Cork Church of Ireland 4 Bandon 1

Hockey: Munster’s U-16s produced a memorable performance to get their schoolgirls interprovincial championship off to a flying start as they beat Ulster for the first time in a decade.

UCC captain Fionn O’Leary hopes his side can be the ultimate spoilers as they make their Irish Hockey League debut at Instonians tomorrow.

They say you don’t win trophies at Christmas but you do in Munster hockey — and Cork C of I will be hoping a third straight Peard Cup success is the start of bigger and better things to come for them.

A raft of Munster men will get their first taste of senior international hockey when Ireland A take on England A next weekend in Dublin.

Cork Harlequins’ clinical finishing helped them retain the Munster Senior League crown with a 2-0 win over Cork Church of Ireland last night.

Motivation won’t be lacking for UCC as they pitch up at Garryduff tonight looking to rattle Cork Church of Ireland’s cage (8pm).

IRELAND senior men’s coach Paul Revington received a deserved early Christmas gift yesterday when he was named as one of world hockey’s best coaches for 2011.

MONKSTOWN’S wait for a men’s Irish Senior Cup title will stretch into a 98th year after they were beaten 4-3 by Cookstown in a stunning final at Belfield yesterday.

CORK Church of Ireland have a chance for instant redemption as they visit bitter rivals Cork Harlequins for the second time in eight days, this time in tomorrow’s Peard Cup final (Harlequin Park, 2.30pm).

BANDON’S gut-wrenching loss to Three Rock Ladies was the only bit of bad news on a productive day for Munster women’s hockey in Irish competitions.

CORK HARLEQUINS were left cursing themselves for going to sleep at the start of extra-time, allowing Cork Church of Ireland to plunder a golden-goal victory in Saturday’s Munster Senior Cup semi-final at Farmer’s Cross.

JOHN JERMYN has returned to the international fold ahead of Ireland’s series of friendlies against the Netherlands in Seville, but there is still no sign of his Cork C of I club-mate David Hobbs in the squad.

A BLEAK weekend for Munster hockey saw all five of its representatives soundly beaten during the opening round of the Irish Hockey League.

UCC will attempt to prove they are ready to upset the apple cart in Munster men’s hockey when they head to Garryduff to face champions Cork Church of Ireland tomorrow (2pm).

CATHOLIC INSTITUTE will be keen to mark their centenary year in style as their men’s and women’s teams both contest the Munster Senior Cup finals on home turf at Rosbrien, Limerick today.

THE odds mightn’t favour them, but Ireland’s senior men are determined to make the most of an opportunity to qualify for a major tournament for the first time over the coming eight days.

IRELAND’S hockey coach Paul Revington has described the loss of two key players on the eve of his side’s World Cup qualification campaign as ‘a body blow’.

IRELAND senior men’s coach Paul Revington is hoping consistency of selection will help his side spring a major surprise when they get their World Cup qualification campaign underway in Argentina next month.

MISMATCHES were the order of the opening day of the hockey season in Munster, with the province’s heavy hitters all recording big wins on Saturday.

IRELAND’S hopes of becoming the first winners of the Champions Challenge II on home soil were left in tatters last night as Poland claimed a final victory on penalty strokes at Belfield last night.

KAREN BATEMAN’S inspirational performances in turning back the clock to help Cork Harlequins retain their Munster league title will be among 31 outstanding contributions recognised at the Munster Branch of the Irish Hockey Association (MBIHA) Awards 2007-2009, to be held in the Fred South Room at Garryduff this evening (7.30pm).

ASHTON SCHOOL go into today’s Munster Senior Schoolboys Cup final at Garryduff (2.30pm) against Bandon Grammar School hell-bent on returning the balance of power to Cork city after a six-year famine.

ULSTER needed to draw on all their guile and experience to wrest the senior men’s interprovincial title back from Leinster at Garryduff yesterday, as they claimed a thrilling 5-5 draw with hosts Munster that will live long in the memory.

PEMBROKE WANDERERS were given a stern test by Cork Harlequins in the opening round of the Irish Hockey League at Serpentine Avenue yesterday, but Alan Sothern’s second-half strike gave the hosts a 2-1 win and all three points.

IRELAND’S hockey clubs have provisionally approved the draw and structure for next year’s inaugural All-Ireland League (AIL).

DAVID HOBBS will celebrate his 100th Irish cap this weekend, and become the youngest player in Irish Hockey history to do so.

Ireland 1 England 1

IRISH HOCKEY has had many depressing days over the years, but not many as bad as yesterday at these European Championships when a French team which had been thrashed 8-3 and 6-0 by Holland and Spain — teams which Ireland had performed so gamely against here in Belle Vue — managed to derail the Irish effort.

The Irish men's hockey team has won the inaugural Setanta Sports Trophy after beating Canada in the final of the competition yesterday.

TYPICAL Irish Senior Cup hockey: heartbreak on one hand, elation on the other. This time the heartbreak – for the second consecutive year – belonged to Cork Church of Ireland, while the elation fell upon Cork Harlequins.

ANDY CHAMBERS wasn’t at all surprised when the draw for the fourth round of the Irish Senior Cup threw up yet another clash between Cork sides Church of Ireland and Harlequins for the third time in the last five years.

NEW Church of Ireland coach Neil Welsh has obviously slipped comfortably into his latest role, especially when he lays it down thick that arch-rivals Harlequins will be “red hot favourites” to win tomorrow’s vital league clash between the two provincial powerhouses at Farmer’s Cross.

CORK Church of Ireland open their men’s Club Championships campaign this evening at Belfield against Lisnagarvey (hit-off 6 pm) in the belief that their underdog status could be a major plus for them.

Ireland 2 Pakistan 2

Ireland 2 Egypt 3

Sean Nicholson and David Hobbs know each other from their schooldays and have played together for Ashton, Munster and Ireland. Today they put their friendship aside as their clubs, Harlequins and Church of Ireland, face-off in the Irish Senior Cup quarter-final. Declan Colley reports.

CORK Church of Ireland coach Denis Pritchard welcomes four internationals back for Saturday’s Irish Senior Cup fourth round tie away to Belfast Harlequins.

Ireland 1 Wales 1

CORK Church of Ireland had an unexpected reversal of fortunes at the European club championships in Prague yesterday when they went down 3-2 to the Ukrainian side Kolos Vinnitsa in their opening game.

The murder trial of Soham accused Ian Huntley today heard of a number of occasions where he was seen or spoke with members of the public and police on the night of the hunt for schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Soham accused Ian Huntley was “very helpful” in the search for missing schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman on the night they vanished, his murder trial heard today.