U18 interpros

Well done to Conor Empey, Harry Mac Mahon, Mark Samuel and Ben Walker on being seleted for the Leinster U18 team! They will travel to Cork next weekend along with our own Emer Keogh as manager of the team

Engagement

Huge crongrats to Stephen Findlater on his engagement to Nicola Lowery!! The club would like to wish them all the best for their future happiness together

Very few fixtures last weekend as many enjoyed the bank holiday! The ladies 1sts won 2-0 against Loreto with Sadie and Claire scoring to ensure the girls remain close to the top of the league. On the mens side, the 3rds lost 2-1 to YMCA with Phil Shearer getting the goal. The 5ths lost 3-2 to Wicklow, ending a long unbeaten run.

This week many return to league or cup action as per usual. The mens 1sts had a bye in the Irish Senior Cup and so have another free weekend, although their 3-0 win over Glenanne in the Mills Cup helped to ensure they got game time in. The 2s have an early start away to Clontarf at 9.30 am. The 3s play Mulling at home on the front at 2.45pm, the 4ths play Avoca at 12.50 on the back, while the 5ths face Trinity at 2.40 on the back.

On the ladies side, the 1sts host Portadown in the Irish Hockey Trophy at 1pm. The 2s play Bray on the front at 11am, and the 3rds play Loreto on the back at 11am in a cup game.

Get your glad rags on and your wallets out, as we host an extravagant Casino night in HQ as this years fundraising event!!!

Casino Royale night will take place in HQ on the 28th of November starting at 8.30 pm.

There will be a drinks reception on arrival and each person will be chipped in at the start of the night with the option to buy extra chips.

The aim of the night is to be the person with the most chips when the last cards are dealt and win the 250 euro cash prize.

Croupiers will run Blackjack and Roulette Casino tables. With the MC playing party games to win valuable extra chips.

Tickets on sale shortly from 30 euro for student and 35 euro for adult.

This is a fantastic excuse to get dressed up and bring along as many friends as you can in order to benefit the club! Fundraising is a hugely important aspect of our budget, with all money raised going straight back into the working of the hockey committee.

Spread the word and mark the date!

u16 interpros
Congrats to all our u16 boys selected for the upcoming interpros in Cork from the 20th-22nd of November. Well done to Nick Judge, Luke Adams, Robert McCollum, Alister Empey, Iain Patterson, and Harry Lynch, who will all compete in the tournament.

All Ireland Golf Championships
Well done to ladies 1sts player Orla Heffernan who won the All Ireland Golf Championships last week! Fantastic achievement!

Rio 2016
Huge congrats to all in Hockey Ireland as the mens team last week officially made history by qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympics. During the last cycle, many TRR players have been involved in this squad at various stages. We are proud to be associated with all of them!

The squad became the first Irish team to qualify for the Olympics since 1908, courtesy of Australia winning the Oceanic Cup early Sunday morning.

Best of luck to all the squad and the backroom staff with their preparation over the next few months.

We look forward to seeing who from the current and past panel of Rovers are chosen to represent Ireland in the coming months. Indeed, the last time Ireland was present at the Olympic games, we had four representatives: Henry J. Brown, Richard G.S. Gregg, Henry L. Murphy and Charles F. Power. Fingers crossed we have more Rovers Representing in Rio!!!!

It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of David Judge on Saturday. David was one of Irelands most decorated players, and up until recently was he most capped international to play for TRRHC. We offer his family and friends our sincerest condolences.

His funeral will be at St Patrick’s church, Enniskerry at 2.30pm on Wednesday 21st October. The church is between Enniskerry and entrance to Powerscourt. For more information, see Tuesday’s Irish Times.

Below, Stephen Findlater looks back on his fantastic hockey career:

David Judge, one of the giants of Irish hockey, passed away at the age of 79 on Saturday afternoon following an incredible life in the sport.
During his career, the long-time Killiney resident played 124 times for Ireland between 1957 and 1978, a time when international matches were far more scarce than the modern era.
Indeed, he played in over 90% of the fixtures available including the 1978 World Cup and first two editions of the European Cup. A determined defender, he would also captain Ireland over 30 times.
The pinnacle of his playing career came when he, along with Harry Cahill, became one of very few Dubliners to play hockey in the Olympic Games, lining out for Great Britain in Tokyo in 1964.
He was allowed to do so by quirk in the rules, a grand-parent ruling of sorts that allowed him to qualify for GB – while also playing for Ireland – as they were British passport holders prior to the formation of the Irish state.
He would later joke that he had some difficulty explaining to the Queen how he and Cahill came to be in Buckingham Palace at a homecoming lunch in the Long Gallery.
His beginnings in the game began in the back garden of his home in Rathgar where he played with his brother Norman where he reckoned his “competitive character” was first formed.
From there, he took up the game in a formal setting first at the Avoca School, citing Major Mallins, an ex-Indian Army man, as a primary influence. He would give him apples as target practice in the corner of each goal. If he hit one, he would get an apple in return.
An early memory was of a Minor Cup final, losing 1-0 against St Patrick’s with Derek Hennessy scoring the only goal.
From Avoca, he moved on to board at Portora in Co Fermanagh. Predominantly a rugby school, JV Tapley – a teacher there – introduced “parade ground hockey with a hurley ball” as well as matches on the Broadmeadow against the girls’ Collegiate School or away against the King’s Dragoon Guards in Omagh.
While there, he was selected to play for the Ulster Schools in a team that spawned three senior internationals – Bruce Dowling, Richard Fitzsimon and himself. Judge would later say that he owed Major Mallins and JV Tapley most for developing his hockey.
Nonetheless, a return to Dublin to Trinity College almost ended his fledgling career as he briefly thought of pursuing rugby.
“A sunny day in late September in College Park, would I get onto the 1st XI or the first XV quickest?” he said later. “Jack Kirwan, who I’d played holiday rugby with on Palmerston schools side, was tempting me to join the DURFC.
“For some reason hockey won out, possibly Richard Fitz as was his wont, grabbing my lapels and holding me up in the air!”
It was a time rich with memories, of regular tours to England and Scotland, the Mauritius Cup and associated dinners and subsequent selection to the illustrious Buccaneers touring team.
The international side soon came calling, adding a new dimension. Looking back, he modestly recollected that he had a few extra benefits going for him in terms of selection compared to his rivals.
“In those days, the international team was picked by six selectors, two from Ulster, Munster and Leinster, who watched a final trial match and then selected the XI plus one sub.
“I had two advantages – first, two sets of selectors on my side – I was an ex-Ulster schools player and I was playing in Leinster. The second was I was playing with ultra white boot laces, cleaned the night before – pure marketing!”
His debut came in Inverness, taking an overnight cattle boat to Glasgow and then an all-day bus for 70 minutes of hockey, 0-0. Later that season, he played Holland and South Africa in Holland as part of the first team to fly to an international match.
For the first decade of his Irish career, fixtures were very much limited to the Home Nations with games against Wales followed up by golf games the next day against the same opponents while waiting for the mail-boat.
1970, though, saw a seismic shift with the berth of the European Cup in Brussels, introducing increased tournament hockey and squad systems.
He fondly remembered the Santander Tournament where both Spain and Great Britain were defeated and the camaraderie at the World Cup qualifier in Rome, qualifying for the World Cup in Argentina.
It was the last one to be held on grass. On St Patrick’s Day, at the Hurling Club, prior to their fixture against the hosts, Judge and his team mates had to push start their team bus.
The Olympics, though, was another level. Preparations started with tournaments in France punctuated by visits to Beaujolais vineyards. A tour to India followed with 11 matches in 14 days across the length and breadth of the country before a stop off in Ceylon for a week and then on to Tokyo.
“The competitive atmosphere in the village was electric – one met all and sundry over meals or in the athletes common room. The GB athletics performed well – so much so that on the day of our return the entire party was invited to Buckingham Palace!”
He also won everything in the Irish club game with Three Rock Rovers including Leinster league, Mills Cup and Irish Senior Cup titles.
After his retirement from playing, he coached Avoca’s men and Old Alex’s women to numerous club titles and went on to be president of the Leinster Hockey Association, overseeing the merger of the women and men’s branches. He was duly inducted into the IHA Hall of Fame in the first selection to the honour in 2006.
He is survived by his wife Grania, son Dermot, daughters Wendy, Kerri and Heather and grandchildren.

Some impressive wins last weekend as our senior teams got back on track in the league.

The ladies 2s won 4-0 in an early game against Botanic. The mens 2s had 3s had big 7-0 and 6-1 wins respectively. Peter Lynch scored 4 in the 2s win over Rather along with Alex O’Regan and Alex Flynn. For the 3rds Louis Glass got 2, joining Phil Shearer, Findo, Ed and Roly on the scoresheet. The 4ths enjoyed an 6-1 win over Glenanne (Will x2, Rob x 2, Don & Peter), while the 1sts and 5ths had a weekend off! For the ladies, the 1s had no game, the 4ths lost out to North Kildare 3-1, while the 3rds game was postponed to Monday night.

This week sees all ladies teams bar the 1sts get a bank holiday break. The 1s play away to Loreto at 12.30 on Saturday.

The mens 1s have another weekend with no game, with the 2s and 4s also getting a break. The 3rds play away to YMCA and the 5ths travel away to Wicklow.

Big thanks to Emma, Jess, Becky and Aideen for organising this years cocktail party!

The party ran on Saturday with an Alice in Wonderland theme, with Eileen hands down winning the accolade of best dressed on the night!

Don’t be late for this years cocktail party or its off with your head!

The Annual Cocktail Party kicks off from 8pm this Saturday with an Alice in Wonderland theme night!

Tickets are €15 and include two free drinks, or €10 for u18s.

The DJ and music start from 10pm til late.

Internationals
Congrats to Jamie Carr and Luke Chadwick who have been selected to play in Saturdays international game against Argentina. It is the final game in a 3-game series as the squad eagerly await their Olympic fate next week.

Katherine Hernon
Best of luck to ladies 1sts player Katherine Hernon as she embarks to the UK for a new job. We wish her all the best.

All Ireland Golf
Best of luck to Orla Heffernan, ladies 1sts player, as this Thursday she competes in the All Ireland Golf Championship.

Subs
Don’t forget to pay your subs as they are now overdue! They can be paid directly online through the link on the top left of the homepage of this site.

u14 Development
Well doen to Amy Davis and Orna Bools, both in our girls u14 for their selection to the Leinster development squad.

Another weekend of mixed results for the 3rd round of most leagues this weekend.

The ladies 4ths started Saturday with a bruising loss to Wicklow. Without a Keeper for most of the game, due to car trouble, the goal tally doesnt do the team justice who kept pushing forward until the end. The ladies 3rds had a tough 1-0 loss to Malahide, while the 2nds had a second half draw with Guiness despite going ahead early. The ladies 1s will take their point away happily from their 3-3 draw with Our Ladies, having been 3-0 down.

On the mens side, the 4ths lost their first round cup game to Avoca 4-2 on strokes. The 2nds also bowed out from the cup early with a 4-1 loss to Kilkenny. The mens firsts will be happier with their play but not the result in Saturdays EYHL game, losing 2-1 to Railway. Their Neville Cup return ended swiftly on Sunday with a 4-2 loss to YMCA.

A few teams have a week off this week due to the u16/u18 girls interpros and the Ireland-Argentina series. The ladies 1s and mens 1s therefore have no game.

All our teams play away as the interpros are hosted in HQ. The ladies 2nds face Botanic, the 3rds home game against Clontarf has been changed to Monday night, and the 4ths travel away to North Kildare.

On the mens side, the 2nds play away to Rather at 2.15, the 3rds have an early start in Corinthians at 11.15 and the 4ths play away to Glenanne