Gareth Grundie was appointed as Ireland women’s new head coach on Tuesday.
Grundie will spearhead the world No.12 side into 2025, a year which includes the FIH Nations Cup in Chile in February and the EuroHockey Championships in August.
Belfast-born Grundie, 46, replaces Sean Dancer, who stepped away in March after the team failed to qualify for Paris 2024, losing to Great Britain at January’s Olympic qualifiers.
Grundie has over 25 years of coaching experience in the sport. He recently served as head coach of the Czech Republic senior women’s team.
The Czeches won silver at the 2023 European Championships II and a bronze medal for the world No.2 side at the Indoor World Cup in South Africa,
He was previously involved in Hockey Ireland’s junior age group programme and also helped in the rise of the Ireland women’s team which won World Cup silver in 2018.
His role as interim head coach in 2019 led to Ireland navigating through qualifiers for Tokyo 2020, a first in the team’s history.
