Shirley McCay - inspiring a new generation

The EuroHockey Institute Podcast

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we have a special EuroHockey Institute Podcast this month with Shirley McCay, Ireland’s most capped sportsperson who is now making a major impact on the next generation.

Her story is symbolic of the “Green Army” and their rise from nowhere to the top table in the world, reaching the 2018 World Cup final.

She speaks to Jack Rolfe about growing up far from the hockey hubs of Ireland but how her background helped shape her, how her ‘stubbornness and steeliness’ drove her to never wonder ‘what if’.

Beyond her playing days, she has had a direct influence in guiding and inspiring the next generation. She has been involved for almost a decade as a talent coach with Ulster Hockey, the northern province in Ireland, overseeing programmes from primary school level up to Under-21 level.

Her approach is very much a player-centred one, making sure to listen to athletes and observe the new evolutions in the sport rather than hark back to the elements which influenced her early career.

Enjoy episode five of this fourth series of the EuroHockey Institute Podcast.