U18 Irish National Hockey Team Wins Bronze
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IRELAND'S under 18 National Hockey Team which won bronze at the finals in Turkey. At the far right is Candian-born coach Sean Dooley.
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DUBLIN - On March 16, the U18 Irish National Hockey Team made history when they won the Bronze Medal at Erzurum, Turkey. They won handily by six goals to three in the decider for the Bronze Medal Position.
Having been absent from international competition at this age level for the past 10 years, this success speaks volumes for the progress made in ice hockey sports in Ireland in the last few years.
Much of the credit and high praise went to Canadian-born coach Sean Dooley along with his assistant coach Kenny Redmond and general manager Mick Cummins.
The team is comprised of the best young players from the whole island of Ireland, only five members of the team of 20 will be too old to compete next year.
Sean has been a player/coach with the Dundalk Bulls for the past few years and also coaches all the youth development teams in Dundalk. When he first went to Dundalk, the kids were just learning to skate and play a bit of hockey and now there are over 200 kids enrolled.
Canadian hockey players, coaches and general managers can now be found on hockey teams throughout the island of Ireland.
Dooley has dual citizenship - he was born in Nelson, British Columbia and his father, John Dooley is from Forkhill, South Armagh, Northern Ireland and is also the mayor of Nelson.
Ice hockey has certainly been an ice breaker in Ireland, where all religious denominations can come together to enjoy the game and it is also heartening to consider just what can be achieved when all the parts of Ireland can come together in a common purpose.
This past February at the Sweetheart's Ball in Vancouver - a fundraiser organized by the local Irish community to support The Celtic Connection - Sean Dooley donated an (IIHA) Irish Ice Hockey Association jersey for raffle.
Now for the annual Celtic Connection golf tournament, Sean Dooley has donated a Dundalk Bulls ice hockey jersey. Many thanks Sean and congratulations to you and your team on winning the Bronze Medal.
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