Men's Irish Hockey League

Men's Irish Hockey League
First season2008–09
AdministratorHockey Ireland
No. of teams10 (Division 1)
10 (Division 2)
Country Republic of Ireland
 Northern Ireland
ConfederationEHF (Europe)
Most recent
champion		Lisnagarvey
Most titlesLisnagarvey (5 titles)
Level on pyramid1 and 2
Relegation toSenior provincial leagues
Domestic cupIrish Senior Cup
International cupsEuro Hockey League
EuroHockey Club Trophy
Official websitewww.hockey.ie

The Men's Irish Hockey League is a field hockey league organised by Hockey Ireland that features men's teams from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The league was first played for during the 2008–09 season. It replaced the All-Ireland Club Championships as the top level men's field hockey competition in Ireland. Since 2015–16 the league has been sponsored by Ernst & Young and, as a result, it is also known as the EY Hockey League.

History

Format

The league was first played for during the 2008–09 season.[1] Between 2008–09 and 2014–15 the league used pool stages and play-offs to determine the league champion. Teams were divides into two pools with the winners and runners-up in each pool then qualifying for the semi-finals. The league title was then decided by a final. Teams continued to play in their respective provincial leagues and qualified for the next season's national league via their position in the provincial league. However for the 2015–16 season the league was reorganised. The pool stages were abandoned and replaced with a full league programme consisting of 18 rounds of home and away matches. In addition the play-offs were effectively replaced by a new competition, the EY Champions Trophy. Furthermore the clubs no longer entered their senior teams in provincial leagues.[2]

2000s/2010s

The first season of the Irish Hockey League saw Pembroke Wanderers win the league following a shoot-out win against Glenanne, with goalkeeper David Harte saving multiple penalties to seal the victory.[3] They would repeat the feat the next season, lead once again by player-coach Craig Fulton.

Lisnagarvey would win the 2011-12 title following successive final defeats in the previous years.[4]
Graham Shaw guided Monkstown to three successive league titles in 2012–13, 2013–14 and 2014–15.[5][6]

The 2015–16 season introduced a new format, replacing the previous pool-stage system with a full league structure. Lisnagarvey went on to win the inaugural title under the revised format. They would again win the league in the 2018-19 season

In 2017–18 Glenanne won the league title for the first time. They secured the title after defeating Lisnagarvey 4–2. Glenanne were 2–0 down before Shane O'Donoghue scored a hat-trick.[7][8]

2020s

The 2019–20 season began as normal, with Lisnagarvey leading the table after eleven games. The competition was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was later declared null and void by Hockey Ireland, with no champion awarded.[9]
The 2020-21 season would also be cancelled due to the pandemic [10]

The 2020s have thus far been dominated by two Ulster clubs — Lisnagarvey and Banbridge — with the league title alternating between them since competition resumed. Lisnagarvey claimed the league in 2022 and 2025, while Banbridge won back to back titles in 2023 and 2024.

Division 2

The 2018–19 season saw the introduction of a Division 2. The new division revived the original format of the league. From the initial season until the 2024-25 season the league used pool stages and play-offs to determine the Division 2 champion and which teams get promoted to Division 1. [11][12][13] From the 2025-26 season the format changed to a singular league with 10 teams, the top two of which would be promoted to Division 1.[14]

Teams qualify for the league by being part of the top three in their respective provincial leagues with the tenth place being alternated yearly between the Ulster and Leinster fourth place team. Division 2 teams continue to play in their respective provincial leagues.

2025–26 teams

2025–26 Men's Irish Hockey League Division 1
Location of Dublin teams

Division 1

Team Home town/suburb Home pitch
Avoca Dublin (Blackrock) Newpark Comprehensive School
Banbridge Banbridge Havelock Park
Cookstown Cookstown Cookstown High School
Corinthians Dublin (Rathfarnham) St Columba's College
Cork Church of Ireland Cork Garryduff
Lisnagarvey Hillsborough Comber Road
Monkstown Dublin (Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown) Merrion Fleet Arena
Pembroke Wanderers Dublin (Sandymount) Serpentine Avenue
Three Rock Rovers Dublin (Rathfarnham) Grange Road
YMCA Dublin (Ballinteer) Wesley College

Source:[15]

For the 2025-26 EY Hockey League Division 1, Cork Church of Ireland and Cookstown joined the league having been promoted from the EYHL Division 2. It is the first time since the 2018–19 season that Cork Church of Ireland have played in the top flight, marking the return of a Munster team to the division. Cookstown had been promoted having spent two seasons in the second division having been relegated from EYHL Division 1 in the 2022-23 season.

Belfast
Catholic Institute
Bray
Bandon
Portrane
South Antrim
2025-26 Men's Irish Hockey League Division 2

Division 2

Team Home town/suburb Home pitch
Annadale Belfast Comber Road
Bandon Bandon Bandon Grammar School
Bray Bray/Greystones Temple Carrig School
Catholic Institute Limerick Catholic Institute Athletic Club
Clontarf Dublin (Clontarf) Mount Temple
Cork Harlequins Cork Farmers Cross
Instonians Belfast Shaws Bridge
Portrane Portrane/Donabate Donabate Community College
Queen's University Belfast Upper Malone
South Antrim Lisburn Friends' School

Source:[16]

Five new teams joined the EY Hockey League Division 2 for the 2025-26 season with the league moving from a pool format to a round-robin league format. The newly qualified teams are Catholic Institute from Munster, Bray from Leinster and Annadale, South Antrim and Queen's University all being new sides from Ulster.
Annadale had been relegated from the EYHL Division 1 the previous season

Winners

Division 1

Pool Format

Season Winners Score Runners up
2008–09 Pembroke Wanderers (1)[17] 1-1 [note 1] Glenanne
2009–10 Pembroke Wanderers (2)[18][19] 4–1 Lisnagarvey
2010–11 Banbridge (1)[20][21] 2–2 [note 2] Lisnagarvey
2011–12 Lisnagarvey (1)[22][23] 3–1 YMCA (Dublin)
2012–13 Monkstown (1)[24] 4-3 Banbridge
2013–14 Monkstown (2)[25][26][27][28] 2–1 Banbridge
2014–15 Monkstown (3)[29] 2–1 Banbridge

League Format

Season Winners Runners up
2015–16 Lisnagarvey (2)[30] Monkstown
2016–17 Banbridge (2)[31] Three Rock Rovers
2017–18 Glenanne (1)[7][8][32] Three Rock Rovers
2018–19 Lisnagarvey (3) Three Rock Rovers
2019–20 Season declared null and void due to the COVID-19 pandemic[33]
2020–21 Season not played due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021–22 Lisnagarvey (4)[34] Three Rock Rovers
2022–23 Banbridge (3)[35] Lisnagarvey
2023–24 Banbridge (4)[36] Glenanne
2024-25 Lisnagarvey (5)[37] Three Rock Rovers
Notes
  1. ^ Pembroke Wanderers win 2–1 after shoot-out.
  2. ^ Banbridge win after shoot-out.

Source:[38]

Division 2

Since the 2021-22 season both the winner and runner up of the EYHL2 Playoffs earn automatic promotion [39]

Year Winners Runners up
2018-19 Corinthians UCD[note 1]
2019-20 [note 2][33]
2020-21 [note 3][40]
2021-22 Cookstown Instonians
2022-23 Corinthians UCD
2023-24 Avoca Pembroke Wanderers
2024-25 Cork Church of Ireland[41] Cookstown
Notes
  1. ^ UCD beat Cork Church of Ireland in a promotion/relegation playoff
  2. ^ 2019–20 declared null and void. Season abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
  3. ^ Season not played due to COVID-19 pandemic

EY Champions Trophy

In addition to introducing a new format, the 2015–16 season also saw the introduction of the EY Champions Trophy. The top three placed teams from the league and/or the winners of the Irish Senior Cup all qualify for the end of season competition.[2] The winners of the EY Champions Trophy qualify to represent Ireland in the Euro Hockey League.[42]

Year Winners Score Runners up
2015-16 Lisnagarvey (1)[30][42] 3–1 Banbridge
2016-17 Three Rock Rovers (1)[43][44] 2–1 Monkstown
2017-18 Three Rock Rovers (2)[45] 2–1 Glenanne
2018-19 Three Rock Rovers (3)[46][47] 2–0 Lisnagarvey
2019-20 not played
2020-21 not played
2021-22 Lisnagarvey (2)[48] 2–2 [note 1] Banbridge
2022-23 Banbridge (1) 3–1 Lisnagarvey
2023-24 Banbridge (2) 2–1 Lisnagarvey
2024-25 Banbridge (3)[49] 1–1 [note 2] Lisnagarvey
Notes
  1. ^ Garvey won shoot-out 3-1
  2. ^ Banbridge won shoot-out 4-3

Source:[38]

References

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  2. ^ a b "EY Hockey League to continue to raise standards on club and international stage". www.ey.com. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
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  4. ^ "Lisnagarvey secure Irish crown". www.bbc.co.uk. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  5. ^ "The Kieran Shannon Interview: Irish Women's Hockey coach Graham Shaw". www.irishexaminer.com. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Graham Shaw". www.hockey.ie. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Irish Hockey League: Glenanne beat Lisnagarvey to clinch title". www.bbc.co.uk. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  8. ^ a b "O'Donoghue hat-trick seals title for Glenanne". www.rte.ie. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
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  34. ^ Hockey Ireland
  35. ^ Hockey Ireland
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