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Welcome to the Irish Lacrosse Foundation’s website.

Mission Statement Your memberships, donations and sponsorships will assist with the goal to develop and promote lacrosse in Ireland and to participate in international events.  The Irish Lacrosse Foundation is a 501(c)(3) foundation.

 

National Teams Place 4th and 6th at European Championships August 16, 2008 LAHTI, FINLAND -  Ireland's women finished 4th among the 10 teams at the 2008 European Lacrosse Championships, and the men finished 6th out of 18 teams. Winning Division B with a 4 - 0 record, the women played Scotland, third in Division A, for third place in the tournament, but lost, 15-8.  Completing Division A with a 4 - 1 record, the men lost two second round games by a total of three goals before losing to Finland, 9-8, for 5th place in the tournament. Lauren Cohen, Katie Hogan and Shannon Fabian scored Ireland's goals against Scotland in the final game, Hogan and Elaine Williams each won four ground balls and caused three turnovers, and goalie Lauren Scipione made 16 saves. Ireland's men trailed Finland 6-3 at halftime, but closed the lead to one goal before time ran out in the second half.  Brian Murray, Sean Gibson, Matt Corry and Kevin Owens scored Ireland's goals. Cohen was the women's points leader for the five game tournament with 18 goals and 8 assists, followed by Fabian with 11 and 12 and Hogan with 17 and 4. Murray was the men's points leader for the eight game tournament with 28 goals and 8 assists, followed by Gibson with 10 and 12, Corry with 12 and 3, Joe Caulfield with 8 and 6, and Brian O'Connor with 4 and 6. For the women, Kristin Godfrey, Jaclyn Coyne, Hogan, Elaine Williams, Pamela Smithwick and Cohen were the top ground ball winners, while Hogan, Williams, Julie Clarke and Coyne led the team for caused turnovers.  Orla McCourt, Kaitlyn Leidl and Megan O'Connor also contributed with scoring, ground balls and turnovers, and Nicola Mulrooney, Anna Kinsella, Rebecca Headon, Siobhan Carroll and Fiona Tully won ground balls and forced turnovers.  Lauren Scipione and Julie Caulfield played very well in goal. Women's Team Leader Jim Carroll described the team as "the most harmonious and focused I have ever been associated with in more than 40 years of lacrosse," and credited Coaches Dan Leidl and Megan McNamara, assistant Sean Fitzpatrick, Trainer Erin McLaughlin and Team  Equipment Manager, Larry Carroll, for bringing the team to such a high level of play.  He also thanked Matt Shackles for providing game statistics. With six votes each by the coaches and staff, every member of the team received at least one vote for the most valuable player award.  Elaine Williams was elected MVP for her contributions in all areas of the game and received a standing ovation at the combined team dinner.  For the men, Team Leader Richie Moran cited goalie Pat Vaughan for making over 20 saves in the playoff games, and defensemen Mike Conroy, Dara McCreary, Ryan Licht, Dan Nolan, Peter Tully, Zak Jordan, Sean Murphy and Sean Grogan for keeping Ireland in every contest. Moran also said Kevin Owens and Peter Tully were excellent on faceoffs, and Sean Bodie, Conor Walsh, Paddy O'Leary, John O'Connor, Ed Lentz, Michael Kennedy, Brian O'Connor and Colm Murphy all added to the team's good results. Moran concluded "We all appreciate the time and effort put in by coaches Tim Weir, Tom Prior, Christian Arnold and Tom Gill, and the outstanding job by trainer Brian Fitzgerald and team equipment manager Larry Carroll." For previous stories about the 2008 European Championships, click here READ MORE.

Exhibition Games Help Players Get Ready for the European Championships  July 23, 2008 NEW YORK AND DUBLIN – Successful athletes have long understood that the way to improve is by competing against even better athletes, and players from both Irish National teams have continued tuning up for the 2008 European Championships with games against talented competition in the US and Ireland during July.  This began with the first ever Irish women's game played in the U.S., and also included three spirited contests against American travel teams for men and women national team members in Dublin.  READ MORE.    GAME FACES - Players for the Ireland squad that competed against the American traveling team in Dublin included, first row, left to right, Leonard Skelly, Sean Bodie, Chris O'Conner, Peter Tully, David Lusby; back row, left to right, Matt Walsh, Sean Gibson, Dara McCreary, Joe Garvey, Michael Kennedy, Colm Murphy, John Frame, Kevin Quinn and John O'Conner.  Skelly, Bodie, Tully, Lusby, Gibson, McCreary, Kennedy, Murphy and John O'Conner are also members of the 2008 Ireland Men's National Team.

EXHIBITION GAMES ON THE ROAD TO FINLAND ARE UNDERWAY June 24, 2008 SOUTHPORT, CT – Members of the 2008 National Men’s team and additional Irish Lacrosse Foundation player members started a series of exhibition games that both the Irish Men’s and Women’s teams will play prior to the 2008 European Championships in Finland in August. The first game was on Saturday, June 21, and at least three more will be played in the U.S. and Ireland in July. READ MORE. IRISH NATIONAL MEN'S TEAM MEMBERS including, l. to r., Paddy O'Leary, Sean Grogan, Ed Lentz, Conor Walsh and Joe Caulfield, along with other players from both teams and supporters of Irish lacrosse, enjoyed some hospitality at the Irish American Gaelic Club in Fairfield, CT after the team's exhibition game on June 21.  O'Leary and Walsh are spending several weeks in the U.S. before returning home to Ireland.

Men's National Team Roster Announced                                          June 3, 2008 DUBLIN - Irish Lacrosse Foundation Senior Vice President John Cavanaugh has announced the roster for the Ireland Men's National Team that will compete in the 2008 European Lacrosse Championships in Finland from August 6 - 16.  The team's U.S. based players will be playing an exhibition game at the Wakeman Boys & Girls Club Turf field in Southport, CT on Saturday, June 21 at 1 p.m., and the public is invited to attend this and a reception at the Irish American Gaelic Club in nearby Fairfield after the game.  READ MORE.

 

2008 Irish National Teams                                                   May 2008 Newsletter The Irish based players for the Men's and Women's teams that will compete in the 2008 European Championships in August are practicing every Saturday through July 26. The full squads will go to Dublin for training camp starting August 1.  Read the Rest of the Newsletter UP & DOWN - At practice on May 17, Matt Walsh ran the one-on-one defense gauntlet, and members of the men's and women's teams warmed up with stretching and fitness training. Practice also includes lots of lacrosse drills and concludes with group calisthenics and running.

   

Women's National Team Roster Announced                                     May 14, 2008  DUBLIN - Irish Lacrosse Foundation Senior Vice President John Cavanaugh has announced the roster for the Ireland Women's National Team that will compete in the 2008 European Lacrosse Championships in Finland from August 9 - 16.  READ MORE.

 

 

Members of the 2008 Irish National Women's Team Selection Camps for 2008 National Teams Make History       February 3, 2008 DUBLIN - 50 players added a new chapter to Irish Lacrosse history when the first side-by-side camps were held to begin the selection of Ireland's national teams for the 2008 European Championships. The three-day events took place on the final weekend of January on the campus of University College Dublin. Coaches from the Irish Lacrosse Foundation started on Friday night with a conditioning and flexibility session and a throw around for the players.   READ MORE.

 

National Teams Coaching Staffs Announced                    Updated May 14, 2008  DUBLIN - Five assistant coaches have been selected for Ireland's National Men's and Women's teams that will compete in the 2008 European Championships in August. Irish Lacrosse Foundation Senior Vice President John Cavanaugh announced that Tom Prior, Chris Arnold, and Tom Gill will assist head coach Tim Weir with the Men's team, and Meghan McNamara will assist head coach Dan Leidl with the Women's team READ MORE.

 
 

RACING UP THE FIELD -- With  UCD team captain Paddy O'Leary in close pursuit, Coach Chris Arnold carries the ball in one of the scrimmages in which UCD men and women team members demonstrated lacrosse in Cork and Limerick.   UCD Players Introduce More People to Lacrosse   April 8, 2008 IRELAND - Twenty two lacrosse players from UC Dublin spent the first two days of their mid-term break in Cork and Limerick introducing and demonstrating lacrosse at the universities there. The fifteen men and seven women drew attention for the game by conducting men's, women's and mixed scrimmages outside of the sports club and gym at each university, talking to spectators and the schools' sports directors, and even getting some people to pick up a stick and give lacrosse a try. For a report by UCD player Conor Walsh READ MORE.