MAGEE SELECTED FOR RIO OLYMPICS
Banbridge Hockey Club member Eugene Magee has been selected as part of the Irish Men’s squad bound for the Rio Olympics later this month. The Irish Men’s Coach announced the final 16 man squad plus 3 travelling reserves today following months of training in preparation for the Olympic Games.
BHC President Roger Martin stated; “Huge congratulations to Eugene on being selected for the squad heading to Rio. This is a major achievement for Eugene and the whole club is absolutely delighted for him. It is brilliant that we will have an Olympic athlete as part of this club and we hope it will inspire our players, particularly our junior members as to what they could achieve through hard work and dedication to the sport.”
It’s quite the achievement for the Irish team, as it makes them not only the first Irish hockey team to qualify for the Games since 1908, but also the first Irish team from any sport to qualify since 1948. Interestingly a Banbridge member RL Kennedy was part of the 1908 Irish hockey squad that competed in the Olympic games in London that year.
Roger continued; “This is the first time an Irish hockey team have qualified for the Olympics since 1908 so it is a fantastic boost for the club and hockey in general and we are really excited about seeing one of our members competing for the Green Machine at this level. We wish Eugene and the Irish squad all the best in Rio and we will all be supporting them in their forthcoming games which start on Saturday 6 August.”
Roger added; “We also pay tribute to our other members who have been part of the Ireland squad in recent years and months in the lead up to qualification and in preparation for the Olympics; they have all played their part in getting the Irish squad to where it is today and while they will be disappointed to have missed out this time, we are immensely proud of them all at the club and their huge achievements to date.”
Team Ireland now officially have 74 athletes from 13 sports heading to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games after the 16-strong men’s hockey squad plus three travelling reserves was chosen today.
The selected athletes are:
· Jonny Bell, Lisnagarvey, Defender
· Chris Cargo, Racing, Midfield
· Peter Caruth, Annadale, Forward
· Mitch Darling, Rotterdam, Forward
· Paul Gleghorne, Lisnagarvey, Defender
· Kyle Good, Monkstown, Forward
· Ronan Gormley, Krefeld, Defender
· David Harte (Captain), Kampong, Goalkeeper
· Conor Harte, Racing, Defender
· John Jackson, Reading, Defender
· John Jermyn, Cork C of I, Midfield
· Eugene Magee, Banbridge, Midfield
· Shane O’Donoghue, Dragons, Midfield
· Alan Sothern, Pembroke, Forward
· Kirk Shimmins, Pembroke, Midfield
· Michael Watt, Lisnagarvey, Forward
Travelling Reserves:
· Tim Cockram, Lisnagarvey, Forward
· Michael Robson, Annadale, Midfield
· David Fitzgerald, Monkstown, Goalkeeper
OCI President and International Olympic Committee Executive Board Member Pat Hickey said:
“To qualify for the Olympic Games is a fantastic achievement, and the players and Hockey Ireland have worked incredibly hard for it. Not only is this the first time an Irish hockey team has qualified for an Olympic Games for more than 100 years; it is the first time that Team Ireland will contest a team sport at an Olympic Games since 1948.”
Rob Johnson, Acting CEO for Hockey Ireland, said:
“To be the first field team sport to represent Ireland at an Olympics in 68 years is a historic achievement. And to be a selected team member in this history-making side is an incredible personal achievement – congratulations to each and every one of the players selected!
“Head Coach, Craig Fulton with his support team, has stretched the squad, raising them to higher performance levels. This has required a huge amount of dedication and many sacrifices from every member of the larger squad. I would like to thank everyone in the larger squad of players for the dedication and extreme focus of every single one of them during the qualification campaign. I know that Craig’s final decision on selection was extremely difficult.
“On behalf of Hockey Ireland I would like to wish the team the very best of luck and to say that we will all be supporting you throughout the Olympics.”
Team Ireland’s first game at Rio 2016 is on Saturday 6 August.
The official Rio 2016 hockey schedule for Team Ireland can be found here.