Under-18 squad announced

Following the weekend's Interprovincial tournament in Kilkenny, 28 players have been chosen for trials for the Irish squad which…

Following the weekend's Interprovincial tournament in Kilkenny, 28 players have been chosen for trials for the Irish squad which will compete in the European under-18 hockey tournament in Belfast next Easter.

Ulster's Jenny McDonough and Elaine Bromell of Munster are the only survivors from last season's under-18 team in a panel that includes eight of the players who represented Ireland in the under-16 Home Nations in Cardiff last April.

Leinster has the highest representation in the panel with 10 players, including Loreto Bray's Catherine Murray, last season's Irish under-16 captain.

Irish under-18 PANEL: Y Deacon, L Healy, M Fischer, E Grannell (all South East), EJ Cassidy, L Cotter, L Dowling, C Griffin, C Mur- ray, L O'Neill, C Rowan, B Sparkes, N Symmons, S Walker (all Leinster), O McCarthy, L Geary, N McAuliffe, V Fenton, E Bromell, E Cregan, S Canning, O Fitzgibbon (all Munster), O McGuinness (Connacht), D Millar, L Blevins, E Jordan, J McDonough, S McMaster (all Ulster).

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan is a sports writer with The Irish Times