Bridget McKeever (born 2 February 1983), also known as Bridget Cleland, is a former Ireland women's field hockey international. Between 2003 and 2010 she made 150 senior appearances for Ireland. She also captained Ireland.

Early years and education

McKeever was educated at

Dalriada School Dalriada School is a mixed voluntary grammar school in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland. The school draws its pupils from a wide geographical area and a range of social, religious and cultural backgrounds. In 2008 the school won the Northern Ireland ...

and

Stranmillis University College Stranmillis University College is a university college of Queen's University Belfast. The institution is located on the Stranmillis Road in Belfast. It had students in . The school offers the BEd, PGCE and TESOL, as well as other courses. Hi ...

Domestic teams

Ballymoney

McKeever played senior club field hockey for Ballymoney, playing in various competitions including the

Ulster Shield The Ulster Shield is the premier knock-out competition for ladies' hockey teams in the Ulster province of Ireland. It is one of the oldest ladies' hockey competitions in the world, with the first competition being held in 1896. Ireland was the fir ...

, the Irish Senior Cup and the

Women's Irish Hockey League The Women's Irish Hockey League is a field hockey league organised by Hockey Ireland that features women's teams from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The league was first played for during the 2008–09 season. It replaced the A ...

. Her team mates at Ballymoney have included

Angela Platt Angela Platt (born 29 May 1979) is a former Ireland women's field hockey international goalkeeper. Between 2000 and 2006 she made 75 senior appearances for Ireland. She represented Ireland at the 2002 Women's Hockey World Cup. She is also a fo ...

Megan Frazer Megan Frazer (born 2 October 1990) is an Ireland women's field hockey international. She was a member of the Ireland team that played in the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup. She has also captained the Ireland team. Frazer was a member of the Mary ...

and

Katie Mullan Kathryn "Katie" Mullan (born 7 April 1994) is an Ireland women's field hockey international player from Coleraine, Northern Ireland. She was captain of the Ireland team that played in the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup final. Mullan has also won ...

. McKeever played for Ballymoney during 2016–17 Women's Irish Hockey League season.

Ireland international

McKeever was first called up for a senior

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

squad in June 2003 and in July 2003 she made her full debut against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Between 2003 and 2010 she made 150 senior appearances for Ireland. In February 2008 McKeever captained Ireland as she made her 100th senior appearance against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. She also captained Ireland when she made her final appearance against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in July 2010.

Teacher and coach

In 2006 McKeever began working as a PE teacher at

. She also coached at Ballymoney. McKeever mentored

at both Dalriada and Ballymoney.

Honours

;Ballymoney * Irish Senior Cup **''Winners'': 2000–01 **''Runners-up'': 2004–05, 2007–08 *

**''Winners'': 2010–11, 2012–13 **''Runners-up'': 2001–02, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKeever, Bridget 1983 births Living people Ireland international women's field hockey players Female field hockey players from Northern Ireland Irish female field hockey players Irish field hockey coaches Women's Irish Hockey League players People educated at Dalriada School People from Ballymoney Sportspeople from County Antrim Schoolteachers from Northern Ireland Alumni of Stranmillis University College