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 All-Ireland Club Championships as the top level women's field hockey competition in Ireland. Since 2015–16 the league has been sponsored by Ernst & Young and, as a result, it is also known as the EY Hockey League. The league has previously been sponsored by the ESB Group and Electric Ireland.
History Inaugural title The league was first played for during the 2008–09 season. Loreto, with a team that included Nikki Symmons, Lizzie Colvin, Hannah Matthews and Alison Meeke, won the inaugural title. In the league final they defeated a Hermes team that included Nicola Evans, Anna O'Flanagan, Gillian Pinder and Chloe Watkins. Loreto won 2–1 in a penalty shoot-out, becoming the first team in the world to win a title with the new one-on-one format.
Railway Union dominance During the first five seasons Railway Union emerged as the strongest team, winning three titles in fours seasons. In 2009–10, with a team that included Cecelia and Isobel Joyce, Emer Lucey, Nicola Evans and Kate McKenna, Railway Union won their first title. They won further titles in 2011–12 and 2012–13. Pegasus have initially emerged as the strongest team from Northern Ireland. After winning their first title in 2010–11, they added a second in 2014–15. Ayeisha McFerran was a member of their 2014–15 title winning team. UCD won their first title in 2013–14 with a squad that included Katie Mullan, Gillian Pinder, Deirdre Duke, Nicola Evans, Anna O'Flanagan and Emily Beatty.
New format Between 2008–09 and 2014–15 the league used pool stages and play-offs to determine the league champion. Teams were divides into two pools with the winners and runners-up in each pool then qualifying for the semi-finals. The league title was then decided by a final. Teams continued to play in their respective provincial leagues and qualified for the next season's national league via their position in the provincial league. However, for the 2015–16 season the league was reorganised. The pool stages were abandoned and replaced with a full league programme consisting of 18 rounds of home and away matches. In addition the play-offs were effectively replaced by a new competition, the EY Champions Trophy. Furthermore, the clubs no longer entered their senior teams in provincial leagues.
With a team that included Anna O'Flanagan, Chloe Watkins and Nicola Evans, Hermes won the 2015–16 title. They also won the inaugural EY Champions Trophy. The 2016–17 season saw UCD claim the league title in dramatic fashion as Elena Tice scored two penalty corners to inflict a first league defeat on Hermes-Monkstown. The result saw UCD overtake Hermes-Monkstown on the final day of the campaign. The result also saw UCD win their second trophy in six days, adding to the Irish Senior Cup. UCD subsequently completed a treble when they also won the EY Champions Trophy after defeating Hermes-Monkstown in a penalty shoot-out. The 2017–18 season saw UCD retain the league title. Having already won the Irish Senior Cup, UCD also completed a double.
Division 2 The 2018–19 season saw the introduction of a Division 2. The new division revived the original format of the league. It uses pool stages and play-offs to determine the Division 2 champion and which teams get promoted to Division 1. Division 2 teams will continue to play in their respective provincial leagues.
2019–20 teams Division 1 Team Home town/suburb Home pitch Belfast HarlequinsBelfastDeramore Park Catholic Institute Limerick Rosbrien Cork HarlequinsDouglas, CorkHarlequin Park LoretoRathfarnhamLoreto High School Beaufort MuckrossDonnybrook, DublinMuckross Park College Old AlexMilltown, DublinAlexandra College PegasusBelfastQueens Pembroke WanderersSandymountSerpentine Avenue Railway UnionSandymountPark Avenue UCDDún Laoghaire–RathdownUCD Sports Centre
Division 2 Pool A Team Home town/suburb Home pitch CorinthianRathfarnhamSt Columba's College, Dublin Cork Church of IrelandCork Dublin UniversityTrinity College DublinSantry Avenue Lurgan LurganLurgan Junior High School NUIGNUI GalwayDangan Sports Centre Pool B Team Home town/suburb Home pitch ArdsNewtownardsLondonderry Park GreenfieldsGalwayDangan Sports Centre MonkstownDún Laoghaire–RathdownRathdown School Queen's UniversityQueen's University BelfastThe Dub UCCUniversity College CorkThe Mardyke
Winners Season Winners Score Runners up 2008–09Loreto Loreto won 2–1 after penalty shoot-outHermes2009–10Railway Union4–0Cork Harlequins2010–11Pegasus4–1Hermes2011–12Railway Union Loreto2012–13Railway UnionRailway Union won after a penalty shoot-out Loreto2013–14UCD Railway Union2014–15Pegasus1–1 Pegasus won 4–2 after a penalty shoot-outLoreto 2015–16Hermesn/aPegasus 2016–17UCDn/aHermes-Monkstown2017–18UCDn/aCork Harlequins2018–19PegasusBelfast Telegraphn/aLoretoHockey Ireland2019–20null and void (season abandoned due to coronavirus pandemic)Hockey Ireland Coronavirus (COVID-19) UPDATE No. 4 – 9 April 20202020–21not played due to coronavirus pandemic2021–22Pembroke Wanderersn/aCatholic Institute2022–23UCDHockey Irelandn/a2023–24LoretoHockey Irelandn/a
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EY Champions Trophy In addition to introducing a new format, the 2015–16 season also saw the introduction of the EY Champions Trophy. The top three placed teams from the league and/or the winners of the Irish Senior Cup all qualify for the end of season competition. The winners of the EY Champions Trophy qualify to represent Ireland in the EuroHockey Club Champions Cup.
Year Winners Score Runners up 2016 Hermes3–1Pegasus2017 UCD1–1 UCD won 3–0 after penalty shoot-outHermes-Monkstown2018 Loreto2–1Cork Harlequins 2018-19 PegasusHockey Ireland1–1Pegasus won 4–2 after penalty shoot-outLoreto 2021-22 Pembroke WanderersHockey Ireland4–1Catholic Institute 2022-23 LoretoHockey Ireland1–0UCD 2022-23 Railway UnionHockey Ireland1–0Loreto
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