While an Olympic play-off place was achieved, Ireland’s FIH Series finals campaign ended on a deflated note as Korea struck three times in the closing quarter to silence a soldout crowd at Banbridge.

Ireland’s Road to Tokyo took a big leap forward as they saw off the Czech Republic with plenty to spare in their FIH Series’ semi-final at a drenched Banbridge.

The Green Army marched into the semi-final of the FIH Series finals with the minimum of fuss as their 11-0 win over Singapore at Banbridge puts them one win away from a guaranteed direct Olympic qualifier tie.

Anna O’Flanagan’s brilliant four-goal salvo propelled Ireland’s women to within touching distance of an FIH Series Finals semi-final berth as they blitzed the Czech Republic 8-1 in Banbridge.

Ten months on from the World Cup, 15 of Ireland’s silver medal winners finally get to show off their wares in front of an expectant home crowd, starting with a double-header this weekend.

When the Irish senior women’s hockey team play it’s like watching a well choreographed, free-flowing dance.

Support for the Irish women’s team took a giant leap towards a semi-professional basis with the announcement that Park Developments will roll out a four-year support package which will see up to 23 players initially benefit from bursaries.

Ireland’s women finished on a high in Santiago with a 3-0 victory over their Chilean hosts in the final game of a four-match series.

A heavily-deflected Giselle Ansley goal took some of the wind out of the Irish women’s sails but the upshot of their 1-0 loss to England at Lee Valley has probably provided the perfect scenario for Thursday’s World Cup quarter-final.

London’s Lee Valley is fast becoming a mecca for Irish hockey as it once again witnessed one of the greatest ever moments in Irish hockey history.

Megan Frazer has been included in Graham Shaw’s squad of 18 players for next month’s World Cup in London despite concerns over her fitness.

Following the cancellation of the Irish women’s series against Scotland in midweek, Cork Harlequins hope to have a quintet of internationals back for the visit of Hermes-Monkstown in the EY Hockey League.

When Des Cahill called on potential benefactors to “#coughup”, circling the Green Army’s “actively seeking sponsorship” biography line, it gave the sport one of its rare moments in the spotlight.

Cork Harlequins ended UCD’s incredible 20-game unbeaten run in Belfield as Roisin Upton and Naomi Carroll struck for an excellent 2-1 win to open up the delayed women’s EY Hockey League.

With the détente between the Irish Hockey Umpires Association and Hockey Ireland in place, the EY Hockey League will tip off this weekend after two weeks of cancellations.

Graham Shaw has his sights set on World Cup qualification after his Ireland side cruised to a World League 2 title in Kuala Lumpur.

Ireland’s women are on course to progress to the next phase of their 2018 World Cup qualification campaign as they make light work of their opponents at World League 2 in Malaysia.

Cork Harlequins are emerging as the primary challengers to Hermes-Monkstown in the women’s EY Hockey League after notching a third successive win on the road.

The second season of the EY Hockey League gets underway this weekend and 11 Olympians will feature, fresh from their Rio 2016 campaign.

Hermes were the weekend’s big movers in the women’s EY Hockey League with impressive wins over challengers Ulster Elks and Cork Harlequins.

Cork Church of Ireland were left wondering what might have been after being pegged back from winning positions against powerhouses Monkstown and Banbridge in the EY Hockey League this weekend.

John Jermyn’s second successive hat-trick has Cork C of I mixing it with the big guns in the EY Hockey League after they scalped Glenanne 4-2 in Tallaght.

UCC’s ladies and Cork C of I’s men made emphatic opening day statements in the new-look EY Hockey League, with big wins over Greenfields and Cookstown. Alex O’Grady and Niamh O’Leary were among the new faces on target for College in a 4-0 success in Galway that puts them top of the pile after the first round.

After the utter devastation of a shoot-out loss to China in what was a direct Olympic qualifier, Darren Smith has the unenviable task of picking up his players to go again for another huge match on Saturday in Valencia.

Ireland 2 USA 0: Ireland will take aim at a place in the 2016 Olympics with confidence tomorrow after stunning world number five USA 2-0 in Valencia yesterday.

Ireland’s Olympic qualification campaign is already ahead of schedule following a stunning 4-1 success over South Africa on day one of World League 3 in Valencia yesterday.

Ireland proved far too strong for Turkey to complete their World League 2 pool games with a huge 13-0 win, with Clare woman Naomi Carroll netting four times at Belfield.

Hockey: Profligacy is an issue for Ireland but it’s still a case of a job well done so far.

HOCKEY: Ireland made it three from three with a 4-0 win at Alexandra College yesterday in their final test match against Scotland.

It was a memorable afternoon for Irish hockey as both national sides produced quarter-final victories at the Champions Challenge I in Malaysia and Scotland yesterday.

Peter Caruth proved his worth to Monkstown as his goals fired them to another Irish Hockey League success at Havelock Park yesterday.

Three Rock Rovers bridged a 40-year gap to win the men’s Irish Senior Cup at Belfield yesterday, seeing off Pembroke Wanderers on penalty strokes.

Holland’s ‘Mr Backhand’ lived up to his name to break Irish hearts as the world number three side snatched a late 2-1 TriFinance EuroHockey Nations Championships win over the green machine in Boom, Belgium yesterday.

Julia O’Halloran made the crucial Irish Hockey League final intervention for Railway Union for the second year running as they saw off Loreto on sudden death penalties on a topsy-turvy finals day at Grange Road.

Anna O’Flanagan’s stylish hat-trick left Pegasus reeling as UCD made a serious statement of intent with a 5-2 Irish Senior Cup quarter-final victory at Belfield.

Katie Mullan and Nicola Gray are the two newcomers to retain their place in the Irish women’s panel from last week’s Wales’ series as they complete their formal match practice in Scotland from September 7-9.

The club hockey season is a distant memory for the majority of the country’s players, but those sides hoping to find a backdoor route to next year’s Irish Hockey League must tog off one last time this weekend before the summer break.

Cork Harlequins rolled back the years to record a fairytale men’s Irish Senior Cup victory at Belfield yesterday.

It’s been a fallow few seasons for Cork Harlequins in national competitions, but they continued to roll back the years in stunning style on Saturday to see off Banbridge 2-1 and progress to the Irish Senior Cup semi-finals.

LOUISA HEALY and Megan Frazer will make their first international appearances in over 18 months later this month following their inclusion in Gene Muller’s panel for Ireland’s tour to South Africa.

OPPORTUNITY knocks for two of UCD’s leading lights as Ireland senior women’s coach Gene Muller has opted to shake things up for his side’s trip to Argentina next month.

CORK Church of Ireland came up short in their attempts to honour tragic former player/coach Andrew Chambers with an Irish Senior Cup win, going down 4-2 at home to Lisnagarvey.