The Ireland men's national field hockey team is organised by Hockey Ireland and represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in international men's field hockey competitions, including the Men's Hockey World Cup and the EuroHockey Nations Championship. They have previously competed in the Men's Intercontinental Cup, the Hockey Champions Challenge, the Men's FIH Hockey World League and the FIH Hockey Series. The team also competes at the Summer Olympics. On 26 January 1895 Ireland played in the first ever international field hockey match when they defeated Wales 3–0 in Rhyl. Ireland were finalists and silver medallists at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Ireland were also bronze medallists at the 2015 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship.
Early years
The Irish Hockey Union was founded on 6 February 1893 and on 26 January 1895 Ireland played in the first ever international field hockey match when they defeated Wales 3–0 in Rhyl. In 1895 Ireland also played England for the first time. This was also England's first ever international field hockey match. England's first four international matches, in 1895, 1896, 1897 and 1898, were all against Ireland. By the start of the First World War, Ireland had played 55 international matches, mostly against Wales, England or Scotland. This saw 605 individuals represent Ireland, at least 164 of whom were brothers. Amongst the most notable set of brothers were the Petersons, including Jack and Walter. In 1904 the Peterson brothers were members of the Ireland team that won the Triple Crown. Ireland won the title after defeating Wales 4–2 away and England 3–2 at home. As well as Jack and Walter, the team also included their brothers Nicholas, William and Cecil. Another brother, Herbert made two Ireland appearances between 1900 and 1902. In total the brothers won 66 caps between them.
Tournament history Olympic Games In 1908, with a team that included Jack and Walter Peterson, Ireland played in the very first Olympic field hockey tournament. After defeating Wales 3–1 in the semi-final, they lost 8–1 to England in the final. The Ireland team was part of the Great Britain at the 1908 Summer Olympics team. Because of this, the silver medal won by Ireland is credited to Great Britain and not Ireland. Ireland would have to wait 108 years before competing in their next Olympic tournament. In 1980 Ireland were invited to enter the tournament after a number of teams dropped out following the boycott. However the offer was turned down by the Irish Hockey Union due to the short notice. Shortly after it was proposed that Ireland apply to enter in 1984. However following a meeting on 16 May 1980 it was rejected due to opposition from the Ulster Branch. Ireland have entered Olympic qualifying tournaments since 1992.Lindie Naughton and Johnny Watterson (2008). Faster, Higher, Stronger: A History of Ireland's Olympians. After narrowly missing out on qualification in both 2008 and 2012, Ireland qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics after finishing fifth in the 2014–15 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals. Australia's 3–2 victory over New Zealand in the 2015 Oceania Cup confirmed Ireland's qualification.
Tournaments Place1908 Summer Olympics2016 Summer Olympics10th2024 Summer Olympics10th
Olympic Qualifiers Place2008 Men's Field Hockey Olympic Qualifier4th2012 Men's Field Hockey Olympic Qualifier2016 Summer Olympics10th2019 Men's FIH Olympic Qualifiers2024 Men's FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers
World Cup Ireland qualified for the 1978 Men's Hockey World Cup after finishing as runners-up at the 1977 Men's Intercontinental Cup. The Ireland squad at their first World Cup included Terry Gregg, David Judge and Tommy Allen.Monkstown Hockey Club archives Ireland qualified for the 1990 Men's Hockey World Cup after finishing fifth at the 1989 Men's Intercontinental Cup. The 1990 World Cup squad included Jimmy Kirkwood, Stephen Martin, Billy McConnell and Martin Sloan. Ireland qualified for the 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup after finishing fifth in the 2016–17 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals.
Tournaments Place1978 Men's Hockey World Cup12th1990 Men's Hockey World Cup12th2018 Men's Hockey World Cup 14th2026 Men's Hockey World Cup10th
World Cup Qualifiers Place Notes1997 Men's Intercontinental Cup (field hockey)12thDNQ2006 Men's Intercontinental Cup (field hockey)8thDNQ2009 Men's Hockey World Cup QualifiersDNQ2012–13 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals7thDNQ2016–17 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals5thQualified2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup – European Qualifier4thDNQ2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup QualifiersQualified
EuroHockey Championship Ireland have played regularly in the EuroHockey Nations Championship. With a team that included Harry Cahill and David Judge, Ireland competed in the inaugural 1970 tournament. Ireland hosted the 1995 tournament. After finishing ninth in 2003, Ireland were relegated to the 2005 Men's EuroHockey Nations Trophy. After winning this tournament, Ireland were promoted to the 2007 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. After finishing seventh in 2007 Ireland were again relegated. However after winning the 2009 Men's EuroHockey Nations Trophy, they were promoted to the 2011 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. Ireland's best performance in the tournament came in 2015 when they won the bronze medal after beating the hosts, England, 4–2 in the third place play-off with goals from Shane O'Donoghue, Alan Sothern and Eugene Magee.
Tournaments Place1970 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship9th1974 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship11th1978 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship8th1983 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship10th1987 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship6th1991 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship7th1995 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship5th1999 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship11th2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship9th2005 Men's EuroHockey Nations Trophy2007 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship7th2009 Men's EuroHockey Nations Trophy2011 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship5th2013 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship6th2015 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship2017 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship6th2019 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship8th2021 Men's EuroHockey Championship II2023 Men's EuroHockey Championship II2025 Men's EuroHockey Championship II
EuroHockey Championship Qualifiers Place Notes2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship qualificationQualified for 2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship2025 Men's EuroHockey Championship QualifiersQualified for 2023 Men's EuroHockey Championship II2025 Men's EuroHockey Championship QualifiersQualified for 2025 Men's EuroHockey Championship II
Men's Intercontinental Cup Between 1977 and 2006 Ireland played regularly in the Men's Intercontinental Cup. Ireland qualified for the 1978 Men's Hockey World Cup after finishing as runners-up at the 1977 Men's Intercontinental Cup. With a team that included Jimmy Kirkwood, Stephen Martin, Billy McConnell and Martin Sloan, Ireland qualified for the 1990 Men's Hockey World Cup after finishing fifth at the 1989 Men's Intercontinental Cup. After finishing ninth in the 1993 Men's Intercontinental Cup, Ireland were relegated to the 1996 Inter Nations Cup. After finishing fourth in this tournament they qualified for the 1997 Men's Intercontinental Cup.
Tournaments Place 1977 Men's Intercontinental Cup 1981 Men's Intercontinental Cup4th 1985 Men's Intercontinental Cup6th 1989 Men's Intercontinental Cup5th 1993 Men's Intercontinental Cup9th 1996 Inter Nations Cup4th 1997 Men's Intercontinental Cup12th 2006 Men's Intercontinental Cup8th
Hockey Champions Challenge Between 2009 and 2014 Ireland competed in the Hockey Champions Challenge. They initially played in the second level tournament. However after winning the 2011 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge II they were promoted to the 2012 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge I.
Hockey Champions Challenge I Tournaments Place2012 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge I2014 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge I4th
Hockey Champions Challenge II Tournaments Place2009 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge II2011 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge II
Men's FIH Hockey World League Between 2012 and 2017 Ireland played in the Men's FIH Hockey World League. Ireland won World League tournaments in 2012, 2015 and 2017. Ireland qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics after finishing fifth in the 2014–15 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals. Ireland also qualified for the 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup after finishing fifth in the 2016–17 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals.
Tournaments Place2012–13 Men's FIH Hockey World League14th → 2012–13 Men's FIH Hockey World League Round 1 → 2012–13 Men's FIH Hockey World League Round 2 → 2012–13 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals7th 2014–15 Men's FIH Hockey World League9th → 2014–15 Men's FIH Hockey World League Round 21st → 2014–15 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals5th 2016–17 Men's FIH Hockey World League11th → 2016–17 Men's FIH Hockey World League Round 2 → 2016–17 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals5th
FIH Hockey Series During 2019, Ireland played in the FIH Hockey Series.
Tournaments Place2018–19 Men's FIH Series Finals
FIH Hockey Nations Cup Tournaments Place2022 Men's FIH Hockey Nations Cup2025–26 Men's FIH Hockey Nations Cup7th
FIH Pro League Tournaments Place2023–24 Men's FIH Pro League9th2024–25 Men's FIH Pro League9th
Invitational tournaments Tournament Place2014 Men's Hockey Investec Cup2017 Hamburg Masters2018 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup6th2018 Men's Four Nations Cup 4th
Results and fixtures The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
2026 2026 FIH World Cup Qualifiers
2026 FIH Nations Cup
2026 FIH World Cup
Team Current squad Roster for the 2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup .
Head coach: Mark Tumilty
Jamie Carr (GK) Luke Roleston (GK) Luke Witherow Jonathan McKee Matthew Nelson Kyle Marshall (C) Sean Murray Mark McNellis Peter McKibbin Jeremy Duncan Benjamin Walker Jonathan Lynch Peter Brown Lee Cole Louis Rowe Samuel Hyland Fergus Gibson Gregory Williams Adam McCallister Alistair Empey
Olympians London 1908 Edward Allman-Smith Henry Brown Walter Campbell William Graham Richard Gregg Edward Holmes Robert Kennedy Henry Murphy Jack Peterson Walter Peterson Charles Power Frank Robinson
Rio 2016 Jonathan Bell Chris Cargo Peter Caruth Michael Darling Paul Gleghorne Kyle Good Ronan Gormley Conor Harte David Harte John Jackson John Jermyn Eugene Magee Shane O'Donoghue Kirk Shimmins Alan Sothern Michael Watt
2024 Summer Olympics David Harte Jaime Carr Shane O'Donoghue Kyle Marshall Lee Cole Michael Robson Nick Page Peter Brown Peter McKibbin Johnny McKee Tim Cross Daragh Walsh Sean Murray Ali Empey Johnny Lynch Jeremy Duncan Matthew Nelson Ben Walker Ben Johnson
The following Ireland internationals have also represented Great Britain at the Summer Olympics.
Steven Johnson – 1956 Harry Cahill – 1960, 1964, 1968 David Judge – 1964 Terry Gregg – 1972 Stephen Martin – 1984, 1988, 1992 Billy McConnell – 1984 Jimmy Kirkwood – 1988 Iain Lewers – 2012, 2016 David Ames – 2016 Mark Gleghorne – 2016 Ian Sloan – 2016
Coaches Yearsc.1981 Joey O'Mearac.1989–1990 Cees Kopelaar 2005–2008 David Passmore 2008–2012 Paul Revington 2012–2013 Andrew Meredith2014–2018 Craig Fulton 2018–2019 Alexander Cox2019–present Mark Tumilty
Honours Major Tournaments Summer Olympics Runners Up: 1908: FIH Nations Cup Runners Up: 2022: Men's FIH Series Finals Runners up: 2019: Others Men's EuroHockey Championship II Winners: 2005, 2009, 2023 Hamburg Masters Winners: 2017 Men's FIH Hockey World League Round 1 Winners: 2012 Cardiff Men's FIH Hockey World League Round 2 Winners: 2015 San Diego, 2017 Belfast Runners up: 2013 New Delhi Men's Hockey Champions Challenge II