Ireland men's national ice hockey team

Ireland
Nickname(s)The Boys in Green
AssociationIrish Ice Hockey Association
ManagerAeidamar Sally
Head coachAaron Guli
AssistantsPaul Cummins, Aaron Collins
CaptainDeclan Weir
Most gamesRobert Leckey (43)
Top scorerGareth Roberts (27)
Most pointsGareth Roberts (47)
Team colors     
IIHF codeIRL
Ranking
Current IIHFNR (27 May 2024)
Highest IIHF40 (2008)
Lowest IIHF48 (2015–16)
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
Appearances10 (first in 2004)
Best result40th (2008)
Development Cup
Appearances4 (first in 2017)
Best result 1st (2024)
International record (W–L–T)
28–38–3
Medal record
Division III
2010 Luxembourg (Group A)
2007 Ireland
Development Cup
2024 Bratislava
2017 Canillo
2018 Füssen
2022 Füssen

The Ireland 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 (IIHA) 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 IIHF tournaments since placing 4th with six points in 2013. With the closure of the Dundalk Ice Dome, they can 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

As of 30 May 2022, Ireland is currently not ranked in the IIHF World Ranking.

International competition

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, and three losses for 2 points, 23 goals for, 23 goals against

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, and three losses for 2 points, 32 goals for, 20 goals against

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, and one tie for 3 points, 5 goals for, 17 goals against

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, and one loss for 8 points, 20 goals for, 8 goals against [Team Ireland is Promoted to Division II of the 2008 IIHF World Championships]

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: last place, five losses for 0 points, 8 goals for, 57 goals against [Team Ireland is relegated to the 2009 IIHF World Championship Div III]

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, and four losses for 3 points, 12 goals for, 31 goals against

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 for 9 points, 17 goals for, 7 goals against [Team Ireland is Promoted to Division II of the 2011 IIHF World Championships]

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: last place, five losses for 0 points, 4 goals for, 68 goals against [Team Ireland is relegated to the 2012 IIHF World Championship Div III]

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

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

2022 Development Cup; Füssen, Germany

Game 1. Liechtenstein 7 – Ireland 6
Game 2. Ireland 7 – Algeria 6
Game 3. Ireland 6 – Andorra 6
Game 4. Ireland 3 – Colombia 3
Game 5. Portugal 4 – Ireland 12
Final result: third place, two wins, one loss, and two ties for 6 points, 34 goals for, 26 goals against

2023 Development Cup; Bratislava, Slovakia

Game 1. Argentina 11 - Ireland 6
Game 2. Ireland 4 - Colombia 6
Game 3. Portugal 1 - Ireland 10
Game 4. Ireland 5 - Liechtenstein 6
Final Result: Fourth place, one win, three losses for 3 points, 25 goals for, 24 goals against

2024 Development Cup; Bratislava, Slovakia

Game 1. Brazil 0 – Ireland 16
Game 2. Ireland 12 – Greece 3
Game 3. Colombia 1 – Ireland 9
Game 4. Ireland 7 – Argentina 4
Game 5. Ireland 8 – Portugal 3
Gold medal game. Ireland 5 – Portugal 1
Final result: first place, six wins, no loss, and no ties for 15 points, 57 goals for, 12 goals against

Personnel

  • Aaron Guli – Head Coach
  • Paul Cummins - Assistant Coach
  • Aaron Collins - Assistant Coach
  • Greg Ireland - Assistant Coach
  • Aeidamar Sally - General Manager
  • Patryk Karasinski - Equipment Manager
  • Derek O'Neill - Media Manager
  • Odhran Duffy - Physio

Current roster

Roster for the 2023-24 Development Cup

Head coach: Aaron Guli

No. Pos. Name Height Weight Birthdate Team
1 G Jack O'Dea 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) 73 kg (161 lb) 2001 (age 23/24) Sacred Heart University, NCAA
2 F Darragh Bond (1998-10-19) 19 October 1998 (age 26) Icehawks Eindhoven, Netherlands4
3 D Greg Munday Without Club
8 D Raimonds Karpinskis 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) 70 kg (154 lb) (1982-12-30) 30 December 1982 (age 42) Without Club
9 D Greg Zaffino 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 95 kg (209 lb) (1994-08-07) 7 August 1994 (age 30) Without Club
10 D Tarin McNamara 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 82 kg (181 lb) (1999-08-04) 4 August 1999 (age 25) Without Club
15 D Thomas Carpenter - A 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 82 kg (181 lb) (2000-02-19) 19 February 2000 (age 24) HC Prilly Black Panthers, SwissDiv1
17 F Adam Robinson - A 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 83 kg (183 lb) (1996-09-27) 27 September 1996 (age 28) Edinburgh Capitals, SNL
18 F Ronan Weir 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) 68 kg (150 lb) (1996-02-05) 5 February 1996 (age 28) Without Club
19 F David Sally 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 78 kg (172 lb) (1999-12-09) 9 December 1999 (age 25) Without Club
20 F Nolan Regan 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 82 kg (181 lb) (1997-09-09) 9 September 1997 (age 27) Hockey Punks, Latvia
22 F Sam Owen 2004 (age 20/21) Kilmarnock Thunder, SNL
23 F Aidan Connolly 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 77 kg (170 lb) (2001-05-10) 10 May 2001 (age 23) Salve Regina University, NCAA III
24 F Declan Weir - C 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) 75 kg (165 lb) (1993-09-10) 10 September 1993 (age 31) Alpena 45ers, MIHL
28 F Jamie Ferguson 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) 70 kg (154 lb) (2002-05-31) 31 May 2002 (age 22) Kilmarnock Thunder, SNL
35 G Andrew Dickson 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 82 kg (181 lb) (1987-11-02) 2 November 1987 (age 37) Belfast Giants, EIHL
39 F Nolan Sheeran 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 91 kg (201 lb) (1994-04-02) 2 April 1994 (age 30) Dundas Real McCoys, ACH
54 D Sean O'Neill (2000-08-18) 18 August 2000 (age 24) Solihull Barons, NIHL 1
55 F Harvey Wooldridge 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 80 kg (176 lb) (2006-10-02) 2 October 2006 (age 18) Connecticut RoughRiders, EHL
72 F Alec Young 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 84 kg (185 lb) (2003-12-30) 30 December 2003 (age 21) Without Club
89 D Zac Cummins (2001-07-19) 19 July 2001 (age 23) Without Club
91 F Andrew Stefura 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 82 kg (181 lb) (2000-07-22) 22 July 2000 (age 24) Castleton University, NCAA III


All-time record against other nations

Last match: 27 April 2024

Team GP W T L GF GA
 Algeria 1 1 0 0 7 6
 Andorra 4 3 1 0 25 20
 Argentina 2 1 0 1 13 15
 Armenia 3 2 0 1 38 8
 Belgium 1 0 0 1 1 9
 Brazil 1 1 0 0 16 0
 Bulgaria 2 0 0 2 4 13
 China 1 0 0 1 0 5
 Colombia 3 1 1 1 16 10
 Croatia 1 0 0 1 4 21
 Greece 5 4 0 1 29 17
 Iceland 3 0 0 3 1 29
 Israel 1 0 0 1 1 7
 Liechtenstein 2 0 0 2 11 13
 Luxembourg 8 3 0 5 25 41
 Mexico 2 0 0 2 4 14
 Mongolia 3 3 0 0 24 4
 Morocco 2 0 0 2 6 21
 North Macedonia 1 0 0 1 6 9
 New Zealand 2 0 0 2 2 13
 North Korea 2 0 0 2 1 7
 Portugal 7 5 0 2 49 35
 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 69 27 3 39 322 412

References

  1. ^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Ireland - Roster, News, Stats & more". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Ireland - National Teams of Ice Hockey". nationalteamsoficehockey.com. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2023.