Munster sides out to upset the odds

The future of Irish hockey gets some time in the spotlight this weekend as three of the age group interprovincial tournaments get underway in Cork and Belfast. The boys U16 and U18 competitions are taking place at Shaw’s Bridge, while hockey fans in this part of the world can get a glimpse of the best young female talent as the girls’ U18 event is played out at Garryduff. Leinster go into all three competitions as defending champions, and have picked strong squads that once again suggest they will be in the final shake-up. Their boys U18 team is predictably dominated by players from Irish Schools finalists St Andrew’s and Wesley, and the majority of their players have seen regular senior league action in Division One this term.

Kyle Good and Neal Megarity are arguably their most experienced players, and both were part of the Three Rock squad who performed heroics at the EuroHockey League in Lille last month. Dundalk Grammar’s Andrew Shekleton has been a revelation up front for Fingal, while IHA Young Player of the Year, Pembroke’s Stuart Loughrey, is also included. Ulster will look to Ireland U18 stalwarts Ryan McCrea (Mossley), Peter MacDonnell (Lisnagarvey) and drag-flick expert Stephen Dowds (Banbridge) to anchor their challenge. Munster’s U18 squad seems a little light on top-level experience by comparison, though captain Stuart O’Grady and Karl Lynch are regulars for Cork C of I B and have seen game-time for the firsts too. The Garryduff side’s excellent youth system is in evidence here, with 12 of the 18-strong squad playing their club hockey with C of I. The Ashton/Bandon Grammar axis once again forms the nucleaus of the squad, with some notable exceptions. Pres student Ben Dobson doesn’t play schools hockey at all, Midleton College have three players – Adam O’Callaghan, Nick Burns and keeper Charlie O’Sullivan – involved and Villiers’ Roy Harvey is the sole Limerick representative. Also worth a mention is the inclusion of Ashton’s Mark Holland, who has become a totem for his club in Division Three this term despite his youth. While the Munster squad is in a transition of sorts, with the loss of Dan Hobbs, Patrick Shanahan, Alastair Smith and Clinton Sweetnam robbing them of bags of experience, coach Stephen Jackson and manager Andy Gray are sure to have them well-drilled. It’s a similar story in the U18 girls competition, where Leinster again have picked a side packed with senior experience. Chloe Watkins is widely regarded as the finest young women’s player in the Irish game, and she is joined by a slew of Hermes club-mates, including vice-captain Sarah Greene, Gillian Pinder, Niamh Atcheler, keeper Suzanne Lett and underage soccer international Deirdre Duke.

Captain Orla Fox is already a mainstay of the Pembroke team, as is second deputy Alice Ward, and the side doesn’t look to have been weakened by the loss of Hannah Matthews, Nicola Evans and Zara Delany. However, they could yet face a serious challenge for their crown from Connacht, as a number of players have graduated from last year’s U16 team, which claimed the western province’s first ever interpro title. Galway’s Jessica McMickan skippers a side chock full of fellow underage internationals in the form of Freddie Timmins, Tara and Sarah Melvin, Lynsey Trainor, Dora and Irene Gorman, netminder Emilie Molloy, Katie Codyre and vice-captain Brenda Flannery. The majority of the squad ply their club trade with Greenfields and Galway, though Irene Gorman is now based in the capital with Trinity and is the only university player included in any of the squads. The inclusion of Sarah Melvin is also notable, coming as she does from the Gortnor Abbey school in Crossmolina. While she plays her club hockey for Galway, her progress to international recognition has helped the Co Mayo town generate enough interest to establish Mayo’s first hockey club. While the Leinster and Connacht squads look the most impressive on paper, Munster hold a couple of aces of their own. Naomi Carroll, for example, is the first player found through the IHAs Talent ID programme, which searches for hockey talent outside traditional strongholds. Carroll, a student at St Pat’s Comprehensive in Shannon, has had a remarkable rise to prominence, top-scoring for Ireland U16 at the European championships in Holland this summer, before repeating the feat for the U18s at the Four Nations Trophy in Wales.

Her development is being carefully managed at Catholic Institute by Geraldine O’Carroll, and alongside fellow Ireland U18 representative, Olivia Roycroft of Bandon Grammar, she is the main dangerwoman in the Munster squad. Surprisingly, six of the squad don’t appear to play any club hockey at all, but many have some significant club experience under their belts. Mount Mercy’s Yvonne O’Byrne is a regular for Cork Harlequins, as is Laurel Hill’s Aoife Roisin Burke at Catholic Institute, while Scoil Mhuire student Lauragh O’Neill has broken into the first-team squad at C of I this term. While the Ulster manager Helene Armstrong insists the northern province is in transition this year, with only five players returning from last year’s squad, the side boasts plenty of experience. Ballymoney netminder Sammy Jo Greer has been a fixture in the senior side for a couple of years, and the Belfast Harlequins duo Jenna Watt and Kirsty Lammey, plus Randalstown’s Vanessa Surgeoner, have done likewise this term. The names aren’t quite as recognisable on the South East team, with the lack of a Division One club in the area an obvious hindrance to player development. But the area which has produced the likes of the Connery sisters and Eibhlín O’Donoghue in recent years aren’t without their stars.

Loreto Kilkenny’s Aine Curran is an U18 international, Faye Loughnane of Yeats College has been among the goals for Waterford in recent weeks, and big things are expected of Wexford’s Jean Devoy. The boys U16 event is always a tough one to call, given many of the players involved are getting their first chance to announce themselves on a national stage. A few have already done so, however; Three Rock’s Shane Madeley was a fixture in Wesley’s Irish Schools run this season, while many in the know in Irish hockey believe Bandon Grammar’s Darren Sweetnam is earmarked for future greatness. Youth Interprovincials Shaw’s Bridge, Belfast U18 Boys Friday: Ulster v Munster (11.15am); Leinster v Munster (3.15pm) Saturday: Ulster v Leinster (12pm);  Ulster v Munster (4pm) Sunday: Leinster v Munster (11.15am); Leinster v Ulster (3.15pm) U18 Girls Saturday: Ulster v Munster (9.30am); South East v Leinster (11am); Ulster v Connacht (12.30pm); Munster v Leinster (2pm); Connacht v South East (3.30pm). Sunday: Connacht v Leinster (9am); South East v Ulster (10.30am); Munster v Connacht (12pm); Ulster v Leinster (1.30pm); Munster v South East (3pm).