Anna O'Flanagan (born 18 February 1990) 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 ...

final. O'Flanagan has also won Irish Senior Cup and

Women's Irish Hockey League The Women's Irish Hockey League is a field hockey league organised by Hockey Ireland that features women's teams from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The league was first played for during the 2008–09 season. It replaced the A ...

titles with UCD.

Early years and education

O'Flanagan is originally from

Rathgar Rathgar () is a suburb of Dublin, 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 (off ...

and attended Rathgar Junior School. Between 2002 and 2008 she also attended Muckross Park College. Between 2008 and 2013 she attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

and graduated with a Bachelor of Law with Economics.

Club career

Early years

O'Flanagan played women's field hockey for both Rathgar Junior School and Muckross Park College. In 2002 she captained the Rathgar Junior School girls team.

Hermes

In 2008, when still a schoolgirl at Muckross Park College, O'Flanagan was a member of the

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

team that won the All-Ireland Ladies' Club Championships. Her teammates at Hermes included Chloe Watkins, Nicola Evans, and Deirdre Duke.

UCD

O'Flanagan began playing for UCD in 2011. She subsequently played for UCD in three successive Irish Senior Cup finals. In 2012, along with Dora Gorman, Chloe Watkins and Deirdre Duke, she was a member of the UCD team that defeated Loreto 3–2. O'Flanagan scored UCD's third goal in the final. UCD were finalists again in 2013 but this time O'Flanagan finished on the losing side as they lost 3–2 to

Railway Union The Railway Union (, RAU) is a trade union representing drivers, traffic controllers and office staff on the railways in Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the ...

. O'Flanagan scored again in the 2014 final as UCD defeated Pembroke Wanderers 2–0. In 2013–14, together with

Katie Mullan Kathryn "Katie" Mullan (born 7 April 1994) is an Ireland women's field hockey international player from Coleraine, Northern Ireland. She was captain of the Ireland team that played in the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup final. Mullan has also won ...

, Gillian Pinder, Deirdre Duke, Nicola Evans and Emily Beatty, O'Flanagan was also a member of the UCD team that won the

. O'Flanagan also played and scored for UCD in the 2015 EuroHockey Club Champions Cup.

Hermes-Monkstown

In 2015–16, together with Chloe Watkins and Nicola Evans, O'Flanagan was a member of the

team that won the

title and the EY Champions Trophy. In the EY Champions Trophy final, O'Flanagan scored twice in a 3–1 win over

Pegasus Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...

. In 2016 Hermes merged with Monkstown and the ladies team subsequently played as Hermes-Monkstown. O'Flanagan subsequently played for Hermes-Monkstown in the 2017 EY Champions Trophy final and in the 2017 EuroHockey Club Champions Cup.

Hoofdklasse

In 2017 O'Flanagan took a break from her legal career to prepare for the

. Together with Chloe Watkins, she played for

HC Bloemendaal Hockey Club Bloemendaal (), commonly known as Bloemendaal, is a Dutch professional field hockey club based in Bloemendaal, North Holland. It was established on 26 April 1895, and is one of the oldest field hockey clubs in the Netherlands. Originall ...

in the Hoofdklasse in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. O'Flanagan was coached by

Teun de Nooijer Teun Floris de Nooijer (born 22 March 1976) is a field hockey player from the Netherlands, who twice became Olympic champion with the Dutch national squad, in 1996 Summer Olympics, 1996 and in 2000 Summer Olympics, ...

and helped Bloemendaal win the Gold Cup. In 2018 she switched to Pinoké.

Ireland international

O'Flanagan made her debut for

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 ...

in July 2010 against

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 ...

. In April 2011 she scored her first goal for Ireland against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In March 2015 O'Flanagan was a member of the Ireland team that won a

2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League Round 2 The 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League Round 2 was held from February to March 2015. A total of 24 teams competing in 3 events took part in this round of the tournament playing for 7 berths in the 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League ...

tournament hosted in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, defeating

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in the final after 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 ...

. In May 2015 she made her 100th appearance for Ireland and marked the occasion by scoring in a 3–1 win against Canada. 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 Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, defeating

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

3–0 in the final. O'Flanagan has been a regular goalscorer for Ireland. She scored 12 goals at the Kuala Lumpur tournament, including one in the final, which saw her pass the 50 mark. She was also the leading goalscorer at the tournament. O'Flanagan 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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and

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 ...

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

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and the final against the

. During the tournament O'Flanagan scored twice. On 26 July 2018 she scored in the group game against India, securing a 1–0 win for Ireland and a place in the quarter-finals. On 4 August 2018 she also scored in the semi-final against Spain. This was her 65th international goal which saw her become Ireland's joint all-time top scorer, along with Lynsey McVicker. She was subsequently named player of the match.

Occupation

Together with Lizzie Colvin, Nicola Evans, Deirdre Duke and Gillian Pinder, O'Flanagan was one of five lawyers in the Ireland squad at the

. O'Flanagan is a former McCann FitzGerald trainee and is a qualified solicitor.

Honours

;

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 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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 Women's Hockey World Cup, 2014 and 2018 Women's Hocke ...

**''Winners'': 2015 Dublin, 2017 Kuala Lumpur * Women's FIH Hockey Series **''Runners Up'': 2019 Banbridge *

Women's Hockey Champions Challenge I The Women's Hockey Champions Challenge I was an international field hockey tournament, played every two years. It was introduced in 2002 by the International Hockey Federation in order to broaden hockey's competitive base at world level. The Cham ...

**''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 ...

*Women's Four Nations Cup **''Runners Up'':

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 ...

; UCD *

**''Winners'': 2013–14 * Irish Senior Cup **''Winners'': 2011–12, 2013–14 **''Runners Up'': 2012–13 ;

/ Hermes-Monkstown *

**''Winners'': 2015–16 * EY Champions Trophy **''Winners'': 2015-16 **''Runners Up'': 2016–17 *All-Ireland Ladies' Club Championships **''Winners'': 2008 ;

*Gold Cup **''Winners'': 2017

References

External links

Anna O'Flanagan
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:OFlanagan, Anna 1990 births Living people Irish female field hockey players Ireland international women's field hockey players UCD Ladies' Hockey Club players Monkstown Hockey Club players HC Bloemendaal players Women's Irish Hockey League players Field hockey players from County Dublin Irish expatriate field hockey players Irish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Female field hockey forwards Sportspeople from Dublin (city) 21st-century Irish lawyers Alumni of University College Dublin 21st-century Irish women lawyers Field hockey players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic field hockey players for Ireland 21st-century Irish sportswomen