When Ireland women take to the pitch at Oi Hockey Stadium for their opening match of the Tokyo Olympics against South Africa on Saturday, they may not know it but the Green Army will be willed on by a strong, if silent, ‘home’ support.

Irish fans may not be present but the spirit of Rev Cannon William Grey still lives on in Tokyo, the rector who has the distinction of introducing hockey into Japan, creating a buzz at Keio University and where Japanese tourists still visit his grave in Dublin to this day.

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