Gareth Grundie appointed Head Coach of the Ireland Women’s hockey team

New Ireland head coach Gareth Grundie. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Belfast-born Gareth Grundie has been announced as the new Head Coach of the Ireland Women’s hockey team.

Starting on November 1, Grundie will lead the team into a busy 2025 competitive calendar which includes the FIH Nations Cup in Chile in February, and the EuroHockey Championships in August in Germany where the team are drawn in Pool A alongside 2023 Champions and World No. 1 The Netherlands, World #3 Germany, and Olympic hosts and World No.19 France. Silver medallists at the 2018 World Cup, the Irish team are currently ranked 12th.

The 46-year old replaces Sean Dancer who stepped-away from the Senior Women’s hockey programme in March this year after the team narrowly failed to qualify for the Olympics in Paris, losing to Great Britain in Valencia in the qualifiers last January.

Grundie brings over 25 years of coaching experience, most recently serving as Head Coach of the Czech Republic Women’s team, leading them to success, including a silver medal at the 2023 European Championships II and a bronze medal at the Indoor World Cup in South Africa, elevating the team to No. 2 in the indoor world rankings. His leadership also secured the Czech team’s place at the Olympic qualifiers.

Previously, Grundie was involved in Hockey Ireland’s Junior Age Group programme and was instrumental in the rise of the Senior Women’s team, guiding them to that historic silver medal at the 2018 World Cup and helping the team achieve their highest-ever world ranking of 8th.

His role as Interim Head Coach in 2019 also saw Ireland navigate through critical qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics, a first in the team’s history.

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