The Ireland women's national field hockey team is organised by Hockey Ireland and represents both the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in international women's field hockey competitions, including the Women's Hockey World Cup and the Women's EuroHockey Nations Championship. They have previously competed in the Women's Intercontinental Cup, the Women's Hockey Champions Challenge, Women's FIH Hockey World League and the Women's FIH Hockey Series. The team also competes at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, though it officially only represents the Republic of Ireland then (using the Republic's flag and national anthem), while still selecting players from the entire island. On 2 March 1896, Ireland played

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 ...

in the first ever women's international field hockey match. Ireland were finalists and silver medallists 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 ...

and competed at the 2020 Olympic tournament.

History

Early years

The Irish Ladies Hockey Union was established in 1894. On 2 March 1896 they organised and hosted the first ever women's international field hockey match when Ireland defeated

2–0 at Alexandra College.

Tournament record

Olympics

Ireland have qualified for the 2020 summer olympics

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

. They were invited to enter the inaugural 1980 tournament but did not participate because of the

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

. Between

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Ireland competed in Olympic qualifiers. In 2012 they reached the final of a qualifying tournament but lost 4–1 to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Ireland attempted to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics via the 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League. However they failed to qualify after losing out to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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 ...

during a tournament in Valencia.

World Cup

;Early tournaments Ireland have played in five Women's Hockey World Cups, making their debut in 1986. Ireland qualified for their first tournament after winning the 1983 Women's Intercontinental Cup. Ireland hosted the 1994 Women's Hockey World Cup and made their third appearance in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

after finishing fifth in the 2001 Women's Intercontinental Cup. ;2018 Women's Hockey World Cup Ireland were finalists and silver medallists at the

. Deirdre Duke scored twice 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 ...

as Ireland won their opening pool stage game 3–1. Shirley McCay was also on target for Ireland. In their second pool game against

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 ...

, Anna O'Flanagan's goal secured a 1–0 win for Ireland and a place in the quarter-finals. Ireland lost their third pool game against

. However, after winning their first two games, they had already qualified for the knockout stages. The quarter-final against India finished 0–0 but Roisin Upton, Alison Meeke and Chloe Watkins were all on target as Ireland won the

3–1. Ireland coach Graham Shaw hailed Ayeisha McFerran's performance in the penalty shoot-out after she saved three out of the four India penalty strokes. In 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 ...

, O'Flanagan scored her second goal before Spain equalised and the game finished 1–1. In the subsequent penalty shoot-out, Ireland won 3–2, with Gillian Pinder scoring twice and McFerran again saving three penalty strokes. Despite losing the final 6–0 to 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 ...

, Ireland were acclaimed for their overall performance in the tournament. They had begun the tournament as

underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or wikt:top dog, top dog. In the case where an under ...

s, the second lowest

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

. They were ranked 15th out of sixteen teams taking part. Their team was made up of part-timers and

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

s while in the final they played a team of full-time professionals. It was reported in ''

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

'' that the players had to pay €550 to compete. Although this claim was subsequently denied by both Sport Ireland and the

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport The Minister for Transport () is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Transport. He is also Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy. The current Minister for Transport is Darragh O'Brien Darrag ...

, Shane Ross. Following their appearance in the World Cup final, Ireland moved up to a best ever eighth position in the FIH World Rankings. Their previous highest ranking position was 14th.

EuroHockey Championships

Ireland competed in every Women's EuroHockey Nations Championship between

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. However, after finishing 7th in 2013, they were relegated to the second level, Women's EuroHockey Championship II. Ireland subsequently returned to the top level after winning the 2015 Women's EuroHockey Championship II, defeating the

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

5–0 in the final.

Women's Intercontinental Cup

Between 1983 and 2006 Ireland played regularly in the Women's Intercontinental Cup. Ireland qualified for the 1986 Women's Hockey World Cup after winning the 1983 Women's Intercontinental Cup. The team was captained by Margaret Gleghorne and also included Mary Geaney. Ireland qualified for the 2002 Women's Hockey World Cup after finishing 5th in the 2001 Women's Intercontinental Cup in controversial circumstances. Ireland played

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

in a fifth to eighth place classification match. The match finished 2–2 and Lithuania won the subsequent

6–5. However Ireland captain, Rachel Kohler, spotted that the penalty strokes were being taken in the wrong order. She was initially ignored by the match officials, but Ireland appealed and the tournament director ruled the shoot-out should be replayed the next day. However Lithuania refused to take part and withdrew from the tournament. Ireland went on to defeat

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 ...

2–1 in the fifth place play-off and were initially confirmed as the final qualifier from the tournament. Before the match the Lithuania team staged a sit down protest on the pitch. Lithuania lodged a further appeal to the FIH who then ordered that Ireland, Lithuania,

and the

take part in a second qualification tournament. Lithuania were due to play

in a seventh and eighth place play-off before they withdrew. The United States had been unable to participate in the original tournament due to the disruption of airline schedules after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. However Ireland in turn appealed to the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

who overruled the FIH decision and finally confirmed Ireland's place in the 2002 Women's Hockey World Cup.

Women's Hockey Champions Challenge

Between 2009 and 2014 Ireland enter teams in Women's Hockey Champions Challenge tournaments.

Women's FIH Hockey World League

Between

and

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 ...

Ireland competed in the Women's FIH Hockey World League. In March 2015 they won a

Round 2 Round 2 may refer to: * ''Round 2'' (J. Holiday album), 2009 * ''Round 2'' (The Stylistics album), 1972 * Round 2 (company), a toy company based in Indiana, United States {{disambiguation ...

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

. Ireland attempted to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics via the 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League. However they failed to qualify after losing out to

in a penalty shoot-out during the Semi-finals tournament in Valencia. In January 2017 they won a

Round 2 Round 2 may refer to: * ''Round 2'' (J. Holiday album), 2009 * ''Round 2'' (The Stylistics album), 1972 * Round 2 (company), a toy company based in Indiana, United States {{disambiguation ...

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 with goals from Anna O'Flanagan, Katie Mullan and Zoe Wilson. Ireland's seventh-place finish at the 2016–17 Women's FIH Hockey World League Semi-finals eventually saw them qualify for the

Women's FIH Hockey Series

During 2019, Ireland played in the Women's FIH Series.

Women's FIH Hockey Nations Cup

Invitational tournaments

Team

Current squad

Head coach: Gareth Grundie

2018 Women's Hockey World Cup silver medallists

Olympians

; The following Ireland internationals have also represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

at the

. * Violet McBride – 1988 * Jackie McWilliams –

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

;Others Ireland field hockey internationals, Thelma Hopkins and Maeve Kyle, have also represented

and

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 ...

, respectively, at the Olympics. Both competed as

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athletes. * Thelma Hopkins –

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

* Maeve Kyle –

, 1960,

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

Coaches

Honours

* Women's Hockey World Cup **''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 Round 2 **''Winners'': 2015 Dublin, 2017 Kuala Lumpur *Women's EuroHockey Championship II **''Winners'':

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

*Women's Intercontinental Cup **''Winners'': 1983 * Women's Hockey Champions Challenge I **''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 FIH Hockey Series **''Runners-up'': 2019 Banbridge *Women's Four Nations Cup **''Runners-up'':

*Women's Field Hockey Olympic Qualifier **''Runners-up'':

References

External links

*
FIH profile
{{National sports teams of Ireland European women's national field hockey teams 1896 establishments in Ireland