It was unfortunately a weekend to forget for the ladies sides as each of them fell to defeats in their league games. The 2nds were beaten 2-0 by Loreto in what was a positive loss! It was the first game that new coach and manager Lisa and Malcolm took charge of and against a very strong Loreto team, the squad did very well in taking their first steps in the new regime.
The 3rds suffered a heavy loss to Bray, while the 1sts will be disappointed to have handed Alex their fist win of the season. It was chalked off as one of those days as the first touch wasn’t there.

The 4ths meanwhile were very unlucky against Botanic. They lost 3-2 in a closely fought match where Chloe Stanley made her debut in goals. A corner strike brought the girls level after Botanic had initially scored. They went 3-1 down at half time but won the second half as Botanic had no clear shots on goal. Solo and Louise linked well up front while Sadbh and Ali McCabe showed great work ethic in their running. Unfortunately the goal came too late but plenty to build on!

This week the 4ths have a game off as their cup game has already been played. The 3rds who enjoyed a bye in the 1st round will face Clontarf at home at 2.30pm. The 2s have another early home game as they play on the front pitch at 11am.

The 1sts have a double weekend which starts on Saturday with a crucial game away to Genesis at 2.30pm. They then take on Trinity 2s in the 2nd round of the Jacqui Potter Leinster Senior Cup which has been changed to a home fixture at 4pm on Sunday.

On the mens side last weekend the 1sts may have mixed emotions with their last week. They drew 3-3 with UCD last Thursday in a tense and exciting game. UCD had most of the possession initially although the lads went ahead first. Two strokes and a couple of corners later and we found ourselves at 3-3 with less than 3 minutes left. Despite the time both sides nearly nicked full points with Westy denying UCD before Blakers shot wide during the counter. Saturday saw them travel to Belfast Harlequins in the Irish Senior Cup where they saw off their hosts 7-0.

That win leaves them facing Fingal away in early February while the league draw leaves the lads 5 points clear at the top but with an extra game played than their nearest competitors. Those competitors happen to be the visitors this weekend in what is now a crucial top of the table clash. The lads take on Pembroke at 3pm in what will be their last league game before the Christmas break. They’re not getting off lightly this weekend however as they then face Glenanne away at 1pm on Sunday in the Leinster Mills Cup.

The 1sts were not the only team to have a heavy win on Saturday as the mens 4ths won by the same score away to St.Brendans Gate. Rob Johnson provides us with the info for this game:
A weekend of TR teams winning by scoring 7 goals, was started by the 4ths
It’s great to see the 4ths lead the trend by being the first team to win by scoring 7 goals last Saturday, then the 1stXI , then the 3rdXI.

Playing away to St. Brendans with just 11 men and an umpire, was going to be a challenge. After 2 hamstrings (G & Gilli), a near broken hand (Ryan) and a fair amount of physical and verbal abuse (G), we played our game and were rewarded sweetly with 7 goals to 0. Ryan scored a hat trick, G scored 2, Chuck and William scored a goal each (the only thing they will have in common!!).

We’re 1/2 way in our league, with Kilkenny losing to UCD, we are back into 2 place with 4 points behind Kilkenny, who do have a game in hand. Our objective to win the league, is still a runner.

Next Saturday we are playing North Kildare at home, before the 1stXI. Crowd control will be needed!!

Seven was the number of the day last week at the 3rds also put that number past Avoca. Their result was tighter though as they also conceded 5 in what sounds like an exciting game! James Walker got yet another hat-trick, while Ross Johnson bagged 2. Findo and Ben Epstein got the remaining goals.

The 5ths fell 2-1 to Monkstown with Rob Haughton grabbing the goal in this game, whos scoreline looks tame compared to the others!

This weekend the 3rds, 4ths and 5ths all have their final games before Christmas and all have home games. The 5ths kick off the action at 11 on the back pitch, followed by the 4ths at 1pm on the front before the 3rds finish off the day at 5pm.

The mens 2nds fell to table toppers Pembroke 4-1 on Sunday and face 3rd place Avoca on Saturday away at 2pm

The u16 boys had a great start to their league campaign as they beak Monsktown 3-1 last Friday.

The u16A girls were not as lucky as they were beaten by Avoca. The Bs were also beaten by Suttonians 2-0 on Sunday morning.

For anyone who is a supporter of Three Rock or any of our members in any shape or form, we are hosting a TRRHC Supporters lunch at 1.30pm this Saturday! Rachel will be putting on a delicious lunch of French onion soup, Normondy pork with cranberries and caramalised apple wedges, rice, peas and carrots, followed by a meringue roulade for dessert all for just €18 per person!

Please contact Ali asap if you wish to attend as Rachel will need to finalize numbers. Following the mens 1sts game at 3pm we will have mulled wine and mice pies for anyone that wishes to stay around and show off their festive Christmas jumpers!

Later that evening Rob Johnson is organizing a buffet supper for anyone that is interested following the Heineken Cup game between Leinster and Northampton at which is at 6pm. The menu is as follows:

Salmon and crab mousse,
Pork and chicken terrine,
Red caggage slaw,
Cauliflower and broccoli superfood salad,
Green salad with baby leaves.

Dauphinose potatoes or rice

Venison casserole with stout, prunes and roasted carrots,
or
Chicken in a wild mushroom and thyme sauce.

Cheese board and fruit
Mixed Berry meringue roulade
Gluten free choc truffle cake

Tickets are €30 each and places are limited so again please contact Rob if you would like to attend at rob.hc.johnson@gmail.com.

Monica Dillon is once again running the Christmas hampers for needy familieis this year. We are looking for all our senior teams to donate €40 per team for this cause. The money Monica collects allows her to get a turkey, ham, fuel and some household goods for 4 families in the area to help make Christmas easier for them. We are asking that people give just the price of a pint to their captains by Saturday evening so we can give the money to Monica.
Many thanks in advance for your generosity

The mens 1sts kicked off what will be a busy week for them last Saturday with a 5-2 win over Corinthians. Mitch kicked off the scoring early on with a shot from the top of the D and followed up with another not long after. Gaz stepped up to the penalty spot to make it 3-0 before Blakers grabbed the 4th. Corinthians tried to start a late comeback after a sting of corners led to their first goal before Matt Fairweather dragged another in not long after. The result was never in doubt though and Jody make sure of this by roofing one in the top corner to make it 5-2. It was the 1st of 3 games the 1sts have in a week as they take on UCD in the Leinster League on Thursday away at 8.30pm, followed by Belfast Harlequins away at 2.30pm on Saturday in the 2nd round of the Irish Senior Cup.

Pictures of the win from Adrian Bohem are on the Irish hockey photographers website: http://irishhockeyphotographers.zenfolio.com/p43022235

The mens 2nds return to league action having had a weekend off last week. They face a tough home game against a strong Pembroke side. In the same tie earlier this season the lads were unlucky to lose in the dying minutes so they will hope for points this time round.

The mens 3rds take on Avoca away at 2pm, while the mens 4ths will hope to recreate their fantastic 4-0 over Weston last week, as they face St.Brendans away at 12pm. Their win last week came courtesy of goals from G, Ryan and Willie. They stood for a minutes silence initially for ex Weston and TRR member Brendan Bourke who sadly passed away that morning.

The 5ths travel to Monkstown this week for 3pm.

On the ladies side the 1sts return to league games after a disappointing week last week. They fell 3-0 to Ballymena in the Irish Hockey Trophy. With a number of injuries and exams on, they were short some players but will feel hard done by after a controversial game. Give it a few days to settle before asking them about it!! This week sees them face Alex away at 1.15 where they will hope to get back on track for promotion in Div 2.

The 2nds took a difficult 6-0 loss on Sunday with many of the players doubling up to help the 1s on Saturday. They fell to Botanic in the league and this week take on Loreto at home at 11.30.

The 3rds and 4ths also suffered defeats, losing 2-0 and 4-1 respectively. This week the 3rds travel to Bray for a 1pm game while the 4ths have a late one at home at 5pm against Botanic.

On the junior side the u12 girls did well on Sunday against Our Ladies winning most of their mini games! Some lovely goals were on show with attack being the word of the day so well done to all who played!

For anyone who is a supporter of Three Rock or any of our members in any shape or form, we are hosting a TRRHC Supporters lunch at 1.30pm on Saturday the 7th of December! Rachel will be putting on a delicious lunch of French onion soup, Normondy pork with cranberries and caramalised apple wedges, rice, peas and carrots, followed by a meringue roulade for dessert all for just €18 per person!

Places are limited to 50 so please let Ali Keogh know if you would like to reserve a spot, at alsionfkeogh@gmail.com, by the 2nd of December as we need to confirm numbers for Rachel.

The lunch takes place on a busy day in HQ as we have 6 home games, the biggest of which is the top of the table clash between the mens 1sts and Pembroke, which kicks off after lunch at 3pm. The mens 3rds, 4ths and 5ths are also at home, as are the ladies 2nds and 3rds, meaning it’s a packed day of fixtures!

Following this game there will be mince pies and mulled wine in the clubhouse where we hope to see everyones Christmas jumpers on proud display!

Rob Johnson is organizing a buffet supper for anyone that is interested later that evening following the Heineken Cup game between Leinster and Northampton at which is at 6pm. The menu is as follows:

Salmon and crab mousse,
Pork and chicken terrine,
Red caggage slaw,
Cauliflower and broccoli superfood salad,
Green salad with baby leaves.

Dauphinose potatoes or rice

Venison casserole with stout, prunes and roasted carrots,
or
Chicken in a wild mushroom and thyme sauce.

Cheese board and fruit
Mixed Berry meringue roulade
Gluten free choc truffle cake

Tickets are €30 each and places are limited to 50 people. Some tickets have already been sold so please contact Rob if you would like to attend at rob.hc.johnson@gmail.com . The night is open to friends of Three Rock and members.

Interpros
Huge congratulations to our u18 Leinster players Luke Madeley, Johnny McCormack, Ben McCrea, Freddie Morris and Daragh Walsh for winning the interpros in Mossley last weekend! It was a tough ask as bad weather meant the boys had to play 2 games per day.

Hard luck but well played to all our u16s in the same competition as they placed 3rd over the weekend. Gavin Gibney, Luke Campion, Harry McMahon, Conor Empey and Ben Walker, along with coach Niall Denham. Gavin, Harry, Conor and Ben have all got Irish trials following the weekend so best of luck to them in those!!

Junior umpire clinic
Eight of our u16 girls, and 3 other coaches attended the junior umpiring clinic by Ali Keogh early last Sunday morning. They were brought through some of the rules and had any questions answered before Ciara and Susan were put on the spot and asked to umpire some u12 matches! They did very well, using their new fox40 whistles to good effect! Ali will follow up by shadowing the other attendees in some games later in the season.

Welcome aboard Lisa Redmond!
There has been some changes to ladies coaching side in the last week. Lisa Redmond is stepping up to take charge of the ladies 2nds for the remainder of the season. Lisa is a previous club captain and goal-keeper in the club. She will be ably helped on match days by new manager Malcolm Rule! Lisa will take trainings on Wednesdays from 7-9 while on Mondays the girls will join in with the 1sts from 7.30 to 9.15 when JB takes over to put them through their fitness paces until 9.45.
Best of luck to Lisa, Malcolm and all the 2s for the rest of the season!

A huge thanks to Mandy and Ronan Bools for the photos they took during the cocktail party. Im delighted to be able to put them all on display now, however due to technical difficulties beyond my realm of understanding they wont all load onto the website page.

Not to worry though as they can all be seen by pasting the link at the end of the page into your browser!

Siobhan has printed each of these and will be on hand with them during our Christmas Jumper Day and TRRHC supporters lunch on the 7th of Dec. They can be bought if you wish for just €2 each!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202340946590990.1073741833.1411877517&type=1&l=b80386ce54

The 7th of December promises to be a good one in HQ as we aim to bring some festive cheer to the club as its Christmas Jumper Day!

We are hosting a supporters lunch at 1.30pm for all supporters of the club. We want all family, partners, friends or any supporter of the club to feel welcome to attend. The menu and prices will be confirmed next week. Please contact Siobhan or Stephen if you wish to attend at ladies.captain@threerockrovershc.com or mens.captain@threerockrovershc.com.

The lads face Pembroke in a crucial top of the table clash at home at 3pm. The mens 3rds, 4ths and 5ths are also at home, as are the ladies 2nds and 3rds, meaning it’s a packed day of fixtures!

Following this game there will be mince pies and mulled wine in the clubhouse where we hope to see everyones Christmas jumpers on proud display!

Rob Johnson is organizing a buffet supper for anyone that is interested later that evening following the Heineken Cup game between Leinster and Northampton at which is at 6pm. The menu is as follows:
◦ Salmon and crab mousse,
◦ Pork and chicken terrine,
◦ Red caggage slaw,
◦ Cauliflower and broccoli superfood salad,
◦ Green salad with baby leaves.
◦ Dauphinose potatoes or rice

◦ Venison casserole with stout, prunes and roasted carrots,
◦ or
◦ Chicken in a wild mushroom and thyme sauce.

◦ Cheese board and fruit
◦ Mixed Berry meringue roulade
Gluten free choc truffle cake

Tickets are €30 each and places are limited to 50 people. Ten tickets have already been sold so please contact Rob if you would like to attend at rob.hc.johnson@gmail.com . The night is open to friends of Three Rock and members.

The following weekend sees us host the 2nd season of junior Christmas parties. This will be the last week of hockey before the holidays and we have clubhouse and pitch booked for the Saturday and Sunday.

We would love some senior players to volunteer for some of these sessions so please contact Siobhan if you have a spare hour or two to help out.

The schedule for age-groups will be confirmed shortly!

On behalf of the committee, we would like to offer our profuse thanks to everyone who played a part in making last Friday evening’s Dream Auction in the clubhouse such a success.

The initial target for fundraising was €11,000 and, while there may be a few adjustments here and there, it looks likely the event has raised in excess of €15,000, an amount that will go a huge way to helping up replace our pitches in the coming year or two.

There are a huge number of thank yous to make after such a successful night. First of all, the club owes a debt of gratitude to John Findlater who co-ordinated the event from the outset.

He turned out to numerous club games and events at all levels to promote the event, contacted all members across a range of mediums and generally made sure every box was ticked and as many people as possible were aware and supported the Auction.

His brother in arms from the Ballycorus crew was Simon Walker who,produced the superb quality brochure, posters and flyers, a true professional touch.

On the night, Lisney’s David Bewley was a superb auctioneer, keeping us entertained and squeezing the most bids possible out of some of the items.

Fiona Darling decorated the clubhouse while Derek Kelly and Rachel Sterling made sure everyone was well fed and watered. Tony Nicholson and Barbara Snow had the onerous task of tallying the bids and did a superb job of keeping up despite the incredible pace.

Next, there were all of you who either bid or donated Dreams. From our spreadsheet, 93 lots were donated with over 50 people lucky enough to make purchases while we also received four donations from club members who could not be there in person but wanted to support the club.

We would also like to thank the advertisers in the brochure and really encourage you support these companies in the future due to their support and connections to the club!

Ed Sports – http://edsports.ie/
Christie Solicitors – http://www.solicitorsonline.ie/Christie-&-Co-Solicitors-3-Richview-Office-pk.-Clonskeagh-14,-D14-solicitors-6692.html
Carl School of Motoring – http://carlsom.ie/
Debbie Allen School of Dance – http://www.debbieallenschoolofdance.net/
Nichols Funeral Directors – http://www.nichols.ie/
Carrickmines Golf Club – http://carrickminesgolfclub.ie/
ECI JCB – http://www.ecijcb.ie/
Dublin Taxi Transfers – http://www.dublintaxitransfers.ie/
Kepak – http://www.kepak.com/web/guest/profile
Lisney – http://www.lisney.com/
Whitney Moore Solicitors – http://whitneymoore.ie/
Irish Hockey Photographers – http://irishhockeyphotographers.zenfolio.com/

Clubs only exist because of their members and this event is evidence of how well supported the club is. We have ambitious plans for this season and this will certainly be a huge help in us achieving our targets and beyond.

A heartfelt thanks once again,

Stephen Findlater and Siobhan Madeley

It was a tough week for the ladies sides as each of them suffered defeats in their league campaigns. The firsts fell to a disappointing 0-5 defeat to Muckross on Saturday in a game that has to be chalked off as a bad day in the office. The 3rds were unfortunate with their 0-1 loss to Malahide, while the 4ths had an equally tight loss to Guinness. Last night the 1sts played UCD in a game brought forward from the 14th of December. UCD proved too strong as they won 3-0, while Aisling Hogan was gifted with a broken nose for her efforts on the night. The report from the 1sts game on Saturday in the Hook can be read here: https://www.threerockrovershc.com/s/match-centre-66749/0-1899088

The u16 girls had a great 4-1 win over Hermes in the cup on Sunday morning with strong performances from Robyn, Sadie, Aoife and Rebecca showing that the futures bright!

On the mens side the 1sts comfortably kept themselves top of the table with a 3-1 win over Glenanne on Sunday. Mitch gave the lads a 2-0 lead before Glenanne converted a stroke. Some harsh corners in the dying minutes meant Westy was called upon to keep the lead before Joe finished the game with a corner conversion during the last seconds. Their report and pictures can be seen here:
https://www.threerockrovershc.com/s/match-centre-64910/0-1897721
http://irishhockeyphotographers.zenfolio.com/p951225105

The 2s had a good win in the IJC on Saturday overcoming Avoca 2-0 before making life difficult for themselves on Sunday. They came from 2 nil down against Trinity to win 4-3. The 4ths and 5ths lost out 0-2 and 0-5, while the 3rds had a decent 3-0 win. The 4ths report from Rob Johnson can be read here:
https://www.threerockrovershc.com/s/match-centre-68290/0-2032388

This weekend sees the ladies 1sts make the trip to Ballymena for the Irish Hockey Trophy, away at 2.30. This game means the 2s match has been pushed to Sunday at home at 2.30. The 3rds face Glenanne away at 12.30 while the 4ths have a late 5pm home game against

On the mens side, the 2s have a week off while the 1sts are facing into their second half of league fixtures as they visit Corinthians away at 2.15.

The 3rds will play at home at 3pm while the 4ths and 5ths are away to Weston and Clontarf respectively.