Ciara O'Brien
Womens Hockey International, Ciara OBrien who has more than 100 caps for Ireland outlines her development at Railway Union Hockey Club and the commitment required to be an international hockey player while studying and working. This is her story in her own words ….
I sometimes feel that I didn’t really have a choice but to play sport in my family. This was due to a number of reasons. Firstly, I grew up in Sandymount, Dublin within a five minute walk of our local sports club, Railway Union. Secondly, my Dad, Brendan, was a sportsman who played practically all of the sports on offer in Railway although he was mainly a cricketer and hockey player. Thirdly, I grew up with five brothers and I was often the sixth player required to “make up the numbers” in various games played in our front and back gardens. However, when I look back at the enjoyment and opportunities that I have received through playing sport, I don’t think I would have had it any other way!
I started off in the hockey and cricket youth sections of the club. My early memories of playing hockey in Railway Union were standing on the left wing, freezing cold every Sunday morning for an hour on the grass pitch. I played on the Ladies 1st team in Railway Union from 1994 – 1999. In 1999, I temporarily switched allegiance to represent UCD on a hockey scholarship. I progressed through to the Leinster squads, captaining these at under 16, 18 and 21 levels. I also represented Ireland at these age groups, captaining the under 21 squad in my final year.
Cricket brings back happier memories as it was played throughout the summer holidays so the weather was slightly better! Women’s cricket is played by only a small number in Ireland and I was lucky enough to play for South Leinster and Irish underage and Developments squads. My Mum, Camilla, was heavily involved in starting up the girl’s cricket section in Railway and organising our training and match schedules. Unfortunately now, there is no ladies cricket team in Railway Union but I hope that this will change over the coming years.
As mentioned above, my family are also very involved in sport and in Railway Union. My brothers have all represented the club on the hockey and cricket 1st teams over the years, following in my Dad’s footsteps. My two younger brothers, Niall (25) and Kevin (22) are both members of the Irish Cricket Team which will participate in the Cricket World Cup in Jamaica in March of this year. Niall is fortunate enough to be employed full time as a cricketer – firstly with Kent County Cricket Club and this year he will move to play with Northants. Kevin has also played cricket in England as a member of the MCC Young Cricketers for two successive seasons and has now returned to play in Ireland.
My biggest dilemma was in 1997 when I was forced to choose between my sports. I had the opportunity to go to India to play in the Cricket World Cup or to play for Leinster in the under 21 Interprovincial Championships. On paper, this may appear an easy decision. However, 1997 was an important year for me in terms of my hockey career as I was trying to break into the Irish under 21 training panel. In the end, I chose hockey as it was my preferred game of the two and I am pleased and relieved to say that I have never regretted my decision.
I have always been very thankful for the support that Railway Union and UCD gave me in my development as a hockey player. Whilst playing for UCD, I received a call up to the Irish Senior training panel and with the help of many people, most notably Una McCarthy (Railway Union), Lisa Regan (the then UCD High Performance Director) and Brian Mullins (UCD Director of Sport), I gained my first Senior international cap against England in June 2001.
Since then, I have represented my country on 109 occasions and I have been lucky enough to play in various tournaments across Europe and also further afield in America, Argentina, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Korea. To date, playing in the World Cup in Australia in 2002 remains one of my most memorable tournaments. The opportunity to travel the world competing at the highest level is motivation in itself but we have now firmly set our sights on the Beijing Olympics and have started our preparation to get there. In August this year, we will compete in the European Championships in Manchester and this will represent the first chance to automatically qualify for the Olympics. However, there are also Olympic Qualification Tournaments in early 2008 which offer another bite of the cherry to make it into the list of twelve teams competing in Beijing. It is definitely my dream, and the dream of all of the squad and management, to get there so we have a big twelve months ahead.
Our current training programme with the Irish squad involves two weights sessions a week and three aerobic sessions. We also have regional hockey sessions and our club commitments to fulfil. At times, it is difficult to fathom how we can juggle all of these training requirements with our work/study and our personal lives. I can honestly say that my career was put on hold after I graduated from University and I was lucky enough to be employed by Canada Life who allowed me to work part time in order to train and to allow time for my body to rest and recover before the next training session!
I have now relocated to London as I have returned to study (again!) and am employed by CB Richard Ellis, whilst training to become a qualified Chartered Surveyor. Again, I have been lucky to find an understanding employer who supports my international schedule and allows me to take additional leave throughout the year to fulfil the demands placed on us by international competition. I am also now playing with Chelmsford Hockey Club competing in the English National League. The standard of this league competition is helping me to improve my hockey and putting me under pressure to perform every week.
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For further details on hockey in Ireland visit www.hockey.ie