Hockey heroes leave a lasting legacy for sport

IRELAND’S Call provokes mixed reactions as a national anthem. However, the sound of an Irish team singing it at a World Cup final for the first time was a truly memorable moment that put the hair standing on the backs of necks. The Ireland women’s hockey team exceeded all expectations, going further than any Irish team in a field sport before them by making the final two in the world. And they did so representing a 32-county Ireland. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and DUP leader Arlene Foster expressed similar sentiments in reacting to the team progressing to the World Cup final.

The London venue ensured there was a strong Irish following in the crowd at the Lee Valley stadium.

They came up against the top team in the world and the dominant force in women’s hockey, the Netherlands. To put it in context, this was the equivalent of a dark horse emerging from the pack to meet the All Blacks in rugby or Brazil in football.

And the Dutch took their eighth World Cup with a vintage performance, where they showed their class against the redoubtable fighting Irish team, who battled to the end in search of a consolation goal.

Alas, it wasn’t to be. The disappointment at the result was overwhelmed by the enormous sense of national pride in this 32-county team making it on the international stage.

Our gallant team were gracious in defeat as they claimed their silver medals.

The implications from this run will be the strengthening of Irish hockey and a raising of standards. But it will leave a lasting legacy as it inspires other sports people, particularly young women, to strive to play on a world stage themselves in the future.