Gormley’s delight at arrival of ‘world class’ coach

Ireland captain Ronan Gormley yesterday hailed the “world class” appointment of Andrew Meredith to the senior men’s national post.

Australian-born Meredith comes with an impressive CV, having been assistant coach to the Germany side that won Olympic gold at Beijing in 2008 and this year in London. As a player he represented Australia at U21 level and played professionally for more than 15 years in Holland, Germany, England and Scotland.

His appointment was yesterday widely welcomed after a tumultuous few weeks for Irish hockey. More than €60,000 was fundraised in four days to help send the senior men’s team to next month’s Champions Challenge I in Argentina, coming amid a major backlash against the Irish Hockey Association’s board, who had previously withdrawn the side from the competition.