Billy McConnell (field hockey)

Billy McConnell

Personal information
Born	(1956-04-19) 19 April 1956 (age 69) Newry, County Down Northern Ireland
Height	177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
Playing position	Defender
Senior career
Years	Team
19xx–19xx	Newry Olympic
198x–198x	Belfast YMCA
19xx–19xx	→ Ulster
19xx–199x	Holywood 87
National team
Years	Team	Caps	Goals
1979–199x	Ireland
198x–198x	Great Britain
Coaching career
2007–2010	Pegasus
201x–201x	Queen's University
Medal record Representing   Great Britain Olympic Games 1984 Los Angeles Team Champions Trophy 1985 Perth Team 1984 Karachi Team Representing   Ireland EuroHockey Junior Championship 1978 Dublin Team

William David Robert McConnell (born 19 April 1956) is a former field hockey player from Northern Ireland who represented both Ireland and Great Britain at international level. He represented Great Britain at the 1984 Summer Olympics when they won the bronze medal. He also represented Ireland at the 1990 Men's Hockey World Cup.

Domestic teams

McConnell played club field hockey for Newry Olympic, ^[1] Belfast YMCA ^[2] and Holywood 87. ^[3]

International

Ireland

McConnell was a member of the Ireland team that were silver medallists at the 1978 EuroHockey Junior Championship. Other members of the team included Martin Sloan, Jimmy Kirkwood and Stephen Martin. ^[4] He made his senior Ireland debut in 1979 against the Netherlands. ^[5] He subsequently represented Ireland at the 1990 Men's Hockey World Cup. ^[6] In 2010 he was inducted into the Irish Hockey Association Hall of Fame. ^{[5] [7] [8]}

Great Britain

McConnell represented Great Britain at the 1984 Summer Olympics. ^[2] McConnell also represented Great Britain in Champions Trophy tournaments, winning a bronze medal in 1984 and a silver in 1985. ^{[9] [10]}

Tournaments	Place	Team
1978 EuroHockey Junior Championship [4]		Ireland
1984 Summer Olympics [2]		Great Britain
1984 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy [9]		Great Britain
1985 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy [10]		Great Britain
1986 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy [11]	4th	Great Britain
1987 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy [12]	4th	Great Britain
1989 Intercontinental Cup [13]		Ireland
1990 Men's Hockey World Cup [6]	12th	Ireland

Later years

Between 2007 and 2010 McConnell coached Pegasus. At the time, the Pegasus squad included his daughter, Kate McConnell. ^{[14] [15] [16]} Kate was an Ireland women's field hockey international and in 2010–11 was a member of the Pegasus team that won a Women's Irish Hockey League/Irish Senior Cup. She also captained Pegasus. ^{[16] [17] [18]} Billy McConnell has also coached at Queen's University. ^[19]

References

1. "Testing times in history of Newry". newsletter.co.uk. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
2. "Billy McConnell". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
3. "RUC to make historic journey for Junior Cup tie". The Irish Times. 12 January 1996. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
4. "Oral History Interview: Stephen (Sam) Martin". hockeymuseum.net. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
5. "Hall of Fame Inductees". irishhockey.newsweaver.ie. 30 May 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
6. "Flying with drunken angels, riot police, dodgy curry, potent 7-Up and spotless trainers as Irish play a lament in Lahore". hookhockey.com. 3 August 2016. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
7. "Leinster stars feature heavily on Awards night". hookhockey.com. 30 May 2010. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
8. "Battle for Senior Cup hots up". The Irish Times. 23 April 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
9. "Netherlands v Great Britain". tms.fih.ch. 14 December 1984. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
10. "Great Britain v India". tms.fih.ch. 24 November 1985. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
11. "India v Great Britain". tms.fih.ch. 10 April 1986. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
12. "Champions Trophy". sikhsinhockey.com. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
13. "Men's Hockey road to Rio outlined". olympics.ie. 20 December 2013. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
14. "The symmetry of success". newsletter.co.uk. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
15. "Women's Hockey: Pegasus put title bubbly on ice". Belfast Telegraph. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
16. "Kate takes over as the new Pegasus captain". Belfast Telegraph. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
17. "McConnell returns, Clarke in line for 100". hookhockey.com. 3 August 2010. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
18. "Beaney bashes Pegasus to All-Ireland double". hookhockey.com. 1 May 2011. Archived from the original on 28 May 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
19. "Summer Transfers 2018 Premier League Men". ulsterhockey.com. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2019.

External links

• William McConnell at Olympics.com
• William McConnell at Olympedia