Gareth Grundie has been appointed as the new head coach of the Ireland women’s hockey team.
Belfast-born Grundie replaces Sean Dancer, who stepped down in March after the team’s failure to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
The 46-year-old Grundie guided Ireland to qualification for the Tokyo Olympics during his spell as interim head coach in 2019 before Dancer’s appointment.
Grundie was most recently in charge of the Czech Republic’s women’s team, leading them to a silver medal in the second tier of the 2023 European Championships and a bronze at the Indoor World Cup.
He will begin his role on 1 November and will lead Ireland through a busy 2025 schedule which includes the FIH Nations Cup in Chile in February and the EuroHockey Championships in Germany in August.