4 Nations Ultimate: Team Ireland

Thanks to the 4 Nations Ultimate committee, we’ve been granted early access to the team rosters, allowing us to type up some initial thoughts about each of the teams taking part in this groundbreaking new tournament. Have a read to learn more about the teams! 

Here’s 4NU’s Team Ireland!

Admittedly, our knowledge of Irish ultimate here at The Release Point is limited, to say the least. But after all, education and information is what we’re all about! So to help us out, we got some useful details from captains McCreary and Gilheany, and watched a lot of Irish ultimate in the name of research. 

To create the roster for the 4NU tournament, unlike Team Scotland, Team Ireland went down the route of hand-selecting players from the sign-up sheet. With several of these players based outside of Ireland, that’s certainly an easier process. And as pointed out by Gilheany, similarly to Scotland, the Irish ultimate community is small enough that a lot of the players will have played either with or against each other at college/school level and/or beyond. The team should be able to find their groove soon enough thanks to the familiarity afforded to players by such small communities. 

First impressions

After finding our bearings, what became very clear very quickly to us is that there’s no lack of talent to go around on this team. There’s an abundance of impressive players with seriously strong disc skills on both the female and male matching sides, so it’s unsurprising that the majority of these athletes have worn Ireland’s kit before at some point, ranging from junior to senior level. Notably, at least 50% of these players featured on one of the Ireland European Ultimate Championship 2023 teams, including Ireland Mixed, which defeated Great Britain in the bronze medal match that year. 

If you’re aware of the infamous 2022 European Club Championship final game, featuring Ranelagh v Clapham, you may also be aware that the majority of male-matching players on 4NU’s Team Ireland were a part of that Ranelagh side, including Jones who captained Ranelagh at the time. On show in this game you can see the sturdy handling of Corcoran, passionate defense from Mac Namara and pure grit from Rogers. Interestingly, Rogers is a reserve player rather than part of the main squad (by choice), so we’ll see how much they miss the anchoring presence of last year’s ‘Tokay Superteam’ member. On the male-matching side, without national experience are Reid and Moroney, but their performance on the club ultimate stage with Ranelagh and PELT, respectively, will serve them well; they won’t look out of place on the 4NU pitch. Additionally, Keogh has the tendency of pulling out some pretty unstoppable plays which could help to close the gap in tight games. 

So we’ve determined that the male-matching Ireland side is pretty stacked. However, if you’ve played mixed ultimate at a high level, you’ll (probably) at some point have recognised that the key to winning often falls down to the strength of a team’s female-matching players, or at least how well they’re utilised – this puts Ireland at a serious advantage. The female side features several younger, fiery athletes, brimming with potential, a fair few of whom stem from the Irish mixed club team, PELT – a team which, funnily enough, finds strength in its female-matching players. Wilson will help to take control of the offence, and balanced with some small ball, won’t be afraid to huck a disc or two. Both McKeon and Cunningham, despite still being under-24s eligible, aren’t new to the big stage, having been to the European Ultimate Club Championships once or twice already and have each represented Ireland multiple times before. Also present on the squad is Sexton, a calm handler with great disc-reading ability – she is currently a part of Belgium side Mooncup, so she might bring along a few new tricks with her. Ni Mhuimhneacháin boasts a 10+ year long career; currently competing with Rebel Ultimate, a women’s team based in Cork, she’ll bring her efficient and intelligent cutting skills. 

It’s not lost on us that the addition of another tournament to the calendar adds further congestion to the already jam-packed season. Prospective players have been feeling this strain, with Rogers preferring a reserve position and Ranelagh legend Sam Murphy opting out entirely to preserve his body for other tournaments. Stars on the female-matching side, including Sinead Dunne and Fiona Mernagh, were unable to commit to the tournament, with Dunne currently a part of Italian team BFD Shout, and Mernagh playing with Amsterdam-based Grut. As well as the absence of these Irish icons, a further resulting factor of the compact schedule is potential fatigue, with these athletes already committed to plenty of ultimate this year, as highlighted by captain McCreary. Although, positively for Ireland, this is probably the case for all other teams too, so the effects may not be so bad.

Players to Watch

Clare Gilheany

Captain Gilheany is an unquestionable asset for 4NU’s Team Ireland, on both the captaincy and playing side of things. She brings with her 11 years of experience in both the women’s and mixed division, playing at senior national level in the latter, and is also coaching Ireland under-24s. Currently a part of Dublin Gravity, Gilheany was a well-oiled machine when competing as part of Ireland’s European Championships Mixed side in 2023, working hard on defence to stop some of the best European players and demonstrating the necessary skill of remaining composed on the disc. Her elite speed and expansive throwing range will pose an incredible challenge for the opposition at the 4NU tournament; Team Ireland are lucky to have her.

Caoimhe Cunningham

Cunningham is certainly one to watch at not just this year’s 4NU tournament, but in European club ultimate as a whole. She’s currently part of the under-24 squad for Ireland Mixed, but the World Championships this summer won’t be her first rodeo. A part of Flame’s roster, Cunningham was also on the Ireland Women’s team at the European Championships in 2023, proving her capabilities as a first-class player. She’s got all the skills you could possibly want to have as a cutter – zippy speed, rapid reactions and solid spacing awareness, making her a genuine threat on the pitch.

Jack Mac Namara

You know how most ultimate teams have that one player who is annoyingly brilliant, seemingly everywhere, all at once? For this team, that’s Mac Namara. He’ll likely have a huge influence on all games he plays as part of 4NU, thanks to his extreme athleticism allowing him to grab the highest discs and execute significant layouts, whilst always being on the lookout for some poachy blocks. We expect him to be tasked with taking on the biggest match-ups, and he won’t struggle to do so – good luck to those in question! Mac Namara is currently part of the XVI squad, an open team based in Dublin, but he’s previously played for Ranelagh too, taking home the gold European Club Championship medal in 2022.

Shane Corcoran

Currently playing with Ranelagh, Corcoran boasts beastly handling skills and will certainly be helping steer Team Ireland’s ship at the 4NU tournament. Whilst he’s generally known for being a reliable reset option (an understated role in itself), he’s also so much more than that, regularly putting his impressive defensive athleticism on display and showing off his throwing prowess – there’s no doubt, this man is a force to be reckoned with on the pitch, and when he’s got the disc in his hands, there’s no telling what magic he’ll conjure up. Get ready for some marvellous pinpoint hucks at Hillhead Sports Club from Corcoran.

Could this be the team to take home the gold? We wouldn’t be too surprised… Next week, we’ll cover the third 4 Nations Ultimate team – see you then! In the meantime, check out our Team Scotland rundown if you missed it.

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Four Nations Ultimate marks the first-ever showdown between the national mixed teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. 

Following the passing of Matt Tomlinson, a pillar of the Scottish Ultimate community, a fundraising page was put together by his family to support ultimate in Scotland. With portions earmarked for youth development, discussions also took place to do something with an impact and lasting potential.

COVID served as a roadblock to getting anything off the ground, but the organising committee (Cameron Mackie, Shaun Webb and Becca Hardman Carter) were determined for an event to take place in 2025. Whilst a few ideas were floating about, they kept coming back to a rugby style four nations tournament, and so 4NU was born. They, together with members of the Scottish ultimate community, have now turned the tournament into a reality. 

Four Nations Ultimate, or 4NU, will be held this year in Glasgow at Hillhead Sports Club, home to Hillhead Ultimate, on 9th August 2025. The tournament will be played using World Games rules with a mixed gender 6v6 format, and in true Scottish fashion, who knows what the weather will be like?