Ireland goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran will return to international action for the first time in 15 months when the FIH Pro League resumes later this month.
Knee and ankle ligament surgeries have kept the Larne player sidelined since March 2025 during which time she has missed the EuroHockey championships, start of the Pro League and World Cup qualifiers.
Since returning to action in March of this year, she has been in exceptional form with English club Surbiton where she helped them to an English Premier League title.
However, in her absence, the combination of Elizabeth Murphy and Holly Micklem have stepped up to ensure Ireland qualified for this summer’s World Cup and earn their first wins in the Pro League, so McFerran faces stiff competition for the number one jersey.
Ireland head coach Gareth Grundie has named a 25-player squad to travel to Rotterdam and Berlin to close out their first ever Pro League season.
The side have enjoyed a positive debut campaign so far picking up wins against Australia and England and proving they can consistently challenge the world’s best sides with all but one of their five defeats so far by the margin of more than one goal.
With eight games remaining, they have given themselves an opportunity for topflight survival.
Three debutants included
Grundie names three debutants in the squad as he continues to increase the numbers in the senior panel.
Ulster duo Eva Gaston and Gabriella Scott will be given their chance to impress after superb All Ireland League campaigns with Queens University and Ulster Elks respectively.
They join McFerran, Katie Larmour, Charlotte Beggs, Katie Mullan and Jess McMaster as the seven-strong Ulster contingent.
The other new face is Australian-born Aisling Utri, who made the switch to Dublin this year, trading Melbourne for the country where her mother grew up.
The former Australia U21 hockey international and professional AFL player will represent Ireland having switched her international allegiances.
Since arriving in January, Utri has scored 11 league goals for Railway Union and a further three in the Irish Senior Cup.
Other notable milestones expected to be reached include a 150th cap for Roisin Upton and a 50th appearance for Caoimhe Perdue while Elena Neill (nee Tice) returns for the first time since the arrival of her baby at the start of the year.
Ireland battling to avoid relegation
Ireland travel to one the world’s hockey hotbeds, Rotterdam, for back-to-back encounters with Olympic, World and European champions the Netherlands but will look to target the two games with Spain, a country they’ve had success against in the past.
They then travel to Berlin where they close out the campaign against Germany and China.
Ireland’s meetings with China will be their first with the reigning Asia Cup champions and World ranked four, since 2022.
Surprisingly, at the halfway point of the competition, Ireland are above Germany in the standings so their games against each other could have a huge bearing on which country gets relegated.
The sides last faced each other at last year’s EuroHockey Championship in Monchengladbach which ended in a 0-0 draw. Ireland’s last win over Germany came in 2018.
Squad
Ireland Women’s Squad: Charlotte Beggs, Michelle Carey, Niamh Carey, Ellen Curran, Eva Gaston, Sarah Hawkshaw, Mia Jennings, Emily Kealy, Katie Larmour, Sarah McAuley, Ayeisha McFerran, Hannah McLoughlin, Jessica McMaster, Holly Micklem, Lisa Mulcahy, Katie Mullan, Elizabeth Murphy, Elena Neill, Caoimhe Perdue, Mikayla Power, Gabi Scott, Caitlin Sherin, Sarah Torrans, Roisin Upton, Aisling Utri
Fixtures
FIH Hockey Pro League Netherlands Stage
June 13 – 12:30 Ireland vs Netherlands
June 14 – 12:30 Ireland vs Netherlands
June 17 – 16:00 Ireland vs Spain
June 18 – 16:00 Ireland vs Spain
FIH Hockey Pro League Germany Stage
June 23 – 19:30 Ireland vs Germany
June 24 – 16:30 Ireland vs China
June 26 – 19:30 Ireland vs Germany
June 27 – 15:30 Ireland vs China