Umpire Mary Power will take to the field tomorrow afternoon, for the Sharwood's-sponsored Irish Senior Cup match between the University of Limerick and Muckross, with an extra spring in her step after a week in which she became the first Irishwoman to be appointed an Olympic and World Cup umpire.
"Extremely chuffed," said Power of her reaction to the news, delivered by Ireland's FIH representative Anita Manning following a meeting in Cairo. "I was beginning to think I might not get there because I've been around for a while, so I'm absolutely thrilled."
Power, from Douglas in Cork, received her first FIH grading nine years ago, but took control of her first international match the year before when she was given a `trial run' during a conference for umpires in Scotland. "I thought it was going to be a club match but it turned out to be a full-scale international between Germany and Scotland."
Power survived the ordeal and has since umpired 68 internationals (including 13 last summer) and countless European club matches, a career, she concedes, that has largely been made possible through the co-operation and support of former international umpire Brian Cairns, headmaster at Midleton College where Power teaches French and Spanish. Having reached the top grading, Power is now qualified to umpire at next year's Olympic Games but only 10 to 12 umpires on the panel will make it to Sydney and she must simply wait and hope that she gets the call. "It would be wonderful but I don't want to build myself up - I've an outside chance, that's all, so we'll see how it goes."
Power's most immediate assignment, though, is that Irish Senior Cup match in Limerick where the students will fancy their chances of making a winning debut in the competition by beating a depleted Muckross side who have yet to win a match this season. Leinster neighbours Pembroke Wanderers and Railway Union meet at Serpentine
Avenue while Genesis and Glenanne both host Ulster teams, Victorians and Ards respectively. UCC face a long trip for their match away to Coleraine and will stay up north for next week's inter-varsity tournament while Munster rivals Belvedere make a similar journey to play Ballymoney at the University of Ulster.
Irvinestown hosts a Connacht `derby' between Yeats County and UCG while Galway face perhaps the most unenviable task of the first round, having been drawn away to Portadown who have had a superb start to the season under new player-coach Jeanette Turner.
Hermes, Old Alexandra, Loreto, Pegasus, Collegians, Randalstown, Harlequins and Church of Ireland all received byes into the second round, the draw for which will be made on Sunday.
