Ireland Women’s Squad Announced For FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers In Santiago, Chile

February 21, 2026
HockeyWorldNews
Ireland
0

Friday, February 20: Ireland Women’s Hockey Team head coach Gareth Grundie has announced his squad to travel to Santiago, Chile to play in the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers from March 1 – 8. The crucial tournament provides Ireland the opportunity to secure their place at the 2026 Hockey World Cup, a third straight appearance in the world’s top hockey competition that began with their historic silver medal-winning campaign in 2018.

Head Coach Gareth Grundie names a largely unchanged side from the squad that travelled to Hobart, Australia for their historic FIH Hockey Pro League stage where they recorded their first win in the competition, beating Australia for the first time ever in their final outing to close out a positive week of competition for the side.

Elizabeth Murphy and Holly Micklem maintain their place in the Irish net, having once again played a vital role in Ireland’s recent performances.

Roisin Upton will marshal Ireland’s defence, with Katie Larmour, Caoimhe Perdue, Ellen Curran, Sarah McAuley, and Lisa Mulcahy all set to feature alongside her.

Amy Handcock also joins the squad, replacing Caitlin Sherrin. Handcock readies herself to compete in her first major tournament in an Irish shirt, having made her debut during a test match series in the USA last summer. She the call up after a very impressive FIH Hockey Junior World Cup campaign where she captained Ireland.

Captain Sarah Hawkshaw will conduct from midfield, with Charlotte Beggs, Christina Hamill, Michelle Carey, Jessica McMaster and Mia Jennings all taking their typical places in that position group also.

Upfront, Katie Mullan will look to play an instrumental role in securing another major tournament appearance for Ireland and is joined by Sarah Torrans and Niamh Carey in attack. Emily Kealy joins up with the side, taking the place of Mikayla Power who misses out through injury.

Speaking at the announcement, Head Coach Gareth Grundie said:

“We are really looking forward to the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers, and while we take confidence from two positive FIH Hockey Pro League stages, this will be a different challenge and one where we must control the tempo and impose our game. There is absolutely no room for complacency and we must be at our best to achieve our goal of qualifying. Every game will be tough given the size of the prize up for grabs.”

The IRL Women have been drawn in Pool B and will begin their bid for qualification with a matchup against Malaysia (#22) on Monday, March 2nd at 18:15 Irish Time. The sides haven’t met since 2019, where Ireland beat Malaysia 2-1 in Banbridge during their FIH Women’s Series campaign. Japan (#11) will be the IRL Women’s second game, taking place the following day at 18:45 Irish Time, and will likely be the side’s biggest test given they are the top ranked team in their pool. Ireland will complete their Pool Stage campaign with a matchup against Canada (#21) on Thursday, March 5 at 18:15 Irish Time, with the sides meeting for the first time since Ireland’s historic penalty shootout win in Dublin in 2019 that secured a first ever Olympic place for the Women’s squad.

The team could face Australia (#6), Chile (#15), France (#17), or Switzerland (#40) in the Semi-Finals should they advance. Ireland will need to secure a top 3 finish overall in the competition to secure their place, finishing in the top two places in the pool and winning either their semi-final tie or the 3rd/4th Place Play-Off match if required.