Ireland men's national ice hockey team

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (September 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Ireland

The Irish badge features the golden clàrsach on a green background which is also used on the Green harp flag, one of the flags used to represent Ireland.
Nickname(s)	The Boys in Green
Association	Irish Ice Hockey Association
General Manager	Sean Casey
Head coach	Nigel Smeaton
Captain	David Morrison
Most games	Robert Leckey (43)
Most points	Gareth Roberts (47)
Team colors
IIHF code	IRL
Ranking
Current IIHF	NR (6 June 2021)[1]
Highest IIHF	40 (2008)
Lowest IIHF	48 (2015)
First international
Mexico 8–3 Ireland  (Reykjavík, Iceland; 16 March 2004)
Biggest win
Ireland 23–1 Armenia  (Mexico City, Mexico; 8 March 2005)
Biggest defeat
Romania 22–0 Ireland  (Zagreb, Croatia; 13 April 2011)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances	10 (first in 2004)
Best result	40th (2008)
Development Cup
Appearances	2 (first in 2017)
Best result	2nd (2017)
International record (W–L–T)
18–35–1

Medal record
Division III
	2010 Luxembourg (Group A)
	2007 Ireland
Development Cup
	2017 Canillo
	2018 Füssen

The Irish national ice hockey team (Irish: Foireann haca oighir náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the national men's ice hockey team of the Republic of Ireland run by the Irish Ice Hockey Association and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since 26 September 1996.

The Republic of Ireland gained promotion to Division II of the IIHF World Championships in 2007, but after a worst performance in their Division II debut, they were then relegated back to Division III. The team is unable to participate in any IIHF World Championship tournaments since placing 4th with 6 points in 2013. With the closure of the Dundalk Ice Dome, they no longer meet their minimum participation standards. In 2017, the team returned at international competition after a four-year absence, and played at the inaugural Development Cup in Canillo, Andorra. They finished as the runners-up after falling 11–4 to Morocco.

The team has had members from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and has a working relationship with the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and new Irish clubs, Flyers Ice Hockey Club and Dundalk Bulls.

History[]

The Republic of Ireland was accepted into the IIHF in May 1996 after a nomination by Great Britain and a second by Canada. They have not had a long history of international competition, with the Irish national team first competing in 2004.

Early in 2007, Team Ireland moved their headquarters to the Dundalk Ice Dome. It was envisaged that the Ice Dome would become a center of excellence for ice hockey in the Republic of Ireland,^{[needs update]} and it was here that Team Ireland took silver in the IIHF World Championship Division III and gained promotion to Division II.^{[citation needed]} The next year they were relegated after a last place finish in Division II, but in 2010, they earned a first-place result and again earned promotion to Division II. The next year the took last place in the Division II Group B World Championships and were relegated to Division III which they played in. In 2012 and 2013, earning fourth place in the World Championship each year. They have not competed at a world championship since.^{[citation needed]}

IIHF World Ranking[]

In the IIHF World Ranking, Ireland is currently not ranked as of 21 May 2018.^[2]

International competition[]

2004 IIHF World Championship Division III; Reykjavík, Iceland[]

Game 1. Ireland 3 – Mexico 8
Game 2. Armenia 1 – Ireland 15
Game 3. Ireland 1 – Iceland 7
Game 4. Turkey 7 – Ireland 4
Final result: fourth place, one win, three losses for 2 points, 23 goals for, 23 goals against

2005 IIHF World Championship Division III; Mexico City, Mexico[]

Game 1. Ireland 23 – Armenia 1
Game 2. Luxembourg 8 – Ireland 4
Game 3. Ireland 4 – South Africa 5
Game 4. Mexico 6 – Ireland 1
Final result: fourth place, one win, three losses for 2 points, 32 goals for, 20 goals against

2006 IIHF World Championship Division III; Reykjavík, Iceland[]

Game 1. Ireland 0 – Armenia 6
Game 2. Iceland 8 – Ireland 0
Game 3. Turkey 2 – Ireland 2
Game 4. Ireland 3 – Luxembourg 1
Final result: fourth place, one win, two losses, one tie for 3 points, 5 goals for, 17 goals against

2007 IIHF World Championship Division III; Dundalk, Ireland[]

Game 1. Ireland 11 – Mongolia 0
Game 2. Ireland 2 – New Zealand 4
Game 3. Ireland 3 – South Africa 1
Game 4. Ireland 4 – Luxembourg 3 (OT)
Final result: second place two wins, one overtime win, one loss for 8 points, 20 goals for, 8 goals against [Team Ireland is Promoted to Division II of the 2008 IIHF World Championships]

2008 IIHF World Championship Division II Group B; Miercurea Ciuc, Romania[]

Game 1. Ireland 1 – Serbia 13
Game 2. Ireland 4 – Bulgaria 7
Game 3. Ireland 1 – Belgium 9
Game 4. Ireland 1 – Romania 21
Game 5. Ireland 1 – Israel 7
Final result: sixth place zero wins, five losses for 0 points, 8 goals for, 57 goals against [Team Ireland is relegated to the 2009 IIHF World Championship Div III]

2009 IIHF World Championship Division III; Dunedin, New Zealand[]

Game 1. Ireland 3 – Greece 7
Game 2. Ireland 3 – Luxembourg 8
Game 3. Ireland 5 – Mongolia 0 (Forfeit)
Game 4. Ireland 1 – Turkey 7
Game 5. Ireland 0 – New Zealand 9
Final result: fifth place one win, four losses for 3 points, 12 goals for, 31 goals against

2010 IIHF World Championship Division III Group A; Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg[]

Game 1. Ireland 6 – Luxembourg 4
Game 2. Greece 1 – Ireland 3
Game 3. United Arab Emirates – 2 Ireland 8
Final result: first place three wins, zero losses for 9 points, 17 goals for, 7 goals against [Team Ireland is Promoted to Division II of the 2011 IIHF World Championships]

2011 IIHF World Championship Division II Group B; Zagreb, Croatia[]

Game 1. Ireland 0 – Bulgaria 6
Game 2. China 5 – Ireland 0
Game 3. Romania 22 – Ireland 0
Game 4. Ireland 4 – Croatia 21
Game 5. Iceland 14 – Ireland 0
Final result: sixth place zero wins, five losses, for 0 points, 4 goals for, 68 goals against [Team Ireland is relegated to the 2012 IIHF World Championship Div III]

2012 IIHF World Championship Division III; Erzurum, Turkey[]

Game 1. Luxembourg 7 – Ireland 2
Game 2. Ireland 5 – Greece 3
Game 3. Ireland 3 – Turkey 5
Game 4. Ireland 8 – Mongolia 4
Game 5. North Korea 5 – Ireland 0
Final result: fourth place, two wins, three losses, for 6 points, 18 goals for, 24 goals against

2013 IIHF World Championship Division III; Cape Town, South Africa[]

Game 1. Greece 3 – Ireland 6
Game 2. South Africa 7 – Ireland 4
Game 3. Luxembourg 5 – Ireland 0
Game 4. Ireland 1 – North Korea 2
Game 5. Ireland 7 – United Arab Emirates 3
Final result: fourth place, two wins, three losses, for 6 points, 18 goals for, 20 goals against

2017 Development Cup; Canillo, Andorra[]

Game 1. Morocco 10 – Ireland 2
Game 2. Ireland 9 – Portugal 4
Game 3. Ireland 5 – Andorra 3
Final. Morocco 11 – Ireland 4
Final result: runners-up, two wins, two losses, for 6 points, 20 goals for, 28 goals against

2018 Development Cup; Füssen, Germany[]

Game 1. Macedonia 9 – Ireland 6
Game 2. Portugal 12 – Ireland 4
Game 3. Ireland 6 – Andorra 4
Semifinal. Portugal 10 – Ireland 1
Bronze medal game. Ireland 8 – Andorra 7
Final result: third place, two wins, three losses, for 6 points, 25 goals for, 42 goals against

Personnel[]

• Nigel Smeaton – Head Coach

Team[]

2013 Roster[]

(roster taken from the IIHF. IIHF Tournament Page)

Head coach:

All-time record against other nations[]

Last match: 1 October 2017^[3]

Team	GP	W	T	L	GF	GA
Andorra	1	1	0	0	5	3
Armenia	3	2	0	1	38	8
Belgium	1	0	0	1	1	9
Bulgaria	2	0	0	2	4	13
China	1	0	0	1	0	5
Croatia	1	0	0	1	4	21
Greece	4	3	0	1	17	14
Iceland	3	0	0	3	1	29
Israel	1	0	0	1	1	7
Luxembourg	8	3	0	5	25	36
Mexico	2	0	0	2	4	14
Mongolia	2	2	0	0	19	4
Morocco	2	0	0	2	6	21
New Zealand	2	0	0	2	2	13
North Korea	2	0	0	2	1	7
Portugal	1	1	0	0	9	4
Romania	2	0	0	2	1	43
Serbia	1	0	0	1	1	13
South Africa	3	1	0	2	11	13
Turkey	4	0	1	3	10	21
United Arab Emirates	2	2	0	0	15	5
Total	48	15	1	32	175	308

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• IIHF profile
• National Teams of Ice Hockey