Ireland coach Darren Smith has included eight uncapped players in a panel of 43 that will take part in a training camp in Dublin later this month as part of the build-up to August’s European Championships.
Irish Hockey League winners Railway Union, who also took this season’s Irish Senior Cup, have six players in the panel, as do beaten IHL finalists Loreto, but UCD have the highest representation with 11.
The newcomers to the panel are Vanessa Surgeoner (Pegasus), Chloe Brown (Ards), Emily Beatty (UCD), Erika Hinkson (Old Alexandra), Yvonne O’Byrne (Cork Harlequins), Aisling Campion (Loreto) and Railway’s Kate Dillon and Kate Lloyd, all of whom Smith saw in action in the IHL campaign.
“We have looked at players who are not only performing now but also have the potential to be Irish international players in the future,” said the New Zealander, who was appointed to the position last November. “We are very keen to continue monitoring players over the coming years to ensure we have the best playing for Ireland.”
Smith will reduce the size of the panel to around 24 after the training weekend, the squad warming up for the Europeans in Belgium, where they have been drawn in a pool with the hosts, the Netherlands and Belarus, with games against South Africa and Scotland in Edinburgh, Canada in Dublin, Wales and Scotland again in Belfast and Germany in Dusseldorf in June and July.
