BANDON Grammar School’s reputation as a nursery for hockey stars has received another five-star endorsement – one current student and two former pupils have been named on Ireland U21 hockey teams for upcoming World Cups.

Second cousins Sam Dale and current fifth-year student Jamie Horgan have travelled to India with the national U21 men’s team for the FIH Junior World Cup that takes place from this Friday (28th) to December 10th.

Also, former Bandon Grammar student Maia McCourt was selected on the Ireland U21 women’s team that will play in the FIH Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile, running from December 1st to 12th.

So, the school that helped develop the all-conquering Harte twins, David and Conor, who competed at Olympic level, and in recent years saw Mark Collins and Ian Perrott line out for Ireland, has three more reasons to smile this week.

Sam Dale’s place in Bandon Grammar folklore is already assured, as he was the hero when they won the All-Ireland senior schoolboys’ hockey title in 2022, ending a 17-year wait for the national crown. Now, along with his cousin Jamie Horgan, they will compete on the World Cup stage.

‘I’m buzzing to be honest,’ Jamie told The Southern Star.

‘It will be unreal. Everyone wants to play in a competition like this, so to get this opportunity is really special.’

Having his second cousin Sam alongside him is remarkable, too.

‘For us to be the only ones from Munster going to the World Cup, and to be cousins, it’s pretty unique. We’d be pretty close, so it’s exciting to share this with Sam,’ Jamie smiled.

‘We also played hockey together in school when I was in Bandon,’ added Sam (20), from Riverstick near Kinsale, and who is now studying Business Information Systems at MTU Cork.

Sam Dale was presented with his Ireland jersey by senior international and Olympian Lee Cole.

Jamie (17), from Passage West, was on the way to school one morning when he got an email to tell him he was selected on the Irish men’s U21 team heading to India. The first person he rang was his mom. Good news travels fast, and these past few weeks ahead of flying out to India last Thursday have been a whirlwind, but Jamie knows they have a job to do.

‘Our first game is against Canada, and we’ll give it our best shot,’ he said.

Ireland are in Pool A, and play Canada (Friday, November 28th), South Africa (Saturday, November 29th) and Germany (Monday, December 1st). The pool winners and two best-performing runners-up progress to the semi-finals.

Both Sam and Jamie have played for Ireland at underage levels, including U18, while Sam was with the U21s last year too, so they won’t be fazed by their World Cup challenge.

‘We have been travelling to Dublin and Ulster two times a week for the last year in preparation for the World Cup. It’s a big commitment but it’s paying off now,’ added Sam.