Hockey
The Irish Men’s and women’s hockey teams qualify for the FIH World Cup, after competing in the Qualifiers tournament in Santiago, Chile.
The Ireland Men’s Hockey Team closed out their FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers with a win over France to take top spot in the tournament. Having trailed by a goal, Ireland fought back to 2-1 thanks to a Greg Williams brace. Ireland had to dig deep to deny France an equaliser, with goalkeeper Jaime Carr making several world-class saves to secure the victory for his side. Ireland’s win sees them secure top spot with a perfect record in the FIH World Cup Qualifiers in Santiago, Chile, and will also see the side lock down ninth in the World Rankings, their highest position since beating New Zealand at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The team will turn their attention to the FIH Hockey Nations Cup this summer before the all-important FIH Hockey World Cup in August.
The Ireland Women’s Hockey Team held their nerve in a penalty shootout to beat Japan and book their place at the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup. The game remained scoreless after 70 minutes despite Ireland having the lion’s share of the chances, forcing a shootout. Elizabeth Murphy scored a goal, with the help of Sarah Hawkshaw, Hannah McLoughlin, and Jessica McMaster, helping Ireland to a 3-1 shootout win that secured World Cup qualification. Ireland will now turn their attention to their remaining FIH Pro League stages in June where they will continue their fight to remain in the competition, followed by their trip to the Netherlands and Belgium for the World Cup.
Cycling
Lara Gillespie claims her first victory of the season in the Le Samyn road race in Belgium after a brilliant sprint to the finish, competing with UAE Team ADQ.
Speaking after the race, Gillespie shared her thoughts on the race strategy,
“It wasn’t exactly the plan we had this morning, but when that move went we immediately knew it was important to be there. We committed to the break and worked hard to make it stick. We managed the race very well and in the finale I was confident in my sprint. I’m really happy with this win, for myself and for the team.”
Swimming
Mona McSharry and Daniel Wiffen put on a number of fine performances over the weekend at the 2026 Tyr Pro Swim Series.
McSharry came away with a gold and a silver, while Wiffen picked up two bronze medals in Westmont, Illinois.
Mona McSharry
- 50 Breast: 30.88 (Gold)
- 100 Breast: 1:06.59 (Silver)
Daniel Wiffen
- 800m Free: 8:07.21 (Bronze)
- 1500m Free: 15:34.94 (Bronze)
Badminton
Nhat Nguyen competed at the All-England Championship and finished in the round of 16. Nhat put up a strong performance against the world number 6, Li Shi Feng losing out in three games 17-21, 21-12, 21-11 in a 78 minute match.
In the Portugal International championships, Sophia Noble had a Last 16 finish in the Women’s Singles, while Orla and Siofra Flynn had a Quarterfinal finish in the Women’s Doubles.