IRELAND Women’s Head Coach Gareth Grundie has announced his 20-player squad to travel to Wavre, Belgium to compete in the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup.
Having topped their pool in Santiago, a narrow loss to Australia in their semi-final meant Ireland had to beat Japan in the Bronze medal match to book a place at the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup. After Katie Mullan’s last gasp winner was ruled out, Ireland held their nerve in the subsequent shoot-out with Elizabeth Murphy making crucial saves to secure Ireland’s third successive appearance on hockey’s biggest stage, a streak that began with the historic silver-medal in 2018.
Since then, Grundie has had several opportunities to test both new and familiar faces against top international opposition during Ireland’s final stages of the FIH Hockey Pro League campaign, ties that undoubtedly helped in the selection process for Wavre.
In goals, the duo that helped guide Ireland to qualification in Chile from between the sticks will once again line out, as Lizzy Murphy and Holly Micklem are named. For both Murphy and Micklem, the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup will provide their first opportunities to represent Ireland on one of Hockey’s biggest stages. Ayeisha McFerran, 2018 World Cup Silver Medallist and Goalkeeper of the Tournament, will miss this year’s tournament through injury.
At the heart of Ireland’s defence will be a combination of Roisin Upton, Hannah McLoughlin and Caoimhe Perdue. Tipperary native Perdue will be keen to continue building her international profile as she partners the ever-present figures of Upton and McLoughlin, having made her debut in this very competition in 2022.
In the full-back positions, Sarah McAuley and Ellen Curran will once again don the green jersey, along with Lisa Mulcahy who made her senior debut just over 12 months ago against the USA. Completing the backline is the inspiring figure of Lena Neill (Tice), who returned to senior international duty in June during Ireland’s FIH Hockey Pro League campaign, after the arrival of her baby girl, Flora, in January.
Ireland captain Sarah Hawkshaw will operate in the centre of midfield along with Londonderry native Charlotte Beggs, another 2022 World Cup debutant. Flanking them will be Loreto’s Christina Hamill, who is just five appearances away from reaching 50 senior caps, Michelle Carey, a key figure in linking Ireland’s defence and attack and Mia Jennings who has cemented herself within Grundie’s set-up since his arrival.
In attack Ireland legend Katie Mullan will once again lead the line along with Dublin-native Sarah Torrans – another key goalscoring threat who is quickly approaching a century of senior appearances – and UCD scholar Mikayla Power, who will join the squad after her EuroHockey Under-21 Championship campaign in Spain. The relatively new face of Aishling Utri will also feature in Ireland’s front line. The Melbourne native switched her allegiances from Australia to Ireland after joining Railway Union in January of this year.
In the wide areas Niamh Carey and Emily Kealy will add an abundance of energy and pace, tools they used to devastating effect during Ireland’s recent FIH Hockey Pro League performances.
Speaking after the announcement, Ireland Women’s Head Coach Gareth Grundie said: “There is no denying that the World Cup is a competition that has a special significance for the team.
“For this group, this year’s FIH Hockey World Cup is an opportunity to leave a legacy of their own. The last few months, between the Qualifiers and the FIH Hockey Pro League, have given us lots of opportunities to test ourselves against some of the best teams in the World.
“We have learned first-hand, and also shown the world, that we can go toe-to-toe with these teams, something we intend to continue doing in this World Cup.”
Ireland (World No.12) have been drawn in Pool C of the competition, and will face Spain (World No.6) in their opening match on August 16, before meeting New Zealand (World No.10) and Belgium (World No.3) in their remaining pool stage matches on August 18 and 20, respectively.
A top two finish in the Pool would see Ireland progress to Pool E for shot at a place in the Semi-Finals, while a third or fourth place finish would see the side progress to Pool H where they will begin their final classification matches.
Ireland Women’s Squad: Elizabeth Murphy, Holly Micklem, Roisin Upton, Hannah McLoughlin, Caoimhe Perdue, Lena Neill, Sarah McAuley, Ellen Curran, Lisa Mulcahy, Sarah Hawkshaw, Charlotte Beggs, Michelle Carey, Christina Hamill, Mia Jennings, Katie Mullan, Sarah Torrans, Aisling Utri, Mikayla Power, Niamh Carey, Emily Kealy.
FIH Hockey World Cup Fixtures
Sunday August 16: Ireland vs Spain
Tuesday August 18 Ireland vs New Zealand
Thursday August 20: Ireland vs Belgium
