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 ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in international men's

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

competitions, including 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. The tournament was started in 1971. It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer Olympics. ...

and the

EuroHockey Nations Championship The Men's EuroHockey 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 Championships. The tourname ...

. 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 Men's Hockey World Cup, 2014 and 2018 Men's Hockey World Cups an ...

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, ...

. The team also competes at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, though it officially only represents the Republic of Ireland then (using the Republic's flag and national anthem), while still selecting players from the entire island. On 26 January

1895 Events January * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...

Ireland played in the first ever international field hockey match when they defeated

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

3–0 in

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

. 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, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

. 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 to 29 A ...

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 ...

was founded on 6 February

1893 Events January * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * January 6 – The Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress; th ...

and on 26 January

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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. 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 People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...

and

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

. 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

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

, 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 King ...

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 north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and not

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. 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 United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

Ireland were invited to enter the tournament after a number of teams dropped out following the

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

. 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 Southeas ...

. 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 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

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

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, 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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

's 3–2 victory over

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in the

2015 Oceania Cup The 2015 Men's Oceania Cup was the ninth edition of the men's field hockey tournament. It was held from 21 to 25 October in Stratford. The tournament served as a qualifier for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Australia won the tournament for the nint ...

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, who defeated the Netherlands 3–2 in the final. The host nation, Argentina, finished e ...

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) (1936–2015), Irish field hockey international * David Judge (political scientist) Professor David Judge (born 22 May 1950), is a British ...

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 ...

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. 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 FIH. It was held from 28 November to 16 December 2018, at the Kalinga Hocke ...

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 Harold Alexander Cahill (9 June 1930 – 18 September 2009), also known as Harry Cahill, was a Great Britain men's national field hockey team, Great Britain and Ireland men's national field hockey team, Ireland men's field hockey international ...

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 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

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

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, 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, 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 Augu ...

. Ireland's best performance in the tournament came in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

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 The 2016 Summer Olympics (), o ...

and

Eugene Magee Eugene Magee (born 1 April 1986) is an 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 Ol ...

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 Martin Sloan, 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 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 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

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

. Ireland also qualified for the

after finishing fifth in the

FIH Hockey Series

During 2019, Ireland played in the

FIH Hockey Nations Cup

FIH Pro League

Invitational tournaments

Players

Current squad

Current Squad Listed on the

Website

Olympians

; London 1908 ;

Rio 2016 The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

; The following Ireland internationals have also represented

at the

Coaches

Honours

Major Tournaments

**''Runners Up'':

: 1 * FIH Nations Cup **''Runners Up'':

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

: 1 * Men's FIH Series Finals **''Runners up'':

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

: 1

Others

Men's EuroHockey Championship II The Men's EuroHockey Championship II, formerly known as the Men's EuroHockey Nations Trophy, is a competition for European national field hockey teams. It is the second level of European field hockey Championships for national teams. Underneath t ...

**''Winners'':

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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

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

Round 2 **''Winners'': 2015 San Diego, 2017 Belfast **''Runners up'': 2013 New Delhi * Men's Hockey Champions Challenge II **''Winners'':

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

**''Runners up'':

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

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

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

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

References

External links

*
FIH 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

Field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...