Ireland were finalists and silver medallists at the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup. Deirdre Duke scored twice against the United States as Ireland won their opening pool stage game 3–1. Shirley McCay was also on target for Ireland. In their second pool game against India, Anna O'Flanagan's goal secured a 1–0 win for Ireland and a place in the quarter-finals. Ireland lost their third pool game against England. However, after winning their first two games, they had already qualified for the knockout stages. The quarter-final against India finished 0–0 but Roisin Upton, Alison Meeke and Chloe Watkins were all on target as Ireland won the penalty shoot-out 3–1. Ireland coach Graham Shaw hailed Ayeisha McFerran's performance in the penalty shoot-out after she saved three out of the four India penalty strokes. In the semi-final against Spain, O'Flanagan scored her second goal before Spain equalised and the game finished 1–1. In the subsequent penalty shoot-out, Ireland won 3–2, with Gillian Pinder scoring twice and McFerran again saving three penalty strokes. Despite losing the final 6–0 to the Netherlands, Ireland were acclaimed for their overall performance in the tournament. They had begun the tournament as underdogs, the second lowest seed. They were ranked 15th out of sixteen teams taking part. Their team was made up of part-timers and amateurs while in the final they played a team of full-time professionals. It was reported in "The Irish Times" that the players had to pay €550 to compete. Although this claim was subsequently denied by both Sport Ireland and the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross. Following their appearance in the World Cup final, Ireland moved up to a best ever eighth position in the FIH World Rankings. Their previous highest ranking position was 14th.