Irish influence was very much to the fore at the Hockey World Cup qualifiers in Edinburgh yesterday with the kernal of the successful Argentina team playing for the Hurling Club of Buenos Aires and team manager Carlos Kenney having his roots in Co Cork.
Argentina defeated Spain 5-4 in an exciting final to head the seven qualifiers who head for Kuala Lumpur in February.
Of the four Hurling Club of Buenos Aires players in the squad, perhaps the most important in Edinburgh was 27-year-old midfielder Tomas MacCormik. Although only scoring three times, he supplied the short-corner ammunition for tournament top marksman Jorge Lombi, who hit the net 19 times in eight games, 14 from set pieces. "Lombi and I work very hard on 10 short-corner routines and it has paid off in this tournament."
"My great-grandfather came to Argentina from Galway in 1852, and started playing hurling with other Irish in BA" said MacCormik, adding, "his name was mis-spelt at immigration, and that is why the 'c' is missing from the end.
Meanwhile, Carlos Kenney, whose family emigrated to Argentina from Cork in 1862 to work as farmers, played a record number of matches (823) for Hurling Club of Buenos Aires and coached the club before taking over the reins of the Argentina national team.
"We play an annual game of hurling at the club, it is a great tradition, and the club is financed by an Argentine family with Irish connections, the Driscolls, who I think originated from outside Dublin".
"There are more young players with Irish names coming through the Hurling Club junior ranks, so Irish hockey is alive and well in South America".
