Ireland men's national ice hockey team

The Ireland national ice hockey team (Irish: Foireann haca oighir náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the national men's ice hockey team of the Republic of Ireland run by the Irish Ice Hockey Association (IIHA) and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since 26 September 1996.
The Republic of Ireland gained promotion to Division II of the IIHF World Championships in 2007, but after a worst performance in their Division II debut, they were then relegated back to Division III. The team is unable to participate in IIHF tournaments since placing 4th with six points in 2013. With the closure of the Dundalk Ice Dome, they can no longer meet their minimum participation standards. In 2017, the team returned at international competition after a four-year absence, and played at the inaugural Development Cup in Canillo, Andorra. They finished as the runners-up after falling 11–4 to Morocco.
The team has had members from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and has a working relationship with the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and new Irish clubs, Flyers Ice Hockey Club and Dundalk Bulls.
==History==
The Republic of Ireland was accepted into the International Ice Hockey Federation in May 1996 after a nomination by Great Britain and a second by Canada. They have not had a long history of international competition, with the Ireland senior team first competing in 2004.
*First match: 16 March 2004: Reykjavík, Iceland: 8–3 Ireland
*Largest victory: 8 March 2005: Mexico City, Mexico: Ireland 23–1 
*Largest defeat: 13 April 2011: Zagreb, Croatia: 22–0 Ireland
==International competition==
(statistics, standings, and results taken from the IIHF IIHF Tournament Page)
===2004 IIHF Ice Hockey Division III World Championships Reykjavík, Iceland===
Game 1. Ireland 3 Mexico 8 
Game 2. Armenia 1 Ireland 15
Game 3. Ireland 1 Iceland 7
Game 4. Turkey 7 Ireland 4
Final result: fourth place, one win, three losses for 2 points, 23 goals for, 23 goals against
===2005 IIHF Ice Hockey Division III World Championships Mexico City, Mexico===
Game 1. Ireland 23 Armenia 1
Game 2. Luxembourg 8 Ireland 4
Game 3. Ireland 4 South Africa 5
Game 4. Mexico 6 Ireland 1
Final result: fourth place, one win, three losses for 2 points, 32 goals for, 20 goals against
===2006 IIHF Ice Hockey Division III World Championships Reykjavík, Iceland===
Game 1. Ireland 0 Armenia 6
Game 2. Iceland 8 Ireland 0
Game 3. Turkey 2 Ireland 2
Game 4. Ireland 3 Luxembourg 1
Final result: fourth place, one win, two losses, one tie for 3 points, 5 goals for, 17 goals against
===2007 IIHF Ice Hockey Division III World Championships Dundalk, Ireland===
Game 1. Ireland 11 Mongolia 0
Game 2. Ireland 2 New Zealand 4
Game 3. Ireland 3 South Africa 1
Game 4. Ireland 4 Luxembourg 3 [OT)
Final result: second place two wins, one overtime win, one loss for 8 points, 20 goals for, 8 goals against [Team Ireland are Promoted to Division II of the IIHF World Championships]
===2008 IIHF Ice Hockey Division II World Championships Miercurea Ciuc, Romania===
Game 1. Ireland 1 Serbia 13
Game 2. Ireland 4 Bulgaria 7
Game 3. Ireland 1 Belgium 9
Game 4. Ireland 1 Romania 21
Game 5. Ireland 1 Israel 7
Final result: sixth place zero wins, five losses for 0 points, 8 goals for, 57 goals against [Team Ireland is relegated to the 2009 IIHF World Championship Div III]
===2009 IIHF Ice Hockey Division III World Championships Dunedin, New Zealand===
Game 1. Ireland 3 Greece 7
Game 2. Ireland 3 Luxembourg 8
Game 3. Ireland 5 Mongolia 0(Forfeit)
Game 4. Ireland 1 Turkey 7
Game 5. Ireland 0 New Zealand 9
Final result: fifth place one win, four losses for 3 points, 12 goals for, 31 goals against
===2010 IIHF Ice Hockey Division III Group A World Championships Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg===
Game 1. Ireland 6 Luxembourg 4
Game 2. Greece 1 Ireland 3
Game 3. UA Emirates 2 Ireland 8
Final result: first place three wins, zero losses for 9 points, 17 goals for, 7 goals against [Team Ireland are Promoted to Division II of the IIHF World Championships]
===2011 IIHF Ice Hockey Division II Group B World Championships Zagreb, Croatia===
Game 1. Ireland 0 Bulgaria 6
Game 2. China 5 Ireland 0
Game 3. Romania 22 Ireland 0
Game 4. Ireland 4 Croatia 21
Game 5. Iceland 14 Ireland 0
Final Result: sixth place zero wins, five losses, for 0 points, 4 goals for, 68 goals against [Team Ireland is relegated to the 2009 IIHF World Championship Div III]
===2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Division III World Championships Erzurum, Turkey===
Game 1. Luxembourg 7 Ireland 2
Game 2. Ireland 5 Greece 3
Game 3. Ireland 3 Turkey 5
Game 4. Ireland 8, Mongolia 4
Game 5. North Korea 5, Ireland 0
Final Result: fourth place two wins, three loses, for 6 points, 18 goals for, 24 goals against
===2013 IIHF Ice Hockey Division III Group A World Championships Cape Town, South Africa===
Game 1. Greece 3 Ireland 6
Game 2. South Africa 7 Ireland 4
Game 3. Luxembourg 5 Ireland 0
Game 4. Ireland 1 North Korea 2
Game 5. Ireland 7 United Arab Emirates 3
Final Result: fourth place two wins, three loses, for 6 points, 18 goals for, 20 goals against
===2017 Development Cup; Canillo, Andorra===
Game 1. Morocco 10 – Ireland 2
Game 2. Ireland 9 – Portugal 4
Game 3. Ireland 5 – Andorra 3
Final. Morocco 11 – Ireland 4
Final result: runners-up, two wins, two losses, for 6 points, 20 goals for, 28 goals against
===2018 Development Cup; Füssen, Germany===
Game 1. Macedonia 9 – Ireland 6
Game 2. Portugal 12 – Ireland 4
Game 3. Ireland 6 – Andorra 4
Semifinal. Portugal 10 – Ireland 1
Bronze medal game. Ireland 8 – Andorra 7
Final result: third place, two wins, three losses, for 6 points, 25 goals for, 42 goals against
===2022 Development Cup; Füssen, Germany===
Game 1. Liechtenstein 7 – Ireland 6
Game 2. Ireland 7 – Algeria 6
Game 3. Ireland 6 – Andorra 6
Game 4. Ireland 3 – Colombia 3
Game 5. Portugal 4 – Ireland 12
Final result: third place, two wins, one loss, and two ties for 6 points, 34 goals for, 26 goals against
=== 2023 Development Cup; Bratislava, Slovakia ===
Game 1. Argentina 11 - Ireland 6
Game 2. Ireland 4 - Colombia 6
Game 3. Portugal 1 - Ireland 10
Game 4. Ireland 5 - Liechtenstein 6
Final Result: Fourth place, one win, three losses for 3 points, 25 goals for, 24 goals against
 
=== 2024 Development Cup; Bratislava, Slovakia ===
Game 1. Brazil 0 – Ireland 16
Game 2. Ireland 12 – Greece 3
Game 3. Colombia 1 – Ireland 9
Game 4. Ireland 7 – Argentina 4
Game 5. Ireland 8 – Portugal 3
Gold medal game. Ireland 5 – Portugal 1
Final result: first place, six wins, no loss, and no ties for 15 points, 57 goals for, 12 goals against
==All-time record against other nations==
Last match: 27 April 2024
Team 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	1 	1 	0	0 	7 	6
 	4 	3 	1	0 	25 	20
 	2 	1 	0	1 	13 	15
 	3 	2 	0	1 	38 	8
 	1 	0 	0	1 	1 	9
 	1 	1 	0	0 	16 	0
 	2 	0 	0	2 	4 	13
 	1 	0 	0	1 	0 	5
 	3 	1 	1	1 	16 	10
 	1 	0 	0	1 	4 	21
 	5 	4 	0	1 	29 	17
 	3 	0 	0	3 	1 	29
 	1 	0 	0	1 	1 	7
 	2 	0 	0	2 	11 	13
 	8 	3 	0	5 	25 	41
 	2 	0 	0	2 	4 	14
 	3 	3 	0	0 	24 	4
 	2 	0 	0	2 	6 	21
 	1 	0 	0	1 	6 	9
 	2 	0 	0	2 	2 	13
 	2 	0 	0	2 	1 	7
 	7 	5 	0	2 	49 	35
 	2 	0 	0	2 	1 	43
 	1 	0 	0	1 	1 	13
 	3 	1 	0	2 	11 	13
 	4 	0 	1	3 	10 	21
 	2 	2 	0	0 	15 	5
Total	69	27	3	39	322	412
==References==
==External links==
*Official website
*IIHF profile
Category:National ice hockey teams in Europe