Ireland men's national field hockey team
| Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Association | Irish Hockey Association | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Confederation | EHF (Europe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Craig Fulton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assistant coach | Jonathan Caren | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Stephen Barry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Captain | David Harte | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIH ranking | 12(December 2015) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ireland national field hockey team represents Ireland at men's international field hockey. It is organised by the Irish Hockey Association. Usually the team represents the entire island of Ireland and plays under a special flag. The exception is Olympic hockey, where the team represents only the Republic of Ireland and plays under the Irish tricolour.[1] Prior to the IHA's formation in 2000, the team was organised by the Irish Hockey Union (IHU).[2]
Ireland has qualified for the Hockey World Cup twice, finishing 12th in 1978 and 1990.
Contents
Olympic Games
At the 1908 Olympic tournament in London, the Ireland team won silver medals, losing the final to England. The teams were two of four from the Home Nations of what was then the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and their medals are credited to Great Britain. Since 1920, the United Kingdom has fielded a single Great Britain team at the Olympics.
Until 1988, the Olympic hockey tournament was by invitation only and, since the establishment of the Olympic Council of Ireland in 1922, no Irish team was invited.[1] Players from Northern Ireland have participated on the Great Britain team, which plays only in the Olympics;[1] otherwise, England, Scotland and Wales play separately. The IHU entered the qualifying round of the 1992 tournament, in spite of opposition from many of its Northern Irish officials.[1]
Prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics, Ireland has never qualified for the Olympic tournament. It missed out on the 2008 Olympics after losing on goal difference to Argentina and New Zealand at a qualifying event held in New Zealand. The team then lost the third-place play-off game against France.[3] In 2012, both the men's and women's teams lost final elimination matches to just miss out on the 2012 Games. Finally, in 2015, a combination of a fifth-place finish in the World Hockey League semi-final, and favourable continental results for other teams led to Ireland finally qualifying a team for the men's tournament in 2016.
Tournament History
Olympic Games
- 2016 - qualified
World Cup
Hockey World League
EuroHockey Nations Championship
EuroHockey Nations Trophy
Current squad
Roster for the 2014–15 Men's FIH Hockey World League.
Head Coach: Andrew Meredith
