Ireland national field hockey team represents Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 at men's international field hockey

Field hockey

Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...

. It is organised by the Irish Hockey Association

Irish Hockey Association

The Irish Hockey Association is the governing body for the game of hockey throughout the island of Ireland.The Association was formed in 2000 with the merger of the Unions that managed the men's and women's game separately. These Unions had governed the sport of hockey since the late 19th...

. Usually the team represents the entire island of Ireland and plays under a special flag

Cross-border flag for Ireland

There is no cross-border flag universally accepted as representing both jurisdictions on Ireland. This can be a problem in contexts where a body organised on an all-island basis needs to be represented by a flag in an international context...

. The exception is Olympic hockey

Field hockey at the Summer Olympics

Field hockey was introduced at the Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition at the 1908 Games in London, with six teams, including four from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland....

, where the team represents only the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 and plays under the Irish tricolour

Flag of Ireland

The national flag of Ireland is a vertical tricolour of green , white, and orange. It is also known as the Irish tricolour. The flag proportion is 1:2...

. Prior to the IHA's formation in 2000, the team was organised by the Irish Hockey Union (IHU).

Ireland has qualified for the Hockey World Cup

Hockey World Cup

The Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation . The tournament was started in 1971...

 twice, finishing 12th in 1978 and 1990.

South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n Paul Revington is the current coach, he succeeded David Passmore in November 2008. He appointed his first panel in December 2008 and officially took up the post in January 2009.

Olympic Games

At the 1908 Olympic tournament

Field hockey at the 1908 Summer Olympics

At the 1908 Summer Olympics, a field hockey tournament was contested for the first time. Six teams entered from three states. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was represented by a team from each of the four home nations: England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, the Ireland team won silver medals, losing the final to England

England national field hockey team

The England national field hockey team represents England in international field hockey. The team finished in fifth-place in the 2006 Men's Hockey World Cup in Mönchengladbach, Germany....

. The teams were two of four from the Home Nations

Home Nations

Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on the context. Politically, it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom...

 of what was then the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

, 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

Field hockey at the 1988 Summer Olympics

-Pool A:---------------------------------------------------------Pool B:-------------------------------------------------------------Ninth to twelfth place play-offs:--------...

, the Olympic hockey tournament was by invitation only and, since the establishment of the Olympic Council of Ireland

Olympic Council of Ireland

The Olympic Council of Ireland or OCI is the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Ireland. Its mission is "to develop and protect the Olympic Movement in Ireland, in accordance with the International Olympic Committee’s guiding document — the Olympic Charter."-History:After the First...

 in 1922, no Irish team was invited. Players from Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 have participated on the Great Britain team, which plays only in the Olympics; otherwise, England, Scotland and Wales play separately. The IHU entered the qualifying round of the 1992 tournament

Field hockey at the 1992 Summer Olympics

-Group A:-Group B:-Final round:-------------Medal winners:GOLD GERMANY ---- Michael Knauth, Christopher Reitz, Carsten Fischer, Jan-Peter Tewes, Volker Fried, Klaus Michler, Andreas Keller, Michael Metz, Christian Blunck, Sven Meinhardt, Michael Hilgers, Andreas Becker, Stefan Saliger, Stefan...

, in spite of opposition from many of its Northern Irish officials.

Ireland has never qualified for the Olympic tournament. It missed out on the 2008 Olympics

Field hockey at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament

The men's field hockey tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held over a thirteen day period beginning on August 11, and culminating with the medal finals on August 23. All games were played at the hockey field constructed on the Olympic Green...

 after losing on goal difference

Goal difference

In sports such as ice hockey and association football, goal difference is often the first tiebreaker used to rank teams which finish a league competition with an equal number of points....

 to Argentina

Argentina national field hockey team

The Argentina national field hockey team represents Argentina in the international field hockey competitions. The team competed in every World Cup since the first edition in 1971, except for the 1998 edition which was held in Utrecht, The Netherlands....

 and New Zealand at a qualifying event held in New Zealand. The team then lost the third-place play-off game against France

France national field hockey team

The France national field hockey team is the national side that represents France at field hockey....

.

External links

• Senior men's team; Irish Hockey Association
  Irish Hockey Association
  The Irish Hockey Association is the governing body for the game of hockey throughout the island of Ireland.The Association was formed in 2000 with the merger of the Unions that managed the men's and women's game separately. These Unions had governed the sport of hockey since the late 19th...