Ms Eimear Cregan

In 2010, Eimear Cregan – the widely-respected Captain of the Irish Senior Ladies Hockey Team since 2008 - became the most capped Irish hockey player of all time in either the men's or women's code. To-date, she has amassed 171 caps to her name, has scored 26 international goals and has played in four European Championships and one World Cup. 

Like all accidental sporting heroes, this Limerick woman could have chosen a very different path. Typically prodigious in almost every sport she tried, Eimear had looked set to be a Gaelic games star. Growing up in a family steeped in GAA – she is a niece of legendary former Limerick player and coach Eamonn Cregan - camogie seemed set to be her calling (she'd first picked up a hurley at age three). Then, fate played its part. Eimear recalls "A friend of mine asked me to come along to play hockey with Lansdowne. I didn't want to do it because I'd been doing gymnastics on a Saturday and just wanted Sunday to chill out but I went along anyway. I didn't have a clue about hockey, no idea of the rules but I had hand-eye coordination. My friend gave me a stick and shin-guards and the minute I picked up the stick, I absolutely loved it. A lot of it would transfer over from the ground hurling. I loved the smaller skills, the dodging and so on, from the very start.” Camogie and hockey continued side-by-side during Eimear's teens as call-ups to Limerick and Munster's underage sides came along. At this stage, she says there was "no real pressure” to make a decision to focus either way but as she stepped into the adult arena, something finally had to give and so came the tough decision to give hockey precedence in her first year as a student in UL. She adds "In college, I tried to play both but there was a lot on. I picked up a small injury in a camogie match and was only out for a couple of weeks but it made me think. The honour of possibly playing for my country dragged me along. Its brilliant playing for your county but I really wanted to play for my country.” After a stint with the Irish U-18 team, she recalls "Riet (Kuper) called me into the senior squad. It was pretty unbelievable.”  

Eimear made her international senior debut in 2001 at the age of 19 while at the same time continuing with her studies at UL where she also helped her college team win an Ashbourne Cup in Camogie in 2005. In the same year, she left Ireland briefly for a stint as a semi-professional in Holland with a hockey club called Push playing in the Dutch Hoofdklasse 2005/06. 

Like all great forwards, Eimear has the knack of scoring crucial goals at important times. She was an integral part of Cork Harlequins' long-running dominance in Munster before moving back home to join Catholic Institute in 2009 where she has helped the Limerick club finish 3rd in the Munster Division 1 League and qualify for the All Ireland Hockey League this coming season 2010/2011. 

It is on the national stage however where Eimear has risen to greatest prominence. Reflecting now on her career to-date, she cites the 2002 World Cup, along with the 2005 European championships held in Belfield as highlights while a hat-trick in Korea against the host nation was a personal boon. She adds"To play in the World Cup in any sport is brilliant. I remember having a massive crowd when we played Australia, the whole stadium was full and I've never played in anything like that.” 

In recognition of her consistently strong performances at international and club level, Eimear has been named ‘Irish Examiner Junior Sports Star of the Year 1999', ESB Women's Player of the Year 2007' and the Irish Hockey Association's ‘Irish Senior Ladies Player of the Year 2007'. The following year, she was elevated to the role of Irish Captain.  

Despite her unmistakable talent and formidable record, typically-humble Eimear reveals "I do still take one game at a time, I take every game as a bonus and never take being selected for granted.” 

Eimear - whose family live in Castletroy - graduated with Honours from UL in 2005 with a BSc in Sport & Exercise Science and in 2008 with a Graduate Diploma in Physical Education. Today, she is a Secondary School Teacher in the Ursuline Convent in Thurles, Co Tipperary. A past member of the Limerick Camogie Team at all levels until hockey took over when she turned 20 years of age, Eimear remains a Member of Castletroy Golf Club since 1996. Playing off a handicap of 17, she is a past winner of the Smurfit Girls Munster Inter Club Golf Competition(1998, 2000) as well as winner of the All-Ireland Inter-Club golf Competition in 2000. She is also a current member of Monaleen Ladies Football Team. 

Looking to the future, the 28-year old believes there is more to come from the current set of players with the 2012 Olympics the big marker on the horizon. Eimear reveals "We're constantly improving. I don't think I've played with a squad which has been so tactically aware and technically aware due to the teaching of Gene [Muller] and Dennis [Pritchard]. As long as we stay together and keep improving, we really will be a serious force to reckon with.” 

As a player with superb 3D, mid-air skills - that are all-too-rare in the women's game - and never-ending determination , Eimear Cregan truly stands out at all levels. 

The above text is an extract from the 2010 UL Alumni Awards Souvenir Booklet.