Star of Irish hockey famed for her flair and lightning pace

Joan O’Reilly, who has died aged 89, was one of Irish hockey’s most illustrious and talented international players and enjoyed a varied and decorated life, both on and off the field of play.

While it was on the hockey pitch that she gained most of her sporting fame, O’Reilly made waves on the athletics circuit when she produced a fast enough time to qualify for the 1948 London Olympics.

A close contemporary of Maeve Kyle, she won the national 100 yards title while also pushing Fanny Blankers-Koen – who would go on to win four gold medals – in a pre-Olympic race but, because of the prevailing attitude to women in Ireland at the time, was precluded from travelling to the games.

Triple Crown
Instead, she turned her attentions to the hockey field, making her debut in 1949 against Scotland before famously helping Ireland to a Triple Crown win a year later, beating England in Wembley for good measure.

That year, she embarked on her first of four international tours at her own expense, travelling to South Africa for a six-week event, taking on seven other nations.

She would subsequently travel to Folkestone in England, the USA and Amsterdam as a player, earning 34 international caps.

Famed for her lightning pace and flair on the ball, every one of her caps was earned on the right wing where she tormented left inners for many years and was widely regarded as the best of her generation.

Hall of Fame
This led to her induction into the Irish Hockey Association Hall of Fame, one of the first 10 people to be honoured in this manner.

On the club scene, she was a member of the Muckross side that traded Leinster league and cup titles as well as All-Ireland crowns with Pembroke for most of the 1940s and 1950s. Following her retirement, she undertook many further trips in her role as either an international umpire or as a manager of the Irish team.

She was duly elected as hockey’s Leinster president for five years while also taking on the roles of Irish women’s president, Irish selector and chairperson of the Women’s Hockey Board of Great Britain and Ireland which organised the home nations events.

All the while, she combined these with her day job as a butcher in Crumlin, sharing the business with her brother James who looked after the beef while she took care of the pork end of things.

Revered family
Her sister Angela ran the drapery shop next door, making the family a revered one in the local area: with Joan regularly the go-to person for tax advice and similar matters.

In addition, she was a key figure in Grange Golf Club in Rathfarnham where she was the first to organise the Ladies Captain's Show, combining her organisational skills with her flair for the arts as a director and actor.

+Similarly, she would organise the sweepstakes on Captain’s Prize Day while providing the very best turkey and ham as prizes for the club’s major events.

A sister of the late Carmel, William, James, Tom and Angela, she is survived by her nephews, nieces, grandnephews and grandnieces.