Featured Picture Credit: Vincent JIANG / Shutterstock (2018) Montreal, Canada – March 18 2018：Junior hokey team parading in the Saint Patrick`s Day in Montreal downtown [Accessed 4 May 2021]

Ice Hockey has been played in Ireland since the Two World Wars. There is currently the Elite Ice Hockey League (Pro – Aligned with the National Hockey League – Canada/USA) and the Cross-Border Cup (Irish League – Aligned with the International Ice Hockey Federation). the two versions have slightly different rules and rink sizes.

Below you will find links to the index pages & sub-pages of various Competitions:

Irish Ice Hockey

The is the Eirball Index Page to the All-Time Results & Standings of Irish Ice Hockey Leagues. Ice Hockey has been played in Ireland since 1940 when the first Leagues were played in Belfast during WW2, mostly by Canadian Soldiers stationed there during the War but also by Irish Ice Hockey players. Leagues have come and gone since with the most recent being the Cross-Border Cup from 2016-17 to the present.

Underage Ice Hockey

Irish Ice Hockey Teams

From the first teams in the Balmoral Ice Rink in the 1940s and 1950s to the present day.

Irish Ice Hockey Players & Personnel

The most senior Ice Hockey Official ever to come from Ireland was Terry Kelly, born in Toronto to Irish immigrant parents, but brought up in Belfast from the age of three. Kelly had a storied career in Administration, which included spells as a Director in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Celtic Ice Hockey Leagues

As well as the Elite Ice Hockey League (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland – Pro Level 4 (A) in the National Hockey League (North America) system), there are also Celtic or Scottish Leagues which Irish teams have participated in since the 1980s, forming a bridge between the Pro Levels (EIHL) and the purely recreational or amateur Irish Leagues.

In the 1980s and 1990s teams from Castlereagh, based at Dundonald Ice Bowl entered Scottish or Northern English / Scottish Leagues, and then from 2008 to 2010 teams from both Dundonald and Dundalk Ice Bowls entered the Celtic League, which was more evenly distributed between Irish and Scottish sides.

International Ice Hockey Federation

Ireland joined the IIHF in the 1990s, competing in the World Championships from 2004 to 2013; and the Development Cup from 2017 to Present

Elite Ice Hockey League

The Elite Ice Hockey League is a United Kingdom-wide league featuring teams in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Part of that system includes the British, Scottish, English and English Regional Leagues and Cups. Irish Ice Hockey teams have also travelled to Britain to play friendly games versus British teams.

World Ice Hockey

World Ice Hockey includes leagues, such as the National Hockey League (NHL North America), Canadian Hockey League (WHL Western, OHL Ontario, QMJHL Quebec) and American Hockey League (AHL United States of America primarily) and Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL United Kingdom) which play under the NHL’s rules and the Rest of the World’s leagues which play under the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) rules.

Within Ireland and Britain, the Charlestown rink in Dublin and the SSE Arena, home of the Belfast Giants of the EIHL, are both NHL-sized rinks with the EIHL playing by NHL rules. The Dundonald and Dundalk rinks in Ireland and the Irish, British, Scottish and English Leagues all play under the IIHF’s rules on IIHF also known as Olympic-sized rinks. The Charlestown and Dundalk rinks in the Republic of Ireland are both unfortunately closed at present.

European Ice Hockey

The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), a replacement for the old Soviet Supreme League, is the biggest league outside of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the winners of both have played on three occasions for the Victoria Cup, an unofficial World Club Championship.

Also in European Ice Hockey is the Champions Hockey League (CHL) system, comprising Western European countries, with the best teams from the National Leagues competing in the CHL annually.

North American Ice Hockey

The National Hockey League (NHL), based in Canada and USA, comprises a 32-team Major Professional Ice Hockey League that vies for the Kontinental Hockey League (Russia, China, Central Asia and Eastern Europe) to be the best in the World.

Below the NHL is the American Hockey League, (AAA in North American naming system) and the ECHL (AA in the North American system) which replaced the International Hockey League which once was a AAA league alongside the AHL.

The Canadian Hockey League is the other Major Junior Hockey League in North America, and is actually three leagues in one: Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) which are Major Junior Hockey Leagues. The

Inline Hockey

The first Inline Hockey Leagues in Ireland appeared in the late 1990s, with Leagues in the Dublin, Cork and Belfast areas. The Dublin and Cork Leagues were merged into one Republic of Ireland League by 2005, and the Northern Ireland Leagues branched out to Bangor, Portadown and elsewhere.

In 2015-16 the first Inline Hockey Ireland All-Ireland League was started – the Hibernia League – featuring two Leagues – Elite and League 1. There is now also a League 2 and a Ladies League. There are two dedicated Inline Rinks in Ireland – the Longford Rink, and the Rink, Portadown, where all matches take place.

Below you will find the results and tables, as well as season reports for various Leagues and competitions in Ireland.

Unihoc

Unihoc is a version of Ice Hockey played in Community Centres with trainers or runners rather than skates.

Bandy

Bandy is one of Russia’s National Sports, where it is known as Hockey with a Ball as opposed to Hockey with a Puck (Ice Hockey).

It is played on Ice with a ball rather than a puck.

Versions of the sport include Innebandy (also known as Floorball in Europe or Ball Hockey in North America) where runners are used on a hard floor rather than blades or roller skates. (see https://eirball.ie/roller-hockey/ for more details on Floor Hockey and Ball Hockey – Floorball results also available at: https://eirball.ie/floorball/ and Ball Hockey Results also available at: https://eirball.ie/ball-hockey/ )

Roller Hockey

Roller Hockey is the National sport of Portugal. Played on skates with four wheels – one at each corner (quads) rather than Inline – and with a ball rather than puck. It has an over 100-year history in Ireland, and is sometimes also known as Rink Hockey.

Floorball

Floorball is a version of Ice Hockey played on a hard floor with a ball rather than a puck, and without skates. It has been included in the Special Olympics World winter Games since the early 21st Century. Below you will find the results & tables of various competitions: