Queen's University Hockey Club Men's Section was formed at Queen's in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The

Belfast News Letter The ''News Letter'' is one of Northern Ireland's main daily newspapers, published from Monday to Saturday. It is the world's oldest English-language general daily newspaper still in publication, having first been printed in 1737. The newspape ...

reported the

Ulster Hockey Union The Ulster Hockey Union is the governing body for field hockey in Ulster. It is affiliated to Hockey Ireland. It organises a number of leagues and cup competitions for clubs and schools in the province. These include the Ulster Senior League, t ...

AGM of 19 September 1808 and recorded that "a committee meeting was held afterwards when Queen's College Hockey Club was admitted to membership." Queen's was known as a 'College' until it was granted its Charter as a University in 1908. Members are given a "years grace" in their playing career, to allow them to play one more season after they have left academic study at the University. In 2016-17 the first team plays in Section 1 of the Ulster Senior League.

Past

In 1911-12 Queen's University were the first club from Ulster to win the Irish Senior Cup on the field of play -

Banbridge Banbridge ( , ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the River Bann in 1712. It is situated in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iv ...

were awarded the Cup in 1907 when their opponents refused to travel to Ulster to play a Replay. The club won the Irish Senior Cup in 1972 for the second time in its history.Ireland's Saturday Night 08/04/1972 Page 2 The Irish Senior Cup was won again in 1981 when the team was captained by Peter McCabe, later of

Lisnagarvey Lisnagarvey or Lisnagarvy () is a townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Lisnagarvey is also an Anglicisation of the original name of Lisburn. The townland was named after an earthen ringfort (''lios''), which was in the area of present-day ...

and included future Great Britain Olympic Gold Medal Winner Jimmy Kirkwood.

Playing Strength

The Club lives from year to year, with fortunes tied to the abilities of the new undergraduate intake each year. Sides vary from being 'useful' to 'formidable', the latter was demonstrated by the 1972 team which beat Monkstown 3-0 in the Irish Senior Cup Final. This side included Great Britain and Ireland International Terry Gregg and several other players that went on to gain International recognition.

Present

Recently the team has had some significant success, winning the Ulster and Ireland Indoor hockey championships in 2015, therefore gaining qualification to Europe in 2016. With the backing of the university the club were able to send a squad to Bulgaria, who got the opportunities to test themselves against some top level players. Outdoors the 2nd XI won Ulster Junior league 3 in 2014 by an emphatic 12 point margin. Another recent success was winning the UK mixed hockey championship in Blackpool in 2014, finishing top of a 25 team league to go on to win a dramatic play off final on a 1 v 1 shoot out. Being awarded the Queen's SU Sports Club of the Year and Ulster hockey club of year in 2016 boosted the club considerably. Currently the team are playing in the Senior 1 division of Men's hockey in Ulster and are hoping to improve on a disappointing 2nd position last season.

Future

The future of the club is only as good as the players that are eligible to play for the club, some seasons the club struggles to field a 2nd XI, others it could push for a 3rd XI. However, as long as the commitment and excellent facilities at Upper Malone continue to be taken forward, there should be a future for Queens University Hockey Club.

Honours

* Irish Senior Cup (3 wins) ** 1911-12, 1971–72, 1980-81. *

Anderson Cup The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

** 1935-36, 1941–42, 1956-57. * Linden Cup ** 2005-06, 2006–07 Irish Indoor cup 2014-15 Ulster indoor cup 2014-2015 Ulster Premier League 2022-2023

References

External links

Queens University Hockey Club
{{Women's Irish Hockey League

Hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

Field hockey clubs in Northern Ireland Sports clubs and teams in Belfast 1898 establishments in Ireland Field hockey clubs established in 1898 Women's Irish Hockey League teams University and college field hockey clubs in Ireland University and college sports clubs in Northern Ireland Field hockey in Belfast