Thursday, July 23: Ireland U21 Women’s head coach Graeme Francey has announced his 18-player squad to travel to Valencia, Spain for the 2026 EuroHockey U21 Championships beginning this Sunday, July 26.
Francey, who is now in his second year with the team, will look to build on a strong 2025 FIH Junior World Cup Campaign where the team secured a 13th place finish overall in Santiago, Chile, last December. Among the 18-player squad is a host of new and returning faces from that squad, with nine players primed to pick up from where they left off in Chile.
In addition to their returning faces, the side will also boast a number of players who have made their senior international debut, with forward Mikayla Power among the team along with Eva Gaston and Gabriella Scot, both of whom made their debuts during Ireland’s FIH Hockey Pro League matches in Rotterdam and Berlin in June.
Lucy McGoldrick returns to the Irish net having played in all six of Ireland’s outings in Santiago and is joined by Muckross Hockey Club’s Grainne Molloy.
Alongside them are the likes of Rebekah Lennon and Katie Herron, both of whom have enjoyed superb debut EY Hockey League campaigns with Portadown, and Maedbh Le Roux and Hollai Quinn who lifted both an AIG Irish Senior Cup and EY Champions Trophy title with Railway Union in 2025/26.
Loreto’s Mollie Lennon will once again look to incite her influence on the team from midfield, with the young Loreto player going from strength to strength, while UCD’s Milla Fulton will provide a considerable attacking threat having scored on three occasions in Santiago, securing two Player of the Match awards also.
Ireland have been drawn in Pool B for their upcoming EuroHockey U21 Championship campaign, where they will begin their campaign against Germany on Sunday, July 26 before facing Wales and Belgium in the remaining pool matches. The side will be targeting a top-6 finish in Valencia, with a place in the 2027 FIH Hockey Junior World Cup up for grabs should they manage to do so.
Orla Young-Hughes
Milla Fulton
Mikayla Power
Meadbh LeRoux
Lucy McGoldrick
Millie Jerman
Darcy Shields
Hollai Quinn
Isobel Field
Eabha Curran
Alex Byrne
Eva Gaston
Katie Herron
Rebekah Lennon
Gabriella Scott
Mollie Lennon
Leah Callaghan
Grainne Molloy
Hockey Ireland
