Old Alex Hockey Club is a women's field hockey club based at

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 ...

Milltown, Dublin Milltown () is a suburb on the southside of Dublin, Ireland. Milltown was the site of several working mills on the River Dodder and is also the location of the meeting of the River Slang with the Dodder. It is located adjacent to other suburba ...

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 ...

. The club enters teams in the Women's Irish Hockey League, the Women's Irish Senior Cup and the Women's Irish Junior Cup. The club was founded in

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 ...

as Alexandra Hockey Club. It claims to be the oldest women's field hockey club in

. In 1947 it was renamed Old Alexandra Hockey Club.

History

Early years

Old Alex was founded in

as Alexandra Hockey Club. It claims to be the oldest women's field hockey club in

. It was originally a

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 ...

and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

club for past and present pupils of

. The club played their first game on

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

in 1893 against Merton Hockey Club. Initially the subscription fee was two shillings and six pence and only Alexandra College pupils were allowed to join. In 1894 the club become founder members of the

Irish Ladies 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 ...

. Two club members, Miss Story and Miss Lyster, arranged the union's first meeting at Alexandra College. In 1947 the club was renamed Old Alexandra Hockey Club and in 1960 it became an open club, allowing players with no previous connection to the College to join.

Irish Senior Cup

Old Alex won the Women's Irish Senior Cup for the first time in 1906. ;Notes

Women's Irish Hockey League

During the 2010s Old Alex regularly played in the Women's Irish Hockey League. After several seasons outside the national league, Old Alex gained promotion in 2018 after defeating

Dublin University The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

2–1 in a promotion/relegation playoff.

Irish Junior Cup

Old Alex's second team enter the Women's Irish Junior Cup.

Home grounds

Old Alex are based at

. The club has hosted interprovincial and international games. On 2 March 1896 the club hosted the first ever women's international field hockey match when

defeated

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 ...

2–0.

Notable former players

Internationals

; When the Ireland women's national field hockey team won the silver medal at 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 ...

, the squad included two former Old Alex players –

Emily Beatty Emily Beatty (born 18 August 1993) 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. Beatty has also won Irish Senior Cup and Women's Irish Hockey L ...

and Shirley McCay. *

* Jeamie Deacon * Nicky King * Shirley McCay ; * Jessica Jecko

Umpire

Carol Metchette Carol Metchette is an Irish field hockey player and umpire from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. She retired from playing in 2002 and became an umpire until 2012 when she was forced to retire due to the International Hockey Federation (IHF) creatin ...

First team coaches

Honours

* Women's Irish Senior Cup **''Winners'': 1906, 1907, 1922, 1924, 1988, 1991: 6 **''Runners Up'': 1925, 1934, 1986, 1998, 2006 : 5 * Women's Irish Junior Cup **''Winners'': 1915, 1920, 1921, 2007: 4 **''Runners Up'': 1998, 2005, 2010: 3

References

{{Women's Irish Hockey League

External links

Old Alex Hockey Club on Facebook

Old Alex Hockey Club on Twitter
Women's Irish Hockey League teams Sports clubs in Dublin (city) 1893 establishments in Ireland Field hockey clubs established in 1893 Field hockey clubs in County Dublin Milltown, Dublin