Munster players fearful as Cork cut from Irish training centres

Munster hockey players harbouring international ambitions were left reeling after it emerged that regional training for the Irish international men’s squad will no longer take place in Cork.

Coach Andrew Meredith announced squads for “intensive training centres” (ITCs) in Dublin and Belfast this week. However, such sessions will no longer be held in Cork, as they were under the previous regime, and only a handful of Munster-born players have been called into the Dublin panel.

Cork Church of Ireland have groomed the majority of those players who feel their chances of breaking into the Irish setup will be affected, and their manager Barry Crowley believes standards will suffer. “Our players are disappointed that it seems there will be no regional training in Munster this year,” said Crowley.

“Some of our players feel they train harder and want to be involved more than some of the players that were named in Andrew Meredith’s squad.

“The IHA will probably tell you it comes down to finances and, of course, the availability of a suitable coach. For the good of Munster hockey, the IHA in conjunction with the Munster Branch, should look again at their decision. The IHA need to remember that over 25 years, Cork C of I and Munster hockey has a rich tradition of producing top class senior international players. In the last four years, three of our players were capped over 100 times. Two players from Cork Harlequins also had this honour. The next crop are ready and waiting but without a proper regional training structure in Munster, I fear our players are going to be at a serious disadvantage. Without the training, they will slip through the net. Wouldn’t it be a shame if the next John Jermyn gave up hockey, or wasn’t the player he could have been, because the IHA neglected one of the provinces?”

Jermyn, Ireland’s top goalscorer ever, is unavailable for the upcoming World League 3 campaign due to work and marriage commitments but is among a group of around 20 players likely to be based in Cork this summer that could be considered to have international potential. These range from established members of Meredith’s panel who play club hockey on the continent, like experienced twins Conor and David Harte, to those who have earned senior caps in the recent past or are involved with Irish underage squads.

The Irish Hockey Association did not respond yesterday to a request to explain the decision.