The Ireland men's national field hockey team is organised by

Hockey Ireland Hockey Ireland, previously known as the Irish Hockey Association, is the governing body for field hockey in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is responsible for organising both the Ireland men's national field hockey team and t ...

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 the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

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. Nort ...

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 shooting ci ...

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 inau ...

, the Men's Hockey World Cup and the

EuroHockey Nations Championship The EuroHockey Nations Championship is an international men's field hockey competition organised by the European Hockey Federation (EHF) for the top eight European national teams. It is the top division of the EuroHockey Nations Championships. Th ...

. They have previously competed in the Men's Intercontinental Cup, the

Hockey Champions Challenge The Men's Hockey Champions Challenge I was an international men's field hockey tournament, played every two years. It was introduced in 2001 by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in order to broaden hockey's competitive base at world lev ...

, 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. T ...

and the

FIH Hockey Series The FIH Hockey Series, also known as the FIH Series, was an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The competition, was also a qualifier for the Olympic Games. The first edition was in 2018 ...

. 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 (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Flintshire (historic), Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at ...

. 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 multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

. Ireland were also bronze medallists at the 2015 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship.

Early years

The

Irish Hockey Union Hockey Ireland, previously known as the Irish Hockey Association, is the governing body for field hockey in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is responsible for organising both the Ireland men's national field hockey team and t ...

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 b ...

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 fightin ...

, 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 the ...

. 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 Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

and

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

. 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

In 1908, with a team that included

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 Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed as the host nation of the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The British Olympic Association was the National Olympic Committee responsible for organising the United Kingd ...

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 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

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 som ...

. However the offer was turned down by the

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 A ...

. 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: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

.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.

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 ...

'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 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the 2015 Oceania Cup confirmed Ireland's qualification.

World Cup

Ireland qualified for the 1978 Men's Hockey World Cup 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 and Tommy Allen.

Monkstown Hockey Club Monkstown Hockey Club (Irish: ''Cumann Haca Baile na Manach'') is a field hockey club based at Rathdown School in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The club was founded in 1894 and was originally based in Monkstown, County Dublin. The club's ...

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 The 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup was the 14th edition of the Hockey World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national field hockey teams organized by the International Hockey Federation, FIH. It was held from 28 November to 16 Decem ...

after finishing fifth in the

2016–17 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals The 2016–17 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals were the third stage of the 2016–17 edition of the Men's FIH Hockey World League. It took place in June and July 2017. A total of 20 teams competed in 2 events in this round of the tournam ...

EuroHockey Championship

Ireland have played regularly in the

. With a team that included Harry Cahill and David Judge, 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 scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

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 disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, Ireland were relegated to the 2005 Men's EuroHockey Nations Trophy. After winning this tournament, Ireland were promoted to the 2007 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. After finishing seventh in 2007 Ireland were again relegated. However after winning the 2009 Men's EuroHockey Nations Trophy, they were promoted to the 2011 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. 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 Apri ...

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 Alan Sothern (born 28 July 1987) is an Irish field hockey player who plays as a forward for the Pembroke Wanderers. He competed for the Ireland men's national field hockey team at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Club career Alan Sothern won two I ...

and Eugene Magee.

Men's Intercontinental Cup

Between 1977 and 2006 Ireland played regularly in the Men's Intercontinental Cup. Ireland qualified for the 1978 Men's Hockey World Cup 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

. They initially played in the second level tournament. However after winning the 2011 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge II they were promoted to the 2012 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge I.

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 2014–15 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals. Ireland also qualified for the

after finishing fifth in the

FIH Hockey Series

During 2019, Ireland played in the

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. Th ...

, 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 France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

.''

Recent call-ups

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

Olympians

;

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

;

Rio 2016 ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

; The following Ireland internationals have also represented

at the

Coaches

Honours

**''Runners Up'': 1908: 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 was discovered in ...

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 The Men's Hockey Champions Challenge II was an international 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 hocke ...

**''Winners'':

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

**''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 A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

European men's national field hockey teams 1895 establishments in Ireland