John Jermyn represented Ireland in the men’s hockey tournament at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, where Ireland made their first Olympic appearance in the sport since 1908 and finished 10th.

His selection at 34 was one of the great comeback stories in Irish hockey – he had been effectively retired from the international scene since September 2012, before three successive hat-tricks for Cork Church of Ireland in the 2015-16 EY Hockey League forced coach Craig Fulton to take notice. He scored twice at Rio, including in Ireland’s dramatic 3-2 loss to India when Ireland came close to one of the great upsets.

Jermyn grew up in Douglas, Cork, attended Ashton School and University College Cork, and has been associated with Cork Church of Ireland HC throughout his career. Between 2002 and 2018 he won 179 caps and scored 93 goals for Ireland – holding the all-time Irish men’s goalscoring record from 2012 to 2018. A solicitor by profession, he had to take a leave of absence from work to participate in the full-time Olympic setup. He qualified with the firm of Ronan, Daly, Jermyn Solicitors before becoming in-house legal counsel with Global Shares.

He was subsequently appointed Diocesan Registrar of the United Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, the fourth successive member of his family to hold the role – a tradition stretching back to 1920.