Alison Meeke (born 7 June 1991), also referred to as Ali Meeke, is an Ireland women's field hockey international. She was a member of the Ireland team that played in the

2018 Women's Hockey World Cup The 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup was the 14th edition of the Women's Hockey World Cup, a field hockey tournament. It was held from 21 July to 5 August 2018 at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London, England. Defending champions ...

final. Meeke has also won Irish Senior Cup and

Women's Irish Hockey League The Women's Irish Hockey League is a field hockey league organised by Hockey Ireland that features women'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 A ...

titles with Loreto.

Early years, family and education

Between 2003 and 2009 Meeke attended

The High School, Dublin The High School is a 12–18 Mixed-sex education, mixed, Church of Ireland, Independent school, independent secondary school in Rathgar, Dublin, Ireland. It was established in 1870 at Harcourt Street before moving to Rathgar in 1971. It amal ...

. Between 2010 and 2013 she attended Sallynoggin College of Further Education where she studied Fitness and Personal Training. Since 2017 she has attended

St Mary's University, Twickenham St Mary's University, Twickenham is a public university in Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its stated commitment is to the mission of the Catholic Church in higher education. History Originally foun ...

where she is studying for a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in Strength and Conditioning. During her youth, Meeke also played

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

with

Ballyboden Wanderers Wanderers (Irish: ''Fánaithe Bhaile Baodáin'') are a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Ballyboden, Dublin, Ireland. The men's first team won the Dublin Junior Football Championship, Dublin Junior Two Football Championship in 2020. ...

. Together with Nicola Daly, she was a member of the Wanderers team that won 2008 Dublin Ladies Junior E Football Championship.

Domestic teams

Early years

Between 2003 and 2009, Meeke played

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

for

. Her teammates and fellow students included Nicola Daly. Meeke and Daly were members the High School team that finished as runners-up in the 2005 Leinster Schoolgirls' Premier League. In the final they lost 2–0 to an Our Lady's,

Terenure Terenure (), originally called ''Roundtown'', is a middle class suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It is located in the city's D6 and D6W postal districts. The population of all electoral divisions labelled as Terenure was 17,972 as of the 2022 ce ...

team captained by

Emer Lucey Emer Lucey is a Women's Irish Hockey League player. During the early 2010s she was member of the Railway Union team that won three leagues titles. In 2012–13 Lucey was also captain of the Railway Union team that won a national double, winning ...

. In her youth Meeke also played for

Corinthian Hockey Club Corinthian Hockey Club ( Irish: ''Club Haca Corantaigh'') is a field hockey club based at Saint Columba's College, Dublin, Ireland. In 2018–19 they became founder members of the new Division 2 in both the Men's Irish Hockey League and the Wom ...

. Meeke played for

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) () is a Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland, university based on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Highe ...

at intervarsity level, featuring in the 2009 Chilean Cup tournament. Her DCU teammates included Hannah Matthews.

Loreto

In 2008–09 Meeke was a member of the Loreto team that won the inaugural

title. She was also a member of the Loreto team won the 2009–10 Irish Senior Cup. Meeke has also represented Loreto in

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

competitions. In June 2011 she was a member of the Loreto team that won the EuroHockey Club Champion's Challenge II. In June 2014 she was also a member of the Loreto team that finished third at the European Club Championship Trophy tournament hosted by

Leicester Hockey Club Leicester City Hockey Club is a field hockey club based in Leicester, England, who play their home games at St. Margaret's Pastures. The ladies side has produced a number of international players and is recognised as one of the most successful c ...

. In May 2018 Meeke was named Player of the Tournament as Loreto won the EY Champions Trophy. Meeke's teammates at Loreto have included Nikki Symmons, Lizzie Colvin, Hannah Matthews and Nicola Daly.

PSI All Stars

In December 2018 Meeke played for the Pro Series Indoor International All-Stars in a series of exhibition

indoor hockey Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

games against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Ireland international

Meeke made her senior debut for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in April 2014 against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In March 2015 Meeke was a member of the Ireland team that won a

2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League Round 2 The 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League Round 2 was held from February to March 2015. A total of 24 teams competing in 3 events took part in this round of the tournament playing for 7 berths in the 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League ...

tournament hosted in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, defeating

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in the final after a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. She was also a member of the Ireland team that won the

2015 Women's EuroHockey Championship II The 2015 Women's EuroHockey Championship II was the 6th edition of the Women's EuroHockey Championship II, a field hockey championship for women. It was held from the 19th until the 27th of July 2015 in Prague, Czech Republic. Qualified teams ...

, defeating the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

5–0 in the final. In 2017 Meeke made her 100th senior Ireland appearance during a series of games against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Meeke represented Ireland at the

and was a prominent member of the team that won the silver medal. She featured in all of Ireland's games throughout the tournament, including the pool games against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, India and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the quarter-final against India, the semi-final against Spain and the final against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. In the quarter-final against India, Meeke scored in the penalty shoot–out to help send Ireland through to the semi-final.

Occupation

Meeke works as a field hockey coach and fitness instructor. Since 2011 she has coached at

and since 2012 she has worked as a fitness instructor at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

. Since 2017 she has served as an ambassador for DB Sports Tours. Since September 2016 she has also served as an assistant coach at Rathgar Hockey Club.

Honours

Field hockey

;

Women's Hockey World Cup The Women's FIH Hockey World Cup is the field hockey World Cup competition for women, whose format for qualification and the final tournament is similar to the men's. It has been held since 1974. The tournament has been organized by the Internat ...

**''Runners Up'':

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Women's FIH Hockey World League The Women's FIH Hockey World League was an international women's field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation. The league also served as a qualifier for the 2014 Women's Hockey World Cup, 2014 and 2018 Women's Hocke ...

**''Winners'': 2015 Dublin *Women's EuroHockey Championship II **''Winners'':

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

* Women's FIH Hockey Series **''Runners Up'': 2019 Banbridge *Women's Four Nations Cup **''Runners Up'':

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Women's Hockey Champions Challenge I The Women's Hockey Champions Challenge I was an international field hockey tournament, played every two years. It was introduced in 2002 by the International Hockey Federation in order to broaden hockey's competitive base at world level. The Cham ...

**''Runners Up'':

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

; Loreto *EuroHockey Club Champion's Challenge II **''Winners'': 2011: 1 *

**''Winners'': 2008–09: 1 **''Runners Up'': 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15: 3 * Irish Senior Cup **''Winners'': 2009–10: 1 **''Runners Up'': 2011–12: 1 * EY Champions Trophy **''Winners'': 2018

Gaelic football

;

Ballyboden Wanderers GAA Wanderers (Irish: ''Fánaithe Bhaile Baodáin'') are a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Ballyboden, Dublin, Ireland. The men's first team won the Dublin Junior Football Championship, Dublin Junior Two Football Championship in 2020. ...

*Dublin Ladies Junior E Football Championship **''Winners'': 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meeke, Alison 1991 births Living people Irish female field hockey players Ireland international women's field hockey players Irish field hockey coaches Women's Irish Hockey League players Dublin ladies' Gaelic footballers Female field hockey defenders Female field hockey midfielders Field hockey players from County Dublin People educated at The High School, Dublin Alumni of Dublin City University Alumni of St Mary's University, Twickenham 21st-century Irish sportsmen 21st-century Irish sportswomen