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The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Mr. Shane Ross, and the Minister with responsibility for Sport, Mr. Brendan Griffin, have paid tribute to the Ireland team on their best ever performance at the Hockey Women’s World Cup.

Ireland’s women’s hockey team beat India in the quarter-final in London this evening. The side, coached by Graham Shaw, have qualified for the last four for the first time ever in this year’s tournament.

Minister Ross said:

The Ireland team has undoubtedly been the story of the Hockey Women’s World Cup. Coach Graham Shaw, the players and all involved in the game in Ireland deserve to be very proud of their displays at the tournament. I hope that these performances will have made a favourable impression on young hockey players around the country. Their success underlines the need for greater government support for our international teams. We have recently launched our Sports Policy. We will be doubling our funding over the next 10 years and this will undoubtedly assist more athletes like our women’s team who have brought such excitement to sports fans throughout the country. 

Minister Griffin added:

It is clear that the future is bright for Irish hockey on the strength of what the Ireland team has produced at the Hockey Women’s World Cup this year. We have one of the smallest populations of all of the 16 teams at the tournament and yet the performances the team has produced shows what can be achieved with a dedicated group of players and coaching staff. Their clubs and communities must be very proud of them all.