the public vote drew well over 4,000 responses and was the most viewed story on the site since moving to the new format at the start of the season. Winners were determined solely on this basis.

Adrian Boehm received the largest percentage of the vote in any category as he took the Contributor of the Year title with a massive 41.72% of the vote for his sterling photographic work that he provides each week.

Indeed, his volume and quality of photos over the last weekend can be seen on the Irish Hockey Photographers website, covering all four of the national finals in Belfield to the highest standard.

Gillian McAuliffe, the woman responsible for the site’s overhaul last summer, took second place in this category just ahead of photographer Deryck Vincent.

The umpire of the year award was the closest category but was eventually taken down by Olympic whistle-blower Carol Metchette (left), coming in just ahead of Fiona Davitt and Kieran Bolger.

Metchette continues to impress in both the men’s and women’s division one games while also showing the tenacity in the past week in the line of duty, umpiring in key games this week despite picking up a shiner sustained in the first meeting of Loreto and Old Alex.

A feature of the umpire’s vote was the spread of nominations in the “Other” option with UDP umpires Karl Chapple and Ali Keogh along with Kris Cholewa picking up a number of votes.

Scott Beattie took the Coach of the Year following a bumper debut year with Sutton Park, winning the northside school’s first Senior title when they claimed the Senior Trophy in dramatic fashion while also reaching the Minor Cup final.

Will Powderly was among the “other” nominations, receiving a high proportion of the public vote while Richard Mason and Didi Cole’s dual-work at Monkstown and Gareth Borland’s role as Leinster U-16 boss and Clontarf player-coach also drew plenty of praise beyond the initial nominees.

Onto the player awards and Dannielle Cummins, Avoca’s first team goalkeeper took the Junior Women’s title just ahead of YMCA taliswoman Tara Powderly.

And another goalkeeper took the Junior Men’s gong, Rathgar Chiefs’ Dan Gribben certainly his side’s most consistent performer until he broke his hand recently in the club’s maiden season.

Audrey McCormack tallied the most votes of any of the categories as the Glenanne woman took home the Senior Women’s Player of the Year. The midfielder continues to be a powerhouse in midfield and the engine which drives the Glens all-action approach.

Finally, Gareth Watkins (below, left) added another personal achievement to 2010 Irish Hockey Club Player of the Year crown, as he topped the Senior Men’s Player of the Year tally ahead of Glenanne’s Joe Brennan.

A big thanks again to Gary Shaw and his crew for putting together the night and to all the people who attended on the night, helped with nominations and voted for the various awards.

The Hook exists for and because of the people that take part in our game at all levels week in and week out and so, to receive the support for this venture and, indeed, the site in general is pretty overwhelming and suggests a need is being fulfilled.

These awards honour just some of the people that make the sport a source of enjoyment for people to be involved in and want to prosper, capturing some of the spirit of the game. Long may it continue.

*** The top three in each category is below with the percentage of the final vote in brackets while also mentioned are some of the people who received sizeable votes in the “other” section and are worthy of mention for their efforts in the past season.

Contributor of the Year (Total votes: 676)
1. Adrian Boehm (41.72%)
2. Gillian McAuliffe (18.64%)
3. Deryck Vincent (18.49%)
Honorable mentions outside of the nominees: Emer Keogh – photographic contributions

Umpire of the Year (615)
1. Carol Metchette (18.21%)
2. Fiona Davitt (14.47%)
3. Kieran Bolger (12.85%)
Honorable mentions: Kris Cholewa, Karl Chapple, Ali Keogh

Coach of the Year (904)
1. Scott Beattie, Sutton Park (22.57%)
2. Graham Shaw, Loreto/Glenanne (14.82%)
3. Mick McKinnon, Railway ladies (10.73%)
Honorable mentions: Will Powderly (YMCA ladies), Richard Mason/Didi Cole (Monkstown); Gareth Borland (Leinster U-16/Clontarf); Mary Logue (Hermes); Brendon Carolan (Pembroke)

Junior Women’s Player of the Year (487)
1. Danielle Cummins, Avoca (28.13%)
2. Tara Powderly, YMCA (23.82%)
3. Sarah Lovett, Monkstown (18.69%)
Honorable mentions: Emma Kilbride (Our Lady’s); Fiona Walshe (Swords); Courtney Watkins (Monkstown)

Junior Men’s Player of the Year (454)
1. Dan Gribben, Rathgar Chiefs (31.5%)
2. Martin Naughton, Avoca (21.37%)
3. Stephen Cairns, Clontarf (16.08%)
Honorable mentions: Harry Spain (Suttonians), Tom Noonan (Clontarf), Paul Kennedy (St James’ Gate)

Senior Women’s Player of the Year (977)
1. Audrey McCormack, Glenanne (22.01%)
2. Chloe Watkins, UCD (14.23%)
3. Kate Dillon, Railway Union (13.61%)
Honorable mentions: Maebh Horan (Trinity), Jeamie Deacon (Railway Union), Sinead Walsh (Railway Union), Nikki Symmons (Loreto), Sinead Dooley (Railway Union)

Senior Men’s Player of the Year (710)
1. Gareth Watkins, Monkstown (21.55%)
2. Joe Brennan, Glenanne (15.07%)
3. Alan Blennerhassett, Corinthian (12.25%)
Honorable mentions: Ali Haughton (TRR); Andrew Walker (YMCA); Brian Groves (Monkstown); Shane O’Donoghue (Glenanne); Andrew Sutton (Corinthian); Fran Lee (Monkstown)

Then, on Monday, they host Railway Union at St Andrew’s where a win would rule for the Booterstown hosts would end Railway’s two-year reign as Leinster champions. It is a tough schedule, one which will test their panel to the limit.

The Elks are a coming force in Ulster and while they look likely to just miss out on an IHL place this season, their ambition can be seen in the past couple of years through the players they have been able to attract.

Irish internationals Shirley McCay and Emma Clarke are recent alumni while French international Philipine Berly and Commonwealth gold medallist Suman Bala are others to grace the jersey.

Hermes travel to UUJ for that tie, competing for a semi-final date with Ballymoney, before letting their international contingent rest for the Railway tie.

It is the nature of the CPP setup that top players will miss key games but it is a strange situation to have 11 current full internationals absent for such a big tie.

Both clubs have shown the ability to roll with such blows – Railway completing the Jacqui Potter Cup win while Hermes recently stormed past Loreto. In such games, the likes of Kate Dillon and Jenny Burke become central figures. Loreto’s bid for the title is also put to the test on Monday night, facing Old Alex for the second successive week.

Caitriona Tipping’s return was a vital component in that success but Alex, in their final game of the season, may well have plenty of motivation as three points should be needed to keep an automatic IHL place alive.

Before that, Loreto face UCD on Saturday afternoon with their internationals available and are the only side in the top three for whom this event is priority number one.

Again, it is a tester against a student side bidding for fourth; they will have half an eye on the Senior Cup as they find out whether they will travel to either Lurgan or Pegasus. Glenanne face Trinity in a straight contest for seventh place.

The first three Leinster ladies divisional finals take place on Sunday in Grange Road. Swords contest the division ¾ cup and are one of the stories of the season in these competitions. Coached by Ciaran McNamara, the ALSAA-side initially struggled following promotion to division four, waiting until their tenth league game – in February – before recording their first win of the campaign.

But five league wins saw them rise to sixth in the division and produce fireworks in the cup, beating UCD II, runaway leaders of the division above, on penalty strokes.

Naas, too, are an unlikely finalist with division three form disparate compared to their cup form, making for an intriguing final.

In the division 9/10 contest, Avoca II are going for a double when they face Corinthian V as are Skerris IV in the division 13/14 contest.

On a busy weekend of finals, Limerick play Dungarvan in the Irish Hockey Challenge final at Belfield while a day later Portadown play Lisnagarvey in the Irish Hockey Trophy final.

ESB Electric Women’s Irish Senior Cup quarter-finals, Saturday:

Women’s Leinster Division One, Saturday: Trinity vs Glenanne, 11am, Santry; Old Alexandra vs Bray,1.15pm, Milltown; Loreto vs UCD, 1.45pm, Beaufort
Monday: Hermes vs Railway Union, TBC, St Andrews; Old Alex vs Loreto, 8.15pm, Milltown

Division Two, Saturday: Three Rock Ladies vs Old Alex, 11am, Grange Road; Pembroke vs Railway Union, 12.30pm; Loreto vs Muckross, 3.15pm, Beaufort; Our Lady’s vs North Kildare, 3.30pm, Templeogue

ESB Electric Women’s Irish Hockey Challenge final, Saturday: Limerick vs Dungarvan, 3.30pm, Belfield
ESB Electric Women’s Irish Hockey Trophy final, Sunday: Portadown vs Lisnagarvey, 3.30pm, Belfield

Leinster Ladies Cup finals, Sunday (all at Grange Road):
Division 3/4: Naas vs Swords, 2pm, front pitch
Division 9/10: Corinthian V vs Avoca II, 4pm, front pitch
Division 13/14: Skerries IV vs Dalkey III, 2.30pm, back pitch

The poll is also still open for the Hook’s Contributor of the Year with the nominees for Junior Player of the Year (those operating for first teams outside of men’s and women’s division one) set to go live later today.

Nominees for these awards have come about from proposals in the various categories, seeking to honour the broad spectrum of Leinster hockey.

Voting will be open up until March 30 with the winners being announced at The Hook’s Awards Night and end of season party – held in conjunction with Glenanne SC – on April 2 in Kobra on Leeson Street.

To secure your ticket for the event, contact Gary Shaw on 087 986 1942 or email shawsie14@gmail.com. Tickets costs €10 and will also include free entry into NV nightclub while there will be finger-food and spot prizes on the night.

Here are the five votes online thus far:

Ian Hamilton’s hat-trick and the wily veteran David Smith inspired ’Dale to a 5-4 golden goal victory at Glenanne Park, defying a stunning Glens’ comeback which had seen them bounce back from a 4-1 half-time deficit.

They had fallen behind within 28 seconds only for Joe Brennan’s corner to snap them back on level terms. But, again, Annadale struck direct from the tip-off and added another pair by the interval for what looked a comfortable advantage, livewire Peter Caruth central to forcing mistakes in the Glenanne defence.

Belief in the impossible, though, is a quality the hosts have in abundance and they rallied brilliantly, Shane O’Donnoghue pulling one back mere seconds into the second half while Brennan’s drag-flick for 3-4 came with 15 minutes to go.

And the grandstand finish came when Jonathan Kane’s back post effort tied up matters, pushing the game into extra-time.

Little of note accrued in the first period of seven and a half minutes but Annadale rendered the Glens’ fightback meaningless when Hamilton crashed home a broken-down corner.

It was not a strike without controversy, with the ball not cleanly stopped by the trapper, the ball was switched right and left before shot eventually came in, with the Glens debating it was the first strike on goal that went over the backboard. Their complaints fell on deaf ears, though, and their reign as champions was over.

YMCA, meanwhile, were knocked out of the competition by the odd goal in five by Ulster leaders Lisnagarvey, again leaving themselves too much to do in a comeback that ended just short.

The Milltown hosts started decently but were stung on the break when Greg Thompson caught Iain Walker off guard. Phil Marshall cancelled out that goal with a stunning high drag-flick from a corner switch but Garvey went in at the break ahead 2-1 courtesy of a Timmy Cockram drag-flick.

During this time Jonathan Bruton saw yellow for two green cards, a sign of things to come as several yellows were to follow in the second period.

In between times, Cockram made it 3-1, completing a baseline pull-back before YM began to stream forward – against nine men at one stage – but showed a slightly impetuous edge, attempting to force chances too quickly in the closing quarter.

Bruton did get one back with three minutes left and Garvey showed their greater experience and composure to hold on for a 3-2 success. It leaves them to face Annadale at Carryduff in the quarter-finals.

With Weston succumbing to Banbridge 3-0 and UCD losing to Instonians 5-1, it made for a chastening day for Leinster sides at the hands of Ulster clubs in the second round.

Fingal won the Leinster tussle with Three Rock Rovers with Adrian Sweeney the tormentor-in-chief with four goals.

Peter Blakeney’s effort and a rare strike from Gavin Bourke had the sides level at half-time at 2-2 but Sweeney, using his trademark pace, caused problems all afternoon while Mark Ryan also weighed in for a big 5-2.

They travel to either Cookstown or Cork C of I in the last eight. CI reached the second round from their refixed date with Kilkeel, a match which saw bizarrely contrasting halves of hockey.

Kilkeel made most of the early running and were unlucky to be 1-0 down at the break as Billy Lynch made five top-notch saves.

But the key moment came when the Kilkeel goalkeeper was yellow carded for a foul outside the circle. John Jermyn scored the resulting short corner.

The second half proved completely different with C of I turning on some champagne hockey with Jermyn bagging two more short corners, a stroke and a goal from play.

Karl Burns finished off an end-to-end move and Nick Burns and Andrew Daunt weighed in with one each from play. Kilkeel picked off a consolation eventually beating Billy Lynch from a corner with ten minutes to go.

Monkstown’s cup form held once more, winning on their travels to Mossley but they were made to work all the way. Andy Ewington’s corner double for the Dubliners were the goals in a 2-2 tie in normal time.

In the Irish Hockey Challenge, Leinster’s representatives fared slightly better with Ciaran Davenport’s hat-trick guiding Naas into the last eight of the competition.

Mullingar ended Galway’s run in the competition with a 4-2 success in the midlands, Wayne Gilhooley’s double guiding the way.

Portrane, though, were the biggest winners with an 11-0 success over North Kildare as former Leinster underage representative Ralph Billings scored a hat-trick while Pakistani duo Nasir Munir and Mukhtar Ahmed grabbed a brace each.

St Brendan’s reign as champions, though, ended on strokes at RCSI against Portrush. Belgian Will Marinus scored for the Dubs but the visitors prevailed 4-2 on strokes. St James Gate bowed out at the hands of Omagh while Kilkenny and Skerries’ ties were postponed.

Men’s Irish Senior Cup, round two results: YMCA 2 (Phil Marshall, Jonathan Bruton) Lisnagarvey 3 (Timmy Cockram 2, Greg Thompson); NICS 3 (Chris Barnes 2, P Johnston) Bandon 1 (Aaron Beamish); Weston 0 Banbridge 3 (Ross McCandless, Simon Magowan, Dane Ward); Fingal 5 (Adrian Sweeney 4, Mark Ryan) TRR 2 (Peter Blakeney, Gavin Bourke);Mossley 2 (J Robinson, R Beattie) Monkstown 2 (Andy Ewington 2), Monkstown win 4-1 on penalty strokes; Instonians 5 (Steven Redpath 2, Stuart McWilliams 2, James Corry) UCD 1 (Ben Dobson); Glenanne 4 (Joe Brennan 2, Shane O’Donoghue, Jonathan Kane) Annadale 5 (Andy Williamson, Ian Hamilton 3, Chris Campbell)
Round one: Cork C of I 8 (J Jermyn 5, Nick Burns, Karl Burns, Andrew Daunt) Kilkeel 1 (G Russell)

Men’s Irish Senior Cup, quarter-final draw: Cork C of I / Cookstown vs Fingal; Annadale vs Lisnagarvey; NICS vs Banbridge; Monkstown vs Instonians

Men’s Irish Hockey Challenge, round two: Parkview 0 Naas 3 (Ciaran Davenport 3); Mullingar 4 (Wayne Gilhooley 2, Tom Bowers, Chris Bull) Galway 2 (Michael Nichols, Mike Tye); Kilkenny vs PSNI, postponed; Portrane 11 (P. Conway 2, Mukhtar Ahmed 2, Ralph Billings 3, Nasir Munir 2, Andrew Carroll, Derek Ledwidge) North Kildare 0; St Brendans 1 (Will Marinus) Portrush 1 (John Dillion), Portrush won 4-2 on strokes; Omagh 3 (Chris Martin, Mark Campbell, Mark Maguire) St James Gate 2; Ballymena vs Skerries, postponed; Down 3 (Adam McKee, Gavin Ringland, Jeremy McCready) Larne 1 (Niall McGoldrick)

Men’s Irish Hockey Challenge, third round draw: Portrane vs Down; Omagh vs Kilkenny/PSNI; Ballymena/Skerries vs Portrush; Naas vs Mullingar

The blue region has dominated in the past couple of years in the national competitions but the loss of key players at Glenanne and Pembroke has opened the door for new pretenders to the throne.

YM have taken full advantage, Jonny Bruton entering the fray as the league’s most deadly goal-poacher to date at the top of a creative unit featuring David Robinson, Rob Whelan and Aussie imports Marcus Richardson and Phil Marshall.

And they have full usage of Dash Hewett for the foreseeable future after he was granted a full Irish working visa to make use of his physiotherapy qualifications.

The likes of Stephen Barry and Stephen Walker have become essential cogs in their armoury, too, and they will have their hand’s full on Saturday against Lisnagarvey in the undoubted tie of the second round of the Senior Cup.

Timmy Cockram’s pace down the channels, allied to his flicking ability makes him the one to watch but Johnny Gray’s bursts from left-back were another feature of Garvey’s willingness to attack from all angles.

Jonathan Bell is a dynamic force while Jason Lynch’s southern stylings can bamboozle on his day.

Glenanne will hope to make hay on home soil in the face of Annadale’s indifferent form this season, the Carryduff side lying seventh in Ulster and winless in the IHL.

Weston are yet another side to welcome northern opponents to Dublin but there’s is the most daunting tie, Banbridge bringing an unbeaten record in IHL and Ulster league efforts to Griffeen.

Fingal face Three Rock in the one Leinster derby, a tie between two mid-table sides hoping for a cup run to ignite their seasons.

Monkstown are another side who will look to the cup as a target for silverware after two recent near misses. They have dropped away from the leading bunch in Leinster with nine points to make up now and so will travel to an improving Mossley outfit – led by Johnny Hackson – with gusto.

UCD go to Instonians in search of an upset while, as the Examiner reports, Cork Church of Ireland are determined to honour their tragic late player/coach Andy Chambers by doing the business on the pitch in their re-fixed Irish Senior Cup clash with Kilkeel at Garryduff tomorrow.

NICS and Bandon is the other ISC tie. On home turf, Railway Union and Corinthian’s tussle for an IHL playoff place is an intriguing fixture.

The Park Avenue hosts’ 3-3 in this equivalent fixture last term can be seen as one of the key moments in denying the reds the Leinster crown.

They struggled to deal with Peter English’s aerial bombardment that day. Railway have developed markedly since then but Lucas Piccioli’s side have also stepped up their game, making this a potential firecracker.

Sunday sees the quarter-finals of the Mills Cup, all division one only affairs, while the men’s Irish Hockey Challenge gets underway with Leinster represented by Mullingar, St Bredans, Naas, Kilkenny, Portrane, North Kildare, St James Gate and Skerries.

In men’s division two, Clontarf can continue their rise if they can get by northside rivals Suttonians while Avoca will need to bounce back against Dublin Uni if they are to move clear at the top.

Men’s Irish Senior Cup Round Two, Saturday: YMCA vs Lisnagarvey, 3.15pm, Milltown; NICS vs Bandon, 1pm, Stormont; Weston vs Banbridge, 3pm, Griffeen Valley Park; Fingal vs TRR, 2.30pm, ALSAA; Mossley vs Monkstown, 2.30pm, The Glade; Instonians vs UCD, 1pm, Shaw’s Bridge; Glenanne vs Annadale, 2.45pm, Glenanne Park
Round One: Cork C of I vs Kilkeel, 2pm, Garyduff
Men’s Leinster Division One, Saturday: Railway Union vs Corinthian, 1.15pm, Park Avenue
Men’s Leinster Division Two, Saturday: Clontarf vs Suttonians, 2pm, Mount Temple; Avoca vs Dublin Uni, TBC, Newpark
Mills Cup, Sunday: Fingal vs Monkstown, 2.30pm, ALSAA; Three Rock Rovers vs Pembroke Wanderers, 2.30pm, Grange Road; Glenanne vs Railway Union, 2pm, Glenanne Park; Corinthian vs UCD, 12.30pm, Whitechurch Park
Mens Irish Hockey Challenge Round Two, Saturday: Parkview vs Naas, 2.30pm, Foundry Lane; Mullingar vs Galway, 12pm, Loreto College; Kilkenny vs PSNI, 3pm, Kilkenny College; Portrane vs North Kildare, 4.30pm, ALSAA; St Brendans vs Portrush, 1.45pm, RCSI; Omagh vs St James Gate, 1pm, Playing Fields; Ballymena vs Skerries, 1pm, Balllymena; Down vs Larne, 1pm, Malone Park

Refixed games will be played on Saturday April 9, 16 and 30, skipping the Easter bank holiday weekend which runs from April 22 to 25.

Such an extension, though, is not possible for men’s division with April 16 and 30 reserved for the final four of the Irish Senior Cup and Irish Hockey League’s latter stages, respectively with Leinster sides potentially involved.

As such, from the three rounds of top tier games lost to the weather, one round has been fixed for March 26 – the original date for the senior interprovincials, since moved to May 13 to 15.

The others are scheduled for the weeks beginning February 13 and March 6.

A date for the Neville cup will be finalised in the next couple of days with the Branch to notify as soon as it is finalised.

Meanwhile, the after-effects of the weather on the fixture calendar, below, can be seen in this weekend’s matches with the big catch-up hoping to begin in earnest.

Leinster and National level fixtures:
Men’s Leinster Division One, Saturday: Weston vs YMCA, 3pm, Griffeen Valley Park; Pembroke vs Glenanne, 2pm, Serpentine Avenue; Fingal vs Railway Union, 1.30pm, ALSAA; UCD vs Corinthian, 1pm, Belfield; Three Rock Rovers vs Monkstown, 2.15pm, Grange Road
Mills Cup, Sunday: Railway Union vs Clontarf, 3pm, Park Avenue; Avoca vs Glenanne, 12.30pm, Newpark
Men’s Irish Hockey Challenge, Saturday: Kilkenny vs Limerick, TBC, KCK; Ballymena vs Saintfield, 1pm, Ballymena Showgrounds
Avoca U-21 Cup, Tuesday: TRR vs Glenanne, 8pm, Grange Road

Women’s Leinster Divisions One, Saturday: Hermes vs Pembroke, 12pm, St Andrew’s; Railway Union vs Trinity, 12.15pm, Park Avenue; Bray vs UCD, 1pm, Loreto Bray; Old Alexandra vs Glenanne, 1.15pm, Milltown; Corinthian vs Loreto, 3.45pm, Whitechurch
Sunday: Loreto vs Old Alexandra, 12.30pm, Beaufort

Jacqui Potter Cup, Sunday: Hermes vs TRL, 1.30pm, St Andrew’s
Division Two, Saturday: Railway Union II vs Old Alexandra II, 10.30am, Park Avenue; Muckross vs TRL, 11.15am, Teresians; Loreto II vs Hermes II, 12.45pm, Beaufort; Our Lady’s vs Genesis, 2.30pm, Terenure; North Kildare vs Pembroke, 3.15pm, The Maws
Sunday: Pembroke vs Loreto, 2.30pm, Serpentine Ave

Women’s National Indoor Trophy, Sunday (all at Loughlinstown Sports Centre): Armagh vs Trinity, 1pm; Trinity vs Avoca, 2pm; Avoca vs Armagh, 3pm
Women’s Irish Hockey Challenge, Saturday: NUIG vs Kilkenny, TBC, Dangan