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.

The Irish club season has been put on hold with the blanket cancellation of the first series of EY Hockey League matches — the sport’s marquee competition — due to a dispute over umpire remuneration.

Irish hockey had a Saturday to savour as the men guaranteed their place at the 2018 World Cup while the women have to wait a few months but look well set to match their efforts.

Emma Buckley looks set to continue a trend of young Ireland senior debutants as the Mount Mercy College student is poised to win her first cap next week.

Ireland’s senior women have moved into their final phase of preparation for their Olympic qualification campaign after selecting their squad for next month’s World League 2 yesterday.

Some of Ireland’s most established international hockey players were left reeling yesterday after being dumped from Darren Smith’s squad ahead of August’s European championships.

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.

Ireland's women survived an early fright to get their Athlon FIH Road to London campaign underway with a 5-1 win over France in Beerschot, Belgium today.

CORK’S Julia O’Halloran is the big absentee from Gene Muller’s latest Irish centralised training panel announced yesterday.

IRELAND’S senior women begin a hectic summer schedule in Scotland over the June Bank Holiday Weekend, as they bid to annex the Celtic Cup for the first time since 2006.

IRELAND senior women’s coach Gene Muller has finally confirmed plans to centralise the team to Dublin from this October will go ahead.

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.

CORK HARLEQUINS will seek to keep their 100% start to the season intact when they welcome Old Alex to Harlequin Park in the second round of the women’s ESB Irish Senior Cup tomorrow (1pm).

NEW Ireland senior men’s hockey coach Paul Revington gets his first chance to see his new charges in action later this month as Scotland arrive for a three-game series.