Congratulations to Victor O’Shea, Regional Engineer with Sisk, who recently represented Ireland at the Over 65s Hockey Masters World Cup in the Netherlands.
The Irish team played seven matches over ten days, with all games taking place in Breda in the south of the Netherlands. The team enjoyed a number of impressive victories against Japan, the USA and South Africa before progressing to the quarter-final stage.
Ireland’s tournament journey eventually came to an end against the hosts, the Netherlands, in a closely contested quarter-final.
A fantastic achievement for Victor and the Irish team!
Victor plays his club hockey with Corinthian Hockey Club in Rathfarnham, Dublin. Showing that age is no barrier, Victor said: “People naturally think that we are walking around, but these are extremely fit competitors.
"Preparation for the event was extremely intensive with training taking place in Dublin and Belfast. The coaching we receive is to a very high standard and includes video analysis, its all-constructive criticism, but very beneficial.”
He continued: “We had some great victories, to be there in the dressing room wearing the green jersey was brilliant. In my younger years I played a lot of hurling and could have never imagined playing sport at this stage of my life and representing Ireland.
“One of the highlights of the tournament was the camaraderie with the opposition teams with each player receiving a country tie pin. This craic was highlighted with a rendition of ‘Ireland’s Call’ with our South African colleagues after the game.”
Congrats again to Victor and the Irish team!