The Irish Women’s Croquet Team will take on the Spanish Women’s Team in a home match on 13th-15th September 2021.
The match will kick off with an opening ceremony in Herbert Park Croquet Club, Dublin 4 at 9am on 13th September.
RTE’s Miriam O'Callaghan will attend the ceremony as a special guest to show her support for our Irish women in sport. The match will be co-hosted by Herbert Park Croquet Club and Carrickmines Croquet & Lawn Tennis Club over the 3 days.
The Croquet Association of Ireland (CAI) has partnered with Sherry FitzGerald, Ireland's largest property advisory firm and NCC (National Chemical Company) a leading raw material and chemical sourcing specialist to create a significant women in sport collaboration for this upcoming International Women’s Challenge.
Following an extensive twelve-week training programme, the CAI recently chose its thirteen strong match play squad to represent Ireland and is listed as follows.
Team: Jane Morrison (captain), Patricia Whitty, Nicola Kelly, Hillary Whitty, Yvonne Marrinan, Clair Whyms, Gemma Corr and Jacinta Bushell.
Reserves: Anne Marie McGowan, Karen Davidson Perrins, Celine Reilly, Aileen Kirstein and Aileen Mulhern.
Croquet has a proud history in Ireland, with strong origins dating back to the 1830’s before moving abroad. It is their goal to celebrate its Irish history as well as promote croquet as a gender-equal, inclusive and low impact sport which is accessible to all ages.
As well as being a mentally stimulating game, croquet is growing increasingly popular as a competitive sport. It is now the fastest growing sport in North America and is widely played from primary school age in countries such as Spain and New Zealand.
Croquet membership in our clubs here in Ireland has seen an increase since the beginning of the pandemic. There are a number of active clubs around the country including Newbridge House Croquet Club, Donabate, Co Dublin, Newcastle Croquet Club, Co Wicklow, Rushbrooke Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Co Cork as well as the host clubs for this international match. Membership in all clubs is open currently.
To learn more about croquet and how to join, please visit www.croquetireland.com or follow them on Instagram @croquetireland.
