5 replies to this topic

[Reb]

When Irish eyes are smilin',
Sure, 'tis like a morn in spring.

Faith, ice hockey is makin' history in the Emerald Isle.

Organized ice hockey in the Republic of Ireland may not have a long history relative to other nations, but the sport has grown at a steady pace over the last quarter century. This year marks three important milestones on the growth of hockey in the Emerald Isle.

Earlier this year, the IIHF Division III World Championships were played in Dundalk in front of substantial, wildly enthusiastic crowds at the Dundalk Ice Dome. The Irish national team gave the home folks plenty to cheer about, taking the silver medal and earning a promotion to the Division II level for next year -- the first time Ireland has advanced to a higher level of international hockey competition.

Recently, the Irish Ice Hockey Association announced the launch of the country’s first all-island domestic hockey league -- a five-team circuit that will play each Saturday from Sept. 15 until next April. Given the success of the Division III Worlds and the enthusiastic support that a Northern Irish club -- the Belfast Giants -- has received from fans on both sides of the political divide, the Irish Ice Hockey League stands a good chance to succeed, given proper planning and organization.

Read more about it -

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&a...rticleid=327087

A grand, fine day it is!!!

[Dark Knight]

Great stuff!

[jigglypuff]

Cool thats great news now another reason for a quick holiday with the lads, other than the Guinness factory!

[MallardFillmore]

To quote Notre Dame's old president, Father Hesburgh, when asked why Notre Dame didn't have an ice hockey team: "I'll have nothing to do with any sport that puts a stick in the hands of an Irishman!!!" Well put!! Or maybe they had asked about a hurling team????

[Reb]

Sure and Father Hesburgh wasn't Irish now was he?

[HebertFan31]

It’s unfortunate that the Irish National team ended up getting swept out of the IIHF Div II tournament and relegated back to Div III this month. I’m sure it will prove to be a good learning experience for everyone and they will learn and build off of it. They are still a relatively new organization (1996) and when I visited Ireland this past Summer I found out that local interest in Ice Hockey is growing real fast. I visited the main ice rink Dundalk while wearing my St. Patrick’s Day edition Ducks shirt and actually was asked about the Premier games in London that were coming up. I even bought the green National Team jersey (No it’s not a Guinness jersey ) and wore it to a lot of the Ducks home games this season to help promote awareness that yes, ice hockey is alive and well in the Emerald Isle. Sláinte!