It will be a busy Saturday at Three Rock Rovers where four cup finals will be staged, namely the men’s and women’s Irish Senior and Junior deciders. Railway Union will attempt to become just the second women’s club to make it a three-in-a-row in the AIG senior final. Pembroke Wanderers were the other side to achieve the feat back in the 1940s.
Railway’s opponents are Monkstown, who won promotion to the top flight of the EY Hockey League a fortnight ago. Former Irish international Chloe Watkins remains the driving force for a side seeking to repeat its 2023 success in the competition.
Railway finished runners-up in Division One of the Hockey League this season. Aisling Utri was among their stand-out players, scoring 11 goals in just six games after arriving from Australia in January. Utri, who had a spell playing Australian rules with the Western Bulldogs, has also represented Australia in hockey. She holds an Irish passport through her Dublin-born mother, so she could yet be on Irish coach Gareth Grundie’s radar.
On the men’s side, Hockey League winners Lisnagarvey are also on the hunt for a third successive title – and their fifth in six years. They come up against hosts Three Rock Rovers, whose last triumph in the competition came in 2019, when they beat Lisnagarvey. The sides’ two league meetings this season produced 19 goals – a 6-5 victory for the Ulster side and a 4-4 draw.
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The day begins with Old Alexandra II’s meeting with Railway Union II in the women’s Irish Junior final, while Corinthian II and Lisnagarvey II square up in the men’s junior final. Tickets for the games, starting at €6, are available at hockey.ie and all four finals will be streamed live on Hockey Ireland TV.
Irish Cup finals (at Three Rock Rovers on Saturday) - Junior women: Old Alexandra II v Railway Union II, 10.15am; Junior men: Lisnagarvey II v Corinthian II, 12.30; Senior women: Monkstown v Railway Union, 2.45; Senior men: Lisnagarvey v Three Rock Rovers, 4.45.
