Nicola Daly (born 3 April 1988), also referred to as Nicci Daly or Nikki Daly, 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 The 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup was the 14th edition of the Women's Hockey World Cup, a field hockey tournament. It was held from 21 July to 5 August 2018 at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London, England. Defending champions t ...

final. In 2010 Daly was a member of the Loreto team that won the Irish Senior Cup. Daly has also played senior

ladies' Gaelic football Ladies' Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach na mBan) is a women's team sport. It is the women's equivalent of Gaelic football. Ladies' football is organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Two teams of 15 players kick or hand-pass a ...

for . Since 2016 Daly has worked in motorsport as a data engineer for

Juncos Racing Juncos Hollinger Racing, formerly Juncos Racing, is an Argentine-American racing team competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, Indy Lights and Indy Pro 2000 Championship series in the Road to Indy ladder for IndyCar. Owned by Ricardo Juncos, who for ...

Early years, family and education

Daly is the daughter of Vivion and Carmel Daly. She has three siblings. Vivion Daly was a former

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

racing driver. She is also the niece of

Derek Daly Derek Patrick Daly (born 11 March 1953) is an Irish former racing driver. He won the 1977 British Formula 3 Championship, and competed as a professional racing driver for 17 years participating in 64 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix ...

, the former

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

driver and a first cousin of

Conor Daly Conor J. Daly (born December 15, 1991) is an American professional racing driver who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet Ca ...

, the IndyCar driver. In addition to playing Gaelic football and

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 ...

, Daly spent many weekends during her youth at

Mondello Park Mondello Park is Ireland's only international motorsport venue and is located in Caragh, County Kildare off the R409 regional road, approximately from Dublin city centre. History The Mondello Park short circuit was designed on farmland ne ...

watching her father compete. Between 2000 and 2006, Daly attended

The High School, Dublin The High School is a 12–18 mixed, Church of Ireland, independent secondary school in Rathgar, Dublin, Ireland. It was established in 1870 at Harcourt Street before moving to Rathgar in 1971 and amalgamated with The Diocesan School for Girl ...

where her fellow students included

Alison Meeke Alison Meeke (born 7 June 1991), also referred to as Ali Meeke, 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 final. Meeke has also won Irish Senior Cup ...

. Between 2006 and 2011 she attended the

Institute of Technology, Tallaght The Institute of Technology Tallaght (also known as ITT or IT Tallaght) ( Irish: ''Institiúid Teicneolaíochta, Tamhlacht)'' was a third-level institution in Tallaght, the largest suburb of Dublin, Ireland. Established in 1992, IT Tallaght ...

on a sports scholarship and gained an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering. Between 2012 and 2013 she attended the School of Applied Sciences at Cranfield University where she gained an MSc in Motorsport Engineering and Management.

Gaelic football

Ballyboden Wanderers

Daly played Gaelic football for

Ballyboden Wanderers GAA Wanderers (Irish: ''Fánaithe Bhaile Baodáin'') are a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Ballyboden, Dublin, Ireland. Background Ballyboden Wanderers G.A.A. Club was founded in 1910. They played their first match against Clanna Gael ...

at club level. Together with

, she was a member of the Wanderers team that won the 2008 Dublin Ladies Junior E Football Championship.

Dublin

Daly represented

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

at under-14 level. Her team mates included

Lyndsey Davey Lyndsey Davey is a senior Dublin ladies' footballer. She was a member of the Dublin teams that won the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship in 2010, 2017, 2018 and 2019. She captained Dublin in 2015. She was also a member of the Du ...

. Daly made her debut for the

Dublin senior ladies' football team The Dublin county ladies' football team represents Dublin GAA in ladies' Gaelic football. The team competes in inter-county competitions such as the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship, the Leinster Senior Ladies' Football Champion ...

in 2009. She was subsequently named as a Dublin Ladies Gaelic Football All-Star for 2009. Daly eventually decided to concentrate on playing

after being selected to play for

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 ...

Field hockey

High School, Dublin

Between 2000 and 2006, Daly played

for

. Her team mates and fellow students included

. In the 2005 Leinster Schoolgirls' Senior Cup final, Daly played in a High School team that lost 4–2 to an

Alexandra College Alexandra College ( ir, Coláiste Alexandra) is a fee-charging boarding and day school for girls located in Milltown, Dublin, Ireland. The school operates under a Church of Ireland ethos. History The school was founded in 1866 and takes its ...

team featuring

Nicola Evans Nicola Evans (born 17 January 1990), also referred to as Nikki Evans, 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 final. Evans has also won Women's Ir ...

. Daly and Meeke were also members the High School team that finished as runners-up in the 2005 Leinster Schoolgirls' Premier League. In the final they lost 2–0 to an Our Lady's,

Terenure Terenure (), originally called ''Roundtown'', is an affluent, middle class suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It is located in the city's D6W postcode area. Location and transport Terenure lies primarily in the administrative area of Dublin City ...

team captained by

Emer Lucey Emer Lucey is a Women's Irish Hockey League player. During the early 2010s she was member of the Railway Union team that won three leagues titles. In 2012–13 Lucey was also captain of the Railway Union team that won a national double, winnin ...

Glenanne

Daly played for Glenanne during the 2008–09 season. She scored on her Glenanne debut, a 1–1 draw against Bray in the Leinster Division 1. She was encouraged to play for Glenanne by Graham Shaw. Her teammates at Glenanne included Mary Waldron.

Loreto

Daly first played for Loreto from 2009 until 2013. On 9 May 2010, together with

Hannah Matthews Hannah Matthews (born 24 March 1991) 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 final. Matthews has also won Irish Senior Cup and Women's Irish Hockey ...

Nikki Symmons Nikki Symmons (born 2 August 1982) is a former Ireland women's field hockey international. Symmons is also a former Ireland women's cricket international. Between 2001 and 2013 Symmons made 208 appearances and scored 31 goals for Ireland. She ...

Lizzie Colvin Elizabeth "Lizzie" Holden ( Colvin, born 4 January 1990) is a retired Ireland women's field hockey international. She was a member of the Ireland team that played in the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup final. Colvin has also won Irish Senior Cup ...

and

, Daly was a member of the Loreto team that won the Irish Senior Cup. They defeated Railway Union in a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

after the game had finished 2–2. The team was coached by Graham Shaw. On 13 May 2012 Daly also played for Loreto in the Irish Senior Cup final against UCD. She scored Loreto's second goal in a 3–2 defeat. Daly also helped Loreto finish as runners up in the 2012–13 Women's Irish Hockey League. Daly re-joined Loreto for the latter half of the 2017–18 season. She subsequently scored the opening goal as Loreto defeated

Cork Harlequins Cork Harlequins Hockey and Cricket Club is a multi-sports club based in the Douglas area of Cork in Ireland. The club was founded in 1925. Although Harlequins is best known for its field hockey and cricket teams, during its history the club has ...

2–1 to win the 2018 EY Champions Trophy.

Holcombe

Daly played for Holcombe in the

Women's England Hockey League The Women's England Hockey League is a field hockey league organised by England Hockey that features women's teams from England. From 2011-2020 it was sponsored by Investec and was referred to as the Investec Women's Hockey League. Format Regula ...

between 2013 and 2015. Her teammates at Holcombe included

Megan Frazer Megan Frazer (born 2 October 1990) is an Ireland women's national field hockey team, 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 Ir ...

. While playing for Holcombe she also worked at

Ford Dagenham Ford Dagenham is a major automotive factory located in Dagenham, London, operated by the Ford of Britain subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. The plant opened in 1931 and has produced 10,980,368 cars and more than 39,000,000 engines in its history ...

and the

Dunton Technical Centre The Dunton Campus (informally Ford Dunton or Dunton) is a major automotive research and development facility located in Dunton Wayletts, Laindon, Essex, United Kingdom owned and operated by Ford Motor Company. As Ford's European headquarters, ...

as a test engineer.

Muckross

Daly played for Muckross in the Leinster League during the 2015–16 season.

Ireland international

Daly made her debut for

against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in February 2010. In March 2015 Daly was a member of the Ireland team that won a 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League Round 2 tournament hosted in

, defeating

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in the final after a

. On 10 June 2015 she scored an acclaimed solo goal against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

in the 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals. A report in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' declared "Daly picks up the ball 25 yards out, runs around defenders, pops the ball in the air and volleys it past the Springbok goalkeeper, all at full pace". Daly was a member of the Ireland team that won the 2015 Women's EuroHockey Championship II, defeating the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

5–0 in the final. In January 2017 she was also a member of the Ireland team that won a 2016–17 Women's FIH Hockey World League Round 2 tournament in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

, defeating

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

3–0 in the final. Daly represented Ireland at the

and was a prominent member of the team that won the silver medal. She featured in all of Ireland's games throughout the tournament, including the pool games against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and

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 ...

, the quarter-final against India, the semi-final against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and the final against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In interviews, Daly has revealed how Mariah Carey's '' All I Want for Christmas Is You'' became the team's unofficial theme song. Daly explained that some of the younger members of the team had said that the excitement and anticipation they experienced during the tournament "felt like Christmas Eve." The team subsequently began singing the song during training sessions and again during their homecoming celebrations.

Motor racing

Data engineer

Since April 2016 Daly has worked as a data engineer for

, based in Indianapolis. Her cousin,

, had previously raced for the same team. While working for Juncos she lived with her uncle,

. While based in Indianapolis, Daly also worked as a volunteer field hockey coach with

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Ath ...

Racing driver

On 19 August 2018, just two weeks after playing for

in the

final, Daly made her debut as a motor racing driver at

. Daly drove as part of the Formula Female team in an event celebrating the track's 50th anniversary. She also co-founded the team. Daly was raising money for the

Irish Cancer Society The Irish Cancer Society (formerly known as the Conquer Cancer Campaign) is the national charity in the Republic of Ireland dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem, and improving the lives of those who have cancer. History Fo ...

in honour of her father who had died of cancer on 15 November 2002, aged 48.

Honours

Field hockey

;

Women's Hockey World Cup The Women's FIH Hockey World Cup is the field hockey World Cup competition for women, whose format for qualification and the final tournament is similar to the men's. It has been held since 1974. The tournament has been organized by the Internat ...

**''Runners Up'':

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

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

**''Winners'': 2015 Dublin, 2017 Kuala Lumpur *Women's EuroHockey Championship II **''Winners'': 2015 * Women's Hockey Champions Challenge I **''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 ...

* Women's FIH Hockey Series **''Runners Up'': 2019 Banbridge *Women's Four Nations Cup **''Runners Up'':

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 s ...

*Women's Field Hockey Olympic Qualifier **''Runners Up'':

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 gat ...

; Loreto * Irish Senior Cup **''Winners'': 2009–10 **''Runners Up'': 2011–12 * Women's Irish Hockey League **''Runners Up'': 2012–13 * EY Champions Trophy **''Winners'': 2018 *EuroHockey Club Champion's Challenge II **''Winners'': 2011: 1 ;

* Leinster Schoolgirls' Senior Cup **''Runners Up'': 2005: 1

Gaelic football

;

*Dublin Ladies Junior E Football Championship **''Winners'': 2008

References

External links

*
Nicci Daly
at

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daly, Nicola 1988 births Living people Irish female field hockey players Ireland international women's field hockey players Female field hockey forwards Female field hockey midfielders Dublin inter-county ladies' footballers Sportspeople from Dublin (city) Alumni of Cranfield University Irish racing drivers Irish mechanical engineers Irish field hockey coaches People educated at The High School, Dublin Women's Irish Hockey League players Holcombe Hockey Club players Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Women's England Hockey League players Field hockey players from County Dublin Field hockey players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Nicola Olympic field hockey players of Ireland