Jacqui Potter, who died on November 14th aged 37, was one of the finest Irish sportswomen of her generation, or of any other.
In 1994, the Irish Ladies' Hockey Union named her as one of the sport's 20 Irish players of distinction in the book that marked its centenary. By common consent, though, if they had narrowed the list down to two or three players her name would still have been there.
In a tribute to her in the book the author relates the story of when Jacqui Potter was just an eight-year-old schoolgirl, her father Donnie placed "a pair of black canvas hockey boots on the kitchen table in front of her" and said "one day you'll play for Ireland" - and she did 86 times.
Born in Dublin on January 22nd, 1963, and brought up in Clontarf, Jacqui Potter attended Holy Faith School, Clontarf, and Mount Temple and spent much of her working life with the Bank of Ireland.
She was a multi-talented sportswoman, not least in golf, with limitless natural ability, but she made her name in hockey. In 1978, she scored 100 goals while playing for the newly-formed Clontarf club's junior side and Holy Faith, an extraordinary achievement that earned her a call-up to the Leinster schools' team. On her debut for Clontarf she excelled in an 11-0 win. When asked how many of the goals did she score in that game a friend thought for a moment and said, "I'm not sure - but most of them, probably". Ironically that debut came against Muckross, the club with which she played for most of her career.
She joined Muckross, one of the country's leading clubs, in 1980 and over the next 10 years won every domestic honour in the game, including Leinster and All-Ireland leagues and Leinster and Irish senior cups. She is remembered at Muckross not just for her dazzling performances on the field, but for her fun off it. They still talk of the day she turned up for a game with her hair dyed blue. "Not just blue, royal blue," said one former Muckross colleague. Why did she do it? Anything to brighten up a dull day. Jacqui Potter was called up to the senior Irish squad when she was 20, making her debut away to Wales in March 1984. Just two months later she played in the first women's European Cup in Lille. Over the next six years she captained her country for a spell, becoming Ireland's most capped player - her record of 86 caps surpassed only in the last three years by Mary Logue, Sarah Kelleher and Rachel Kohler. Jacqui Potter competed in several major tournaments, including the 1984 World Cup in the Netherlands and the 1989 Intercontinental Cup in India. She was a member of the Ian Steepecoached team that won the triple crown in 1987, a feat that included a famous 2-1 victory over England.
She retired from international hockey in June 1990, making her final appearance against Poland in Lisnagarvey. She returned to her roots at Clontarf before taking up the challenge of coaching the Monkstown men's team in the Leinster league. After two successful seasons she joined Hermes in 1997 and jointly coached the team to victory in the Irish Senior Cup last year. She was still playing for the club's third team this season.
An Irish team-mate recalls being mesmerized by Jacqui Potter's skill and "ability to do things with the ball". She was a marvellously gifted forward and a prolific goalscorer who never allowed training, which she admitted was not her favourite pastime, to interfere with her passion for the game.
Jacqui Potter was an outstanding servant of Irish hockey, endlessly generous in her support and encouragement to younger players. Following the announcement of her death her hockey friends agreed there will "never be another Jacqui Potter", but all would admit that Irish hockey was blessed to have even one.
She is survived by her parents, Donnie and Moyra, brothers, Alan, Derek and John, and sister Valerie (Doyle).
Jacqui Potter: Born 1963; died, November 2000