The Ireland men's national field hockey team is organised by Hockey Ireland and represents both the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

in international men's

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shootin ...

competitions, including the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

, the

Men's Hockey World Cup The Men's FIH Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The tournament was started in 1971. It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer O ...

and the EuroHockey Nations Championship. They have previously competed in the Men's Intercontinental Cup, the Hockey Champions Challenge, the

Men's FIH Hockey World League The Men's FIH Hockey World League was an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation. The league also served as a qualifier for the 2014 and 2018 Men's Hockey World Cups and the 2016 Olympic Games. ...

and the FIH Hockey Series. On 26 January 1895 Ireland played in the first ever international field hockey match when they defeated

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

3–0 in

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the historic boundaries of Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd ( Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd''). To the west ...

. Ireland were finalists and silver medallists at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an International sport, international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. Th ...

. Ireland were also bronze medallists at the

2015 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship The 2015 Men's EuroHockey Championship was the 15th edition of the men's EuroHockey Nations Championship, the biennial international men's field hockey championship of Europe organised by the European Hockey Federation. It was held from 21–29 Au ...

Early years

The Irish Hockey Union was founded on 6 February

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

and on 26 January 1895 Ireland played in the first ever international field hockey match when they defeated

3–0 in

. In 1895 Ireland also played

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

for the first time. This was also England's first ever international field hockey match. England's first four international matches, in 1895, 1896, 1897 and 1898, were all against Ireland. By the start of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, Ireland had played 55 international matches, mostly against Wales, England or

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. This saw 605 individuals represent Ireland, at least 164 of whom were brothers. Amongst the most notable set of brothers were the Petersons, including Jack and Walter. In 1904 the Peterson brothers were members of the Ireland team that won the Triple Crown. Ireland won the title after defeating Wales 4–2 away and England 3–2 at home. As well as Jack and Walter, the team also included their brothers Nicholas, William and Cecil. Another brother, Herbert made two Ireland appearances between 1900 and 1902. In total the brothers won 66 caps between them.

Tournament history

Olympic Games

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

, with a team that included Jack and Walter Peterson, Ireland played in the very first Olympic field hockey tournament. After defeating

3–1 in the semi-final, they lost 8–1 to

in the final. The Ireland team was part of the Great Britain at the 1908 Summer Olympics team. Because of this, the silver medal won by Ireland is credited to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and not

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 ...

. Ireland would have to wait 108 years before competing in their next Olympic tournament. In 1980 Ireland were invited to enter the tournament after a number of teams dropped out following the

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict s ...

. However the offer was turned down by the Irish Hockey Union due to the short notice. Shortly after it was proposed that Ireland apply to enter in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

. However following a meeting on 16 May 1980 it was rejected due to opposition from the Ulster Branch. Ireland have entered Olympic qualifying tournaments since

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

.Lindie Naughton and Johnny Watterson (2008). ''Faster, Higher, Stronger: A History of Ireland's Olympians''. After narrowly missing out on qualification in both

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, Ireland qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics after finishing fifth in the

2014–15 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals The 2014–15 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals took place in June and July 2015. A total of 20 teams competing in 2 events took part in this round of the tournament playing for 7 berths in the Final, played between 5–13 December 2015 in R ...

. Australia's 3–2 victory over

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

in the 2015 Oceania Cup confirmed Ireland's qualification.

World Cup

Ireland qualified for the

1978 Men's Hockey World Cup The 1978 Men's Hockey World Cup was the fourth Hockey World Cup men's field hockey tournament. It was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was won by Pakistan men's national field hockey team, Pakistan, who defeated the Netherlands men's national f ...

after finishing as runners-up at the 1977 Men's Intercontinental Cup. The Ireland squad at their first World Cup included Terry Gregg,

David Judge David Judge may refer to: * David Judge (actor) (born 1983), English actor * David Judge (field hockey) (born 1936), Irish field hockey international * David Judge (political scientist) Professor David Judge (born 22 May 1950), is a British pol ...

and Tommy Allen. Monkstown Hockey Club archives Ireland qualified for the

1990 Men's Hockey World Cup The 1990 Men's Hockey World Cup was the seventh edition of the Hockey World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national field hockey teams organized by the FIH. It was held in the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan from 1 ...

after finishing fifth at the 1989 Men's Intercontinental Cup. The 1990 World Cup squad included Jimmy Kirkwood, Stephen Martin, Billy McConnell and

Martin Sloan Martin Sloan, also referred to as Marty Sloan, is a former field hockey player from Northern Ireland who represented Ireland and Great Britain at international level. Between 1982 and 1995 he made 149 senior appearances for Ireland. Between 198 ...

. Ireland qualified for the 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup after finishing fifth in the 2016–17 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals.

EuroHockey Championship

Ireland have played regularly in the EuroHockey Nations Championship. With a team that included

Harry Cahill Harold Alexander Cahill (9 June 1930 – 18 September 2009), also known as Harry Cahill, was a Great Britain and Ireland men's field hockey international goalkeeper. He represented Great Britain at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics. Betw ...

and

, Ireland competed in the inaugural

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and 1 ...

tournament. Ireland hosted the 1995 tournament. After finishing ninth in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

, Ireland were relegated to the

2005 Men's EuroHockey Nations Trophy The 2005 Men's EuroHockey Nations Trophy was the first ever edition of the Men's EuroHockey Nations Trophy, the second level of the men's European field hockey championships organized by the European Hockey Federation. It was held in Rome, Italy f ...

. After winning this tournament, Ireland were promoted to the

2007 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship The 2007 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship was the 11th edition of the Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship, the biennial international men's field hockey championship of Europe organized by the European Hockey Federation. It was held in Manc ...

. After finishing seventh in 2007 Ireland were again relegated. However after winning the

2009 Men's EuroHockey Nations Trophy The 2009 Men's EuroHockey Nations Trophy was the 3rd edition of the Men's EuroHockey Nations Trophy, the second level of the European field hockey championships organized by the European Hockey Federation. It was held from 1 to 8 August 2009 in ...

, they were promoted to the

2011 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship The 2011 Men's EuroHockey Championship was the 13th edition of the EuroHockey Nations Championship, the biennial international men's field hockey championship of Europe organized by the European Hockey Federation. It was held from 20 to 28 August ...

. Ireland's best performance in the tournament came in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

when they won the bronze medal after beating the hosts,

, 4–2 in the third place play-off with goals from Shane O'Donoghue, Alan Sothern and

Eugene Magee Eugene Magee (born 1 April 1986) Ireland men's field hockey international. He was a member of the Ireland team that won the bronze medal at the 2015 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. He also represented Ireland at the 2016 Summer Olympic ...

Men's Intercontinental Cup

Between 1977 and 2006 Ireland played regularly in the Men's Intercontinental Cup. Ireland qualified for the

after finishing as runners-up at the 1977 Men's Intercontinental Cup. With a team that included Jimmy Kirkwood, Stephen Martin, Billy McConnell and

, Ireland qualified for the

after finishing fifth at the 1989 Men's Intercontinental Cup. After finishing ninth in the 1993 Men's Intercontinental Cup, Ireland were relegated to the 1996 Inter Nations Cup. After finishing fourth in this tournament they qualified for the 1997 Men's Intercontinental Cup.

Hockey Champions Challenge

Between 2009 and 2014 Ireland competed in the Hockey Champions Challenge. They initially played in the second level tournament. However after winning the

2011 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge II The 2011 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge II was the second edition of the for men. It was held in Lille, France, from July 2–10, 2011. Teams Eight teams participated in the tournament, they were: * * * * * * * * (Hosts) Results ''All ...

they were promoted to the

2012 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge I The 2012 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge was held from 24 November to 2 December 2012 in Quilmes, Argentina. The tournament doubled as the qualifier to the 2014 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy to be held in India as the winner earned an automatic ...

Hockey Champions Challenge I

Hockey Champions Challenge II

Men's FIH Hockey World League

Between 2012 and 2017 Ireland played in the

. Ireland won World League tournaments in

and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

. Ireland qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics after finishing fifth in the

. Ireland also qualified for the 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup after finishing fifth in the 2016–17 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals.

FIH Hockey Series

During 2019, Ireland played in the FIH Hockey Series.

FIH Hockey Nations Cup

Invitational tournaments

Players

Current squad

The following 18 players were named on 23 August 2022 for the 2022 EuroHockey Championship Qualifier in

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. The p ...

, France from 24 to 27 August 2022. ''Caps updated as of 25 August 2022, after the match against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

.''

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the national team in the last 12 months.

Olympians

; London 1908 ; Rio 2016 ; The following Ireland internationals have also represented

at the

Coaches

Honours

**''Runners Up'':

: 1 * Men's EuroHockey Nations Trophy **''Winners'':

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

*Hamburg Masters **''Winners'': 2017 *

Round 1 **''Winners'': 2012 Cardiff *

Round 2 **''Winners'': 2015 San Diego, 2017 Belfast **''Runners up'': 2013 New Delhi * Men's FIH Series Finals **''Runners up'': 2019 Le Touquet * Men's Hockey Champions Challenge II **''Winners'': 2011 **''Runners up'':

*Men's Field Hockey Olympic Qualifier **''Runners up'':

*Men's Hockey Investec Cup **''Runners up'':

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

*Men's Intercontinental Cup **''Runners Up'': 1977

References

External links

Official websiteFIH profile
{{Navboxes , title=Ireland squads – International Tournaments , fg = white , bg = green , list1= {{Ireland FH Squad 1908 Summer Olympics {{Ireland FH Squad 2011 EuroHockey Nations Championship {{Ireland FH Squad 2013 EuroHockey Nations Championship {{Ireland FH Squad 2015 EuroHockey Nations Championship {{Ireland FH Squad 2017 EuroHockey Nations Championship {{Ireland FH Squad 2016 Summer Olympics {{Ireland FH Squad 2018 World Cup {{Ireland FH Squad 2019 EuroHockey Nations Championship National team European men's national field hockey teams 1895 establishments in Ireland