The Ulster Hockey Union is the governing body for field hockey in Ulster. It is affiliated to

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 ...

. It organises a number of leagues and cup competitions for clubs and schools in the province. These include the Ulster Senior League, the Kirk Cup and the

Ulster Shield The Ulster Shield is the premier knock-out competition for ladies' hockey teams in the Ulster province of Ireland. It is one of the oldest ladies' hockey competitions in the world, with the first competition being held in 1896. Ireland was the fir ...

. Over 70 clubs are affiliated to the union.

Foundation

The modern Ulster Hockey Union was founded in May 2009 following the merger of the Ulster Branch of the Irish Hockey Association and the Ulster Women's Hockey Union. The UBIHA was originally formed in December

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

. Founding members of the original association included the North Down,

Cliftonville Cliftonville is a coastal area of the town of Margate, situated to the east of the main town, in the Thanet district of Kent, South East England, United Kingdom. It also contains the area known as Palm Bay. The original Palm Bay estate was ...

and Antrim hockey clubs. At a special general meeting on 15 October 1897 at the Royal Avenue Hotel,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, members of the association agreed to form the Ulster Senior League. The 1897–98 season also the introduction of the association's senior men's cup competition, the Kirk Cup.

Competitions

Men's

* Ulster Senior League * Kirk Cup *

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 ...

Women's

Schoolboys

* Burney Cup *

McCullough Cup The McCullough Cup is a hockey competition. It is an annual tournament played for by schools affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the Irish Hockey Association. The competition is held in the winter term of each school year, with the older Burney ...

* Richardson Cup

Schoolgirls

* Ulster Schoolgirls' Senior Cup

Representative players

The Ulster Hockey Union also organises representative teams. They mainly play against teams representing the other provinces of Ireland. A number of Ireland, England and Great Britain internationals have also played for Ulster at interprovincial level.

Men

; * Harry Cahill * Mark Gleghorne * David Judge ' * Iain Lewers * Eugene Magee * Stephen Martin * Martin Sloan ; * Harry Cahill * Mark Gleghorne * David Judge ' * Iain Lewers * Stephen Martin * Martin Sloan ; * Mark Gleghorne * Iain Lewers ;Notes * David Judge represented Ulster at schoolboy level.

Women

; * Margaret Gleghorne * Violet McBride * Jackie McWilliams *

Maeve Kyle Maeve Esther Enid Kyle, OBE, née Shankey (born 6 October 1928), is an Irish Olympic athlete and hockey player. She was born in County Kilkenny. She competed in the 100m and 200m in the Melbourne Olympics and subsequently in the Rome Olympics ...

; * Margaret Gleghorne * Violet McBride * Jackie McWilliams

Personnel

* Stephen Martin worked for the union as a sports development manager from 1985 until 1991. *

Shirley McCay Shirley McCay (born 7 June 1988) 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. McCay has played in the Women's Irish Hockey League for Old Alex, ...

has worked as a coach for the union since 2013. * Angela Platt served as the executive manager of the union from 2009 until 2017.

References

{{Field hockey in Ireland

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 governing bodies in Ireland 1896 establishments in Ireland Sports organizations established in 1896