Loreto Hockey Club is a women's field hockey club based in

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside (Dublin), southside suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in County Dublin. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and Dublin 16, 16. It is between the Lo ...

, Dublin 14,

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 ...

. The club enter teams in the

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 ...

, the Irish Senior Cup and the Irish Junior Cup. Loreto has also represented

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, winning the 2011 EuroHockey Club Champion's Challenge II and finishing third at the 2014 European Club Championship Trophy.

History

Early years

Loreto Hockey Club was founded in

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

by Mother Bernadette and Una Murray to represent past pupils of Loreto schools in Ireland. The club adopted the red wine and white of Loreto College, St Stephen's Green as their club colours. Loreto won its first trophy, the Leinster Cup, in 1946.

Irish Senior Cup

Loreto have been regular Irish Senior Cup finalists. On 9 May 2010, with a team that included Nicola Daly, Hannah Matthews, Nikki Symmons, Lizzie Colvin and Alison Meeke, Loreto won the cup after they defeated

Railway Union The Railway Union (, RAU) is a trade union representing drivers, traffic controllers and office staff on the railways in Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the ...

in 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 ...

after the game had finished 2–2. The team was coached by Graham Shaw. Loreto were finalists again in 2012 but this time lost 3–2 against UCD. ;Notes

Women's Irish Hockey League

In 2008–09 Loreto, with a team that included Nikki Symmons, Lizzie Colvin, Hannah Matthews and Alison Meeke, won the inaugural

title. In the league final they defeated a

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

team that included Nicola Evans, Anna O'Flanagan, Gillian Pinder and Chloe Watkins. Loreto won 2–1 in a

, becoming the first team in the world to win a title with the new one-on-one format. ;Notes

EY Champions Trophy

Loreto won the 2018 EY Champions Trophy and, as a result, qualified to represent

in the 2019 EuroHockey Club Champions Cup.

Irish Junior Cup

Loreto's second team enter the Irish Junior Cup. They won the cup in 2012 and were runners-up in 2016. ;Notes

Loreto in Europe

Loreto has also represented

competitions on several occasions. In 2011, with a team that included Nicola Daly, Nikki Symmons, Hannah Matthews and Alison Meeke, Loreto won the EuroHockey Club Champion's Challenge II in

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

. In the final they defeated HC Olten of

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

7–1. In 2014 Hannah Matthews captained Loreto to third place 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 ...

Grounds

The club was originally based in Dartmouth Square. In the 1930s, the club moved to Cherryfield, then in

Templeogue Templeogue is a southwestern suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It lies between the River Poddle and River Dodder, and is about halfway from Dublin's centre to the mountains to the south. Geography Location Templeogue is from Dublin city centre t ...

, and played on a pitch which was actually a field at the back of one of the club member's houses. In the mid-1940s, the club moved to the grounds of the Leinster Branch of the

Irish Hockey Union Hockey Ireland, previously known as the Irish Hockey Association, is the governing body for field hockey in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is responsible for organising both the Ireland men's national field hockey team and ...

near Ballyboden St. Enda's GAA. During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the club remained at the Leinster Branch grounds, sharing the six pitches there with four other clubs. When the Leinster Branch grounds were sold for development in the early 1980s, the club was homeless again. The

Sisters of Loreto The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward (nun), Mary Ward, i ...

gave the club access to the pitch at Loreto Abbey,

. In 1987, with the Sisters' support and after much fundraising, the club laid a floodlit all-weather pitch at Nutgrove School. In the 1997–98 season, the club laid its own

astro-turf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has m ...

pitch in partnership with the Loreto Beaufort School. The playing surface on the pitch was replaced in September 2006 with a sand-dressed pitch. In 2017–18 the club successfully applied to the

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

for a €150,000 grant to upgrade the pitch. In 2013, the club opened a new clubhouse, becoming the first women-only hockey club in Ireland to have its own purpose-built clubhouse.

Notable players

; internationals When the

Ireland women's national field hockey team The Ireland women's national field hockey team is organised by Hockey Ireland and represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in international women's field hockey competitions, including the Women's Hockey World Cup and the W ...

won the silver medal at 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 ...

, the squad included five current or former Loreto players. Nicola Daly, Hannah Matthews and Alison Meeke were all members of Loreto's 2017–18 squad. Lizzie Colvin and Elena Tice were both former Loreto players. ; Ireland women's cricket internationals * Nikki Symmons * Elena Tice

Notable coaches

* Graham Shaw

Honours

*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'': 1940, 1946, 1953, 1960, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2009–10: 8 **''Runners Up'': 1955, 1957, 1977, 1993, 2011–12: 5 * Irish Junior Cup **''Winners'': 1946, 1948, 1955, 2005, 2012: 5 **''Runners Up'': 2016: 1 * EY Champions Trophy **''Winners'': 2018, 2022-23

References

{{Women's Irish Hockey League Women's Irish Hockey League teams Rathfarnham Sisters of Loreto 1926 establishments in Ireland Field hockey clubs established in 1926 Field hockey clubs in County Dublin