MEN'S HOCKEY:LEINSTER'S GLENANNE, Cork Harlequins and Ulster's Cookstown picked up the provincial cups over the Christmas period with all three clubs also still actively involved in races for their domestic league trophies. Glenanne currently top the Leinster league table ahead of Pembroke and Rovers, who, oddly, fell just in the final weeks running into the end-of-year break.
The Glenanne Park side beat YMCA 3-1 in the Neville Cup final despite their international duo, Stephen Butler and Graham Shaw, not being involved and being reduced to nine men - Joe Brennan was one of their scorers. Harlequins, thanks to a late strike from Dan Hobbs, defeated Bandon 1-0 in the Peard Cup while Cookstown beat Lisnagarvey 4-3 after extra time in the Kirk Cup final.
The Irish Hockey Association have set February 7th for the second round of the Irish Senior Cup (and you have to ask yourself why and how that happened), which clashes with the date originally fixed for the men's indoor hockey competition. In that light the indoor fixtures have been revised and the tournament will instead take place on Sunday, February 1st, Saturday, February 7th and Sunday, February 8th.
Discussions with the IHA are ongoing in relation to bringing indoor hockey back into the national development plans and the 2009 indoor league, which takes place at the National Basketball Arena, Tallaght, will be an opportunity to showcase the sport and rediscover the unique skill sets pertinent to outdoors that have been ignored by many for so long.
As pointed out by Railway Union's Paul O'Brien, one of the indoor game's enthusiastic supporters, this season's competition provides the clubs with an opportunity to advance into the European level of competition, with the winner of the 2009 league representing Ireland in the European Club Championships in 2010. There are 13 teams involved, with three sides from Ulster joining 10 others from Leinster.
Mossley kick off against Corinthians in the first match of the season in Group One of the competition, with teams playing for the Tony Byrne Cup.
