Bonjour Paris! Kilkenny hockey star Jeremy Duncan helps Ireland realise Olympic dream

Kilkenny’s Olympic story may have another chapter after Jeremy Duncan and the Irish senior men’s hockey team booked their place at Paris 2024.

There were plenty of cheers for Jeremy Duncan as Ireland secured a spot at the Summer Games with a last-chance win in Spain. 

The Ballyfoyle Road native and former Kilkenny College student, who won his 100th Test cap in Ireland’s opening match of the Olympic qualifiers in Valencia, was part of the squad who beat Korea in a nail-biting third-placed play-off.

Goals from Matthew Nelson, Ben Johnson, John McKee and Shane O’Donoghue did the damage for Ireland, who had to work hard to see off a determined Korean side.

With the game on a knife-edge both sides made a cagey start, but Ireland gave their large band of supporters something to cheer when Nelson flicked a penalty corner home with little over a minute of the first quarter left.

It got better for Ireland when they doubled their lead three minutes into the second quarter, Ben Johnson firing home on the rebound after John McKee’s shot was saved.

Ireland couldn’t rest on their laurels, however, as Kim Junghoo pulled a goal back from a penalty corner. Rather than panic, Ireland stormed back and restored their two-goal lead when a Sean Murray pass was turned in by McKee.

Back came Korea. They struck again in the dying seconds of the quarter, Junwoo Jeong making it 3-2. Such was Ireland’s composure, they restored their two-goal cushion 10 minutes into the third quarter as Shane O’Donoghue crashed home a penalty corner.

Korea refused to quit. They made it 4-3 in the final quarter when Jang Jonghyun scored from a penalty corner. They thought they had found an equaliser when, in the dying minutes the ball beat David Harte but the goal was disallowed because it was forced home off Nam Young Lee’s body. There was more danger from the penalty corner, but Jonathan Lynch made a brilliant goal line clearance, helping Ireland to hold on for the win that stamped their ticket to the Olympics.