Ireland men's national field hockey team

Ireland
Association	Irish Hockey Association
Confederation	EHF (Europe)
Coach	Craig Fulton
Assistant coach	Jonathan Caren
Manager	Stephen Barry
Captain	David Harte
FIH ranking	12(December 2015)
First kit Second kit

Ireland national field hockey team represents Ireland at men's international field hockey. It is organised by the Irish Hockey Association. Usually the team represents the entire island of Ireland and plays under a special flag. The exception is Olympic hockey, where the team represents only the Republic of Ireland and plays under the Irish tricolour.^[1] Prior to the IHA's formation in 2000, the team was organised by the Irish Hockey Union (IHU).^[2]

Ireland has qualified for the Hockey World Cup twice, finishing 12th in 1978 and 1990.

Olympic Games

At the 1908 Olympic tournament in London, the Ireland team won silver medals, losing the final to England. The teams were two of four from the Home Nations of what was then the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and their medals are credited to Great Britain. Since 1920, the United Kingdom has fielded a single Great Britain team at the Olympics.

Until 1988, the Olympic hockey tournament was by invitation only and, since the establishment of the Olympic Council of Ireland in 1922, no Irish team was invited.^[1] Players from Northern Ireland have participated on the Great Britain team, which plays only in the Olympics;^[1] otherwise, England, Scotland and Wales play separately. The IHU entered the qualifying round of the 1992 tournament, in spite of opposition from many of its Northern Irish officials.^[1]

Prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics, Ireland has never qualified for the Olympic tournament. It missed out on the 2008 Olympics after losing on goal difference to Argentina and New Zealand at a qualifying event held in New Zealand. The team then lost the third-place play-off game against France.^[3] In 2012, both the men's and women's teams lost final elimination matches to just miss out on the 2012 Games. Finally, in 2015, a combination of a fifth-place finish in the World Hockey League semi-final, and favourable continental results for other teams led to Ireland finally qualifying a team for the men's tournament in 2016.

Tournament History

Olympic Games

• 2016 - qualified

World Cup

• 1978 – 12th place
• 1990 – 12th place

Hockey World League

• 2012–13 – 14th place
• 2014–15 – 9th place

EuroHockey Nations Championship

• 2007 – 7th place
• 2011 – 5th place
• 2013 – 6th place
• 2015 –

EuroHockey Nations Trophy

• 2005 –
• 2009 –

Current squad

Roster for the 2014–15 Men's FIH Hockey World League.

Head Coach: Craig Fulton

David Harte (GK) John Jackson (C) Jonathan Bell Ronan Gormley Michael Watt Christopher Cargo Alan Sothern Eugene Magee Peter Caruth Kirk Shimmins

Stephen Cole Bruce McCandless Michael Darling David Fitzgerald (GK) Kyle Good Conor Harte Stephen Dowds Paul Gleghorne Shane O'Donoghue

References

1. Sugden, John; Alan Bairner (1995). "British Sports and Irish identity". Sport, sectarianism and society in a divided Ireland. Leicester University Press. pp. 64–66. ISBN 0-7185-0018-0.
2. "About us". Irish Hockey Association. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
3. "Irish suffer Olympic heartbreak". BBC Online. 9 February 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2008.

External links

• Senior men's team; Irish Hockey Association