Friday, August 7 – Dublin: Hockey Ireland is delighted to announce the appointment of Andrew Partridge as its new High Performance Director, following an extensive international recruitment process.
Andrew joins Hockey Ireland with more than 13 years’ experience leading high-performance programmes across Olympic, Paralympic and international team sport environments. He will take up the role immediately and succeeds Lisa Jacob, who departed Hockey Ireland in June to pursue a new opportunity outside the organisation.
Andrew brings a wealth of strategic and operational expertise, most recently serving as Head of Performance at Ice Hockey UK, where he led Great Britain’s men’s, women’s and junior international programmes. During his career he has successfully designed and implemented national performance strategies, managed multidisciplinary performance teams, developed athlete pathways and coached elite performers across a range of Olympic and Paralympic sports. He has also held senior leadership roles with Boccia England, Archery GB and Archery Northern Ireland, while maintaining a strong connection to hockey through coaching positions with Beeston Hockey Club and several leading UK universities. His experience includes managing performance systems and working closely with national governing bodies, institutes of sport and international stakeholders to build sustainable high-performance systems.
The appointment comes at an exciting time for Hockey Ireland, with both the Irish Men’s and Women’s Senior Teams having secured qualification for the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup, while the organisation continues to strengthen its athlete pathway and build towards future international success.
Richard Fahey, CEO of Hockey Ireland, said:
“We are delighted to welcome Andrew to Hockey Ireland following a comprehensive recruitment process that attracted an exceptionally strong field of candidates.
Andrew impressed throughout the process with his strategic vision, his proven ability to build high-performing environments and his passion for athlete and coach development. He has a track record of leading successful high-performance systems and developing sustainable pathways that deliver long-term success.
As we prepare for the FIH Hockey World Cup and continue our journey towards future Olympic qualification, Andrew’s leadership, experience and collaborative approach will be invaluable in helping us realise our ambitions for Irish hockey.”
Speaking following his appointment, Andrew Partridge said:
“I am honoured to join Hockey Ireland at such an exciting time for the sport. Irish hockey has established strong foundations and is demonstrating its ability to compete successfully on the international stage.
I look forward to working closely with our athletes, coaches, staff, volunteers and stakeholders to build an integrated high-performance system that supports sustainable success. My focus will be on creating an environment where people can thrive, developing world-class coaching and athlete support, and ensuring our performance programmes continue to evolve as we pursue success at World Cups, European Championships and Olympic Games.
I am excited to begin working with everyone across Hockey Ireland to help realise the organisation’s ambitions.”
Andrew will be responsible for leading Hockey Ireland’s High Performance Programme across the men’s and women’s national teams and athlete pathway, overseeing performance planning, coaching, athlete development and multidisciplinary support services as Hockey Ireland continues to pursue success on the world stage.
Hockey Ireland
