Due to the on-going restrictions imposed by the current emergency situation, the IHUA Executive Committee have agreed to postpone our AGM for the 2019/20 season until further notice .

Notification of a future date for the AGM will be issued in due course pending the prevailing situation and Government advice.

In the meantime please stay safe and take care of each other.

Please see the attached link for the latest statement from the Hockey Ireland Board re the conclusion of the season at national and provincial level.

The Board and the Branches in reaching their decisions are keen to emphasise the magnitude of effort each player, coach, umpire, volunteer, school, club and hockey entity has invested into this season.

Please see the attached link for a further full statement from Hockey Ireland.

The Hockey Ireland Board, after further consultation with its branches, has decided the following in the interest of the health and safety of the hockey community and all people on the island of Ireland, that the 2019/20 hockey season for all league, cup and all other domestic hockey competitions in Ireland are deemed to have finished.

The Competitions Working Group’s proposals, addressing the postponement or cancellation of fixtures, the final league standings, promotion and relegation, and possible European spots for the 2020/21 season will then go to the Hockey Ireland Board for consideration and approval. The final decisions on the details for the conclusion of 2019/2020 season will be published no later than the 12th of April.

Hockey Ireland today have released an updated Code of Conduct.

This can be found under 'Information and Downloads and then go to the Rules and Guidance documents.

We are aware of a few problems that have developed at the end of last season and the start of the current season with some of the UmpireTalk radios, mainly due to natural wear and tear. Of course there are a number that continue to work with no problems.

This notice is just to say that we are working on solution in conjunction with the Provinces as everyone recognises the widespread importance of radio usage for all matches. It is important that we try and get a radio that suits our wider needs as well as ensuring the cost is affordable. For this reason we will be looking to test some options in the next couple of weeks.

If we can agree on a radio then realistically we are probably looking at just after Christmas for their introduction.

We are delighted to inform you of the announcement from the EHF that Ellie Duffy has been selected on their Umpire Development Programme (UDP). Ellie will join five other participants in the 2020-2022 Programme.

We would like to congratulate Ellie on her selection and this excellent opportunity. We wish her every success in what will be a challenging three years.

Tom Goode has also been selected as a mentor on the Programme along with Caroline Brunekreef (NED) and we also wish Tom Goode a successful three years developing umpires of the future!