Blow to players as Cork-based Irish sessions scrapped

Munster hockey players harbouring international ambitions were left reeling after it emerged that regional training for the Irish international men’s squad will no longer take place in Cork. Coach Andrew Meredith announced squads for “intensive training centres” (ITCs) in Dublin and Belfast this week. However, such sessions will no longer be held in Cork, as they were under the previous regime, and only a handful of Munster-born players have been called into the Dublin panel. Cork Church of Ireland have groomed the majority of those players who feel their chances of breaking into the Irish setup will be affected, and their manager Barry Crowley believes standards will suffer.

“Our players are disappointed that it seems there will be no regional training in Munster this year,” said Crowley. “Some of our players feel they train harder and want to be involved more than some of the players that were named in Andrew Meredith’s squad. “I can only hope that the decision not to hold regional sessions in Munster was not based on the results in the Irish Hockey League so far. “I am aware that Mr Meredith watched two of my club’s games at the weekend. While we lost both, I believe a few of our players did well enough to merit a call up to an extended squad. “I suppose, like everything these days, the IHA will probably tell you that it comes down to finances and, of course, the availability of a suitable coach. For the good of Munster hockey, the IHA in conjunction with the Munster Branch should look again at their decision. “The IHA need to remember that over the last 25 years Cork C of I and Munster hockey has a rich tradition of producing top class senior international hockey players. In the last four years, three of our players were capped over 100 times. Two players from Cork Harlequins also had this honour. “The next crop are ready and waiting but without a proper regional training structure in Munster I fear our players are going to be at a serious disadvantage. Without the training, they will slip through the net. “Wouldn’t it be a shame if the next John Jermyn gave up hockey, or wasn’t the player he could have been, because the IHA neglected one of their provinces?” Jermyn, Ireland’s top goalscorer of all time, is unavailable for the upcoming World League 3 campaign due to work and marriage commitments but is among a group of around 20 players likely to be based in Cork this summer that could be considered to have international potential. These range from established members of Meredith’s panel who play their club hockey on the continent, such as experienced twins Conor and David Harte, to those who have earned senior caps in the recent past or are involved with Irish underage squads. The Irish Hockey Association did not respond yesterday to a request to explain the decision. Crowley added that an unnamed member of his squad had expressed his disillusionment with the move. “He said to me: ‘I train twice a week, I’m in the gym 3/4 times a week and I do extra running sessions. I’ve give up so much free time for hockey to try and improve. Yes, I do it for the love of the game and for my club, but it’s disappointing when you don’t even get given the slightest chance. What harm would there be if a Munster regional session was held? We’d get extra training it would help younger players develop and those training sessions would only improve us further’.”

Meanwhile, Meredith has also named a 30-man Irish senior squad which will prepare for June’s World League 3 in Rotterdam. The Australian has brought in three uncapped players – Lisnagarvey duo Daniel Buser and James Lorimer, plus Cookstown’s Matthew Rollins – while the likes of Monkstown’s Irish Senior Cup-winning trio Gareth Watkins, Kyle Good and Stephen Cole also make the cut. Experienced campaigners Jermyn and Mitch Darling are both unavailable due to personal commitments. Ireland will be initially paired with three of Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, India or two other qualifiers at the 10-day competition, in which World Cup qualification is on the line. Speaking about this central panel, Meredith said: “The original intention was to select 28 athletes who would be involved in the preparation for the WL3 World Cup qualifier in June, but due to long term injuries to Tim Cockram and Conor Harte, we have expanded the group to 30. The final selection for Rotterdam will come from this playing group. “Clearly the prime objective for the group this summer, is to qualify for the World Cup. Therefore our major focus is on World League 3 which we believe clearly presents the best and most realistic opportunity for qualification. “The unavailability of both the experienced players John Jermyn and Mitch Darling is unfortunate, but also presents an enormous opportunity for other players involved in the selection.” In addition to the 30-player panel, regional Intensive Training Centres (ITC) will take place in Dublin and Belfast over the coming months with a view toward August’s European championships in Belgium.   Meredith added: “A new squad will be selected for the European Nations in Antwerp in August, which will put in contention the athletes that have been selected to participate in the de-centralised Intensive Training Centre (ITC) programme. “I am very excited about the young talent that is currently on show in the IHL, and look forward to begin working closely with these athletes and tracking their development while assisting them in reaching their potential as world class competitors.” IRELAND senior men’s training panel for World League 3: J Bell (Lisnagarvey), P Brown (Banbridge), J Bruton (YMCA), D Buser (Lisnagarvey), C Cargo (Reading, England), D Carson (Monkstown), P Caruth (Braxgata, Belgium), T Cockram (LIsnagarvey), S Cole (Monkstown), S Dowds (Banbridge), D Fitzgerald (GK, Monkstown), P Gleghorne (Instonians), K Good (Monkstown), R Gormley (Krefeld, Germany), C Harte (SCHC, Holland), D Harte (GK, Kampong, Holland), I Hughes (GK, Cookstown), J Jackson (Braxgata), J Lorimer (Lisnagarvey), S Loughrey (Old Loughtonians, England), E Magee (Krefeld), P Maguire (Hurley, Holland), G McCabe (Santander, Spain), B McCandless (Banbridge), A McConnell (Hurley), S O’Donoghue (UCD), M Rollins (Cookstown), A Sothern (Pembroke Wanderers), G Watkins (Monkstown), M Watt (SCHC). Belfast Intensive Training Centre: J Bell (Lisnagarvey), M Bell (Banbridge), P Brown (Banbridge), D Buser (Lisnagarvey), D Carlisle (Banbridge), T Cockram (Lisnagarvey), J Corry (Instonians), S Dowds (Banbridge), W Edgar (Annadale), P Gleghorne (Instonians), I Hughes (Cookstown), J Lorimer (Lisnagarvey), O Magee (Banbridge), B McCandless (Banbridge), J McKee (Banbridge), P Purcell (Annadale), M Robson (Annadale), M Rollins (Cookstown). To be added post European club competition: P Caruth (Braxgata), J Jackson (Braxgata), E Magee (Krefeld), G McCabe (Santander), M Watt (SCHC) Dublin Intensive Training Centre: J Bruton (YMCA), K Carroll (Railway Union), D Carson (Monkstown), L Cole (Monkstown), S Cole (Monkstown), M Darling (Three Rock Rovers), D Fitzgerald (Monkstown), R Flannery (Pembroke), K Good (Monkstown), M Ingram (Pembroke), S O’Donoghue (UCD), K Shimmins (Pembroke), A Sothern (Pembroke), I Walker (YMCA), G Watkins (Monkstown) To be added post European club competition: R Gormley (Krefeld), C Harte (SCHC), J Lynch (Krefeld).