Pink Ladies Hockey Club is an LGBTQ+ social sports group based in Dublin. The club is home to a diverse collective of women, who share a common passion for getting out n’ active whilst having a huge amount of craic in doing so! Founded in 2011 and going strong for over a decade since, the membership of Pink Ladies Hockey Club has grown year-on-year, continually providing a safe space for people to find both themselves and their tribe through sport.
Who We Are
Part of the global PinkHockey community, and the nationwide Sporting Pride network of LGBTQ+ sports clubs - Pink Ladies Hockey Club has represented Ireland at major queer sporting events such as the Gay Games, the World OutGames and the LGBTQ EuroGames - providing the opportunity for club members to go on tour to Rome, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Stockholm, London, Antwerp and Rotterdam down through the years. Read on to learn about our adventures…
Club Highlights 2023
The 2023 season began with welcoming new members to our annual launch night, held at Penny Lane. Weekly training sessions then kicked off at our new home pitch at Pembroke Wanders hockey club. Coach Cata returned this year and was assisted by Pink Ladies members Lynn Hanly, Lucy Whitaker and club president, Aoife Holden.
This season saw a record amount of new members joining the club, making for an absolutely fantastic year of Pink Ladies magic both on and off the pitch. Sidelines were routinely filed with dogs, chats and treats. This year also saw record numbers of extra-curricular activities with groups like the Green Ladies (for hiking), and the Blue Ladies (for sea-swimming).
This year the Pink Ladies continued their tradition of coming together as a community and celebrating Pride all together. The day kicked off with a huge (hash-brown-filled) brunch with our friends in Arthur Cox, before marching through the streets of Dublin. The day was topped off by some questionable dancing at Mother’s Pride Festival in Collins Barricks.
During the season the Pink Ladies met with the Irish Independent to chat about their experiences in sports and the importance of LGBTQ+ sports clubs for the queer community. ‘Pride on the Pitch’ was featured in the Pride edition of the weekend magazine.
The Pink Ladies took part in the 2023 LGBTQ+ EuroGames in Bern, Switzerland. Prior to our departure, We had the privilege of having Irish Olympian athlete Nicci Daly coach our two EuroGames teams to get us tournament-ready 🫶 The trip was filled with river swims, Shove-Dogs and a drop or two of Fireball. As always, this trip provides the perfect opportunity to reconnect with our Pink Hockey community, the London Royals and the Baby Gays. Many of our new members got the chance to make their EuroGames tournament debuts. The trip concluded with an epic Pink Hockey Fancy Dres BBQ which saw a dodgy performance to Disco Inferno, featuring a surprise celebrity drop-in from Mr. Worldwide.
Club Highlights 2022
2022, were we happy to see YOU! The post-pandemic Pink Ladies season got off to a smashing start with our launch night in The Back Page, introducing many new Pink Ladies into the community. Our weekly training sessions returned soon after, mixing it up with a new night and a new location… those Tuesday sessions in Pembroke Wanderers with Coaches Cata & Lauren were memorable for many reasons - but the EPIC turnouts made it a summer to remember, with many new faces in the mix and ol’ pals returning to the ranks. The social side was strong off the pitch, with sea-swims and trips to Street 66 a’plenty. The Pink Ladies also celebrated Pride in style - fuelling up for the big day with a gorgeous brunch with our friends in Arthur Cox, before marching through the streets of Dublin proudly showing off our new club banner thanks to our sponsors Beacon Fertility Clinic.
The 2022 LGBTQ+ EuroGames in the Netherlands provided the perfect setting for our first major event since 2019 - to say we had the time of our lives is understatement! Three years worth of pent-up tour craic unfolded in the space of 5 days in Nijmegen, as we officially welcomed 16 (sixteen!) new Pink Ladies into the PinkHockey community - to see so many new members make their competitive tournament debuts together was truly special. We also had a first podium finish for the club since 2016, as The Ladies secured silver after a thriller of a grande finale, right down to the wire in a shootout against our Dutch pals. To top it all off, the Pink Ladies also claimed the ultimate prize of ‘Best Club Costume’ at the PinkHockey Fancy Dres BBQ! The 2022 season was one we’ll never forget - wrapped up perfectly with an EPIC October bank-holiday weekend celebrating the Pink Ladies HC 10th anniversary - more on that HERE.
Club Highlights 2021
Along came 2021, and Pink Ladies Hockey Club could not WAIT to get going again… as the impact of Covid-19 delayed the start of the season, the Club Committee got everyone together on Zoom for a Season Launch Night with a twist - and lots of new faces in the mix! Getting back to training in June was special for all involved. With our plans to compete in the 2021 LGBTQ+ EuroGames in Copenhagen unfortunately having to be stood down due to travel restrictions, the Pink Ladies got stuck into another summer of fun on home turf. People make places, and that was certainly true of the modified Pink Ladies Hockey Club 2021 season in the great outdoors - weekly craic on
the training pitch in Railway Union, improvising for post-training refreshments with blankets on Sandymount Green, sunset swims in Seapoint, an epic Pride Picnic in Herbert Park, and a Club BBQ & Sports Day that reached new heights in terms of flip-cup and sing-song mass-participation. The 2021 season ended on a high with a long-overdue club trip away to Kilkenny for the October bank holiday weekend. As part of the end-of-season awards cereomny, a special new club accolade was introduced - The Kate O’Donnell ‘Spirit of Pink Ladies’ Award, in loving memory of our wonderful club-mate Kate.
Club Highlights 2020
2020, will we ever forget it? As life as we knew it ground to a standstill in Ireland due to Covid-19, so too did our plans for the Pink Ladies Hockey Club season as we’d traditionally known it. With the resumption of training on hold indefinitely, and plans to to compete in the LGBTQ+ EuroGames in Düsseldorf officially shelved - the Club Committee got to work in keeping the gang together during an impossibly tough time. Online training sessions to keep us ticking over, classic queer movie watchalongs, Zoom quizzes with PinkHockey pals in The Netherlands,
and WhatsApp trips down memory lane kept the club bond strong… when we finally made it back onto the training pitch for a socially distanced shortened season, no amount of Covid protocols could kill our vibe! It was different, but it was magic - and the summer ended on a high with a brilliant blitz. Certainly not the season that Pink Ladies had planned - but, in the end, one that reminded us all of the importance of our club and community, and just how special it really is.
Club Highlights 2019
2019 was a jam-packed year for Pink Ladies. The season kicked off in April with our Annual Launch Night in Against the Grain, which welcomed new faces to the club.
In May, Thursday Training Sessions returned in Railway Union the coaching duo of The Two Niamhs - with post-training socials in the club house and dips at Seapoint in plentiful supply.
The much anticipated Pink Ladies Annual Table Quiz was once again hosted by Street 66 - the highlight of the evening was definitely the ‘Surprise Quiz Round’ consisting of Best Drag Make-Up - rumour has it that there’s still rogue glitter lining the floors of Street 66 from it…
Once again, Pink Ladies Hockey Club took part in Dublin’s PRIDE Parade - an absolute scorcher of a on the march!
Our participation in the 2019 EuroGames in Rome was a major highlight of the season, with two teams representing Pink Ladies in the tournament - whilst the club didn’t win any silverware, we did win the ‘Best Goal Celebration’ and had plenty of laughs, dances and craic.
In October we had our annual Bank-Holiday Weekend Away where we returned to the beautiful Ballyhoura Mountains in Co. Limerick for a weekend of mountain biking, clay-pigeon shooting, horse-trekking, sing-songs and laughter.
The 2019 season finished up with a fundraising event for club member Kate’s cancer treatment in Bello Bar - on a wet wintery night, we got together to get down with DJ Sibh C and ELKAE, and were delighted the event was supported by so many.
Club Highlights 2018
2018 was an exciting year for the Pink Ladies with an event packed calendar. The year began in April with the Annual Launch Night in The Black Sheep where so many new faces were welcomed, ‘Wuthering Heights’ was sung and the pool playing was never ending.
Training Sessions kicked off in May with our brilliant coaching duo Lauren and Smallie and what was a record-breaking number of new members! Each training session ended with our ladies packing out the clubhouse or heading for a dip in Seapoint on those sunny evenings.
The Pink Ladies Annual Table Quiz took place in Street 66 with a huge turnout. This year’s ‘Surprise Quiz Round’ was Paper Airplane Making & Flying and to much glee the 2nd and 3rd places were settled with a standard lesbian arm-wrestle.
Of course, Pink Ladies Hockey Club was represented in Dublin’s PRIDE Parade - and, two club members, Lucy and Rachel, represented the club meeting President Michael D. Higgins along with Sporting PRIDE.
But the major highlight for 2018 was our participation in the GayGames in Paris where two teams represented the club… there were no medals this time, but the trip was a great opportunity for our club members to build friendships. The tournament coincided with the FIH Hockey World Cup, and the Irish Women’s Hockey Team’s epic journey to the final - adding to the thrill and excitement of the trip with screenings of their matches in Parisienne local taverns!
The season finished up with our annual October Bank-Holiday Weekend Away - a weekend of adventures and laughter in Limerick.
Club Highlights 2017
Season seven was hockey heaven… Pink Ladies Hockey Club re-located its new training base to Railway Union for the 2017 season - and once again, strong membership numbers allowed us to field two teams at Amsterdam PinkHockey Fest, hosted by our pals the BabyGays!
Pink Ladies may have been pipped to the podium for hockey medals - however off the pitch, a rip-roaring fancy-dress remdition of ‘Riverdance’ , complete with sashes and wigs, saw the club win the final evening after-party… a performance that will never be forgotten!
Club Highlights 2016
The 2016 season saw many a sunny evening spent training together, with faces new and old… and when we weren’t hard at work on the pitch, we were enjoying a post-training ‘cordial’ or one of the many events organised by our tireless Social Committee. Before we knew it, it was suddenly time to head off to Berlin PinkHockey Fest 2016!
With an influx of new teams into the PinkHockey tournament, The Pink Ladies were just pipped to medalling position by a particularly strong performance from both the Dutch and English squads (YAAAS GIRLS! #womenliftingwomenup). It’s safe to say though, that the off-pitch performance by the Pink Ladies was award-winning! The season was wrapped up with an October bank holiday weekender in Doolin.
Club Highlights 2015
With an influx of new members from clubs all over Leinster and an important milestone reached as we celebrated our fifth birthday, the 2015 season was a landmark one for Pink Ladies Hockey Club both on and off the pitch. There were record training attendance numbers and many new friendships formed as we prepared to travel to Stockholm to compete in the 2015 EuroGames – and it really showed ! The tournament resulted in ANOTHER double podium finish for the club, with The Ladies winning silver and The Pinks clinching bronze.
Having campaigned together as a club during the Marriage Equality referendum earlier that year, The Pink Ladies couldn’t resist celebrating the result one more time with our PinkHockey pals – so, in tribute to the people of Ireland being awesome, we attended the annual fancy dress BBQ dressed as a PRIDE flag! The season was wrapped up with an epic end-of-season weekender in Carlingford over the October bank holiday weekend. A special season for Pink Ladies HC, in a special year for LGBTQ+ rights in Ireland.
Club Highlights 2014
The 2014 season brought many new players into the Pink Lady family, and months of hard work in training saw our hockey skills reach new heights in preparation for our summer trip to London PinkHockey Fest, hosted by the mighty London Royals HC. Our touring squad expanded to welcome some German and Dutch friends into the Pink Ladies ranks.
After three days of epic hockey action in London , it was ANOTHER double podium finish for the club – The Ladies claimed silver, and The Pinks took home bronze! Some unforgettable fancy dress looks, too. The year was topped off by the inaugural Pink Ladies End-of-Season Weekender, as a large group of gals took off to Killaloe in Co. Clare to like their best mansion lives for the October bank holiday weekend.
Club Highlights 2013
The Pink Ladies couldn’t WAIT to get back into action for Season III, moving into a new training home in Pembroke HC and yet again welcoming a number of new faces aboard – all leading up to the club’s biggest adventure yet, the World OutGames in Antwerp. Despite well and truly losing the run of themselves on the very first night of the Belgian odyssey, the Pink Ladies managed to pull it together and put in one hell of a performance – both on AND off the pitch!
With The Pinks winning silver medals as a result of the grand finale and The Ladies claiming bronze in a nail-biting third place playoff penalty shoot-out, the trip was a rip roaring success. But the defining image of the Class of Antwerp will eternally be that of 25 jumpsuit-clad Pink Ladies in chains parading in front of all of their new European friends at the tournament’s fancy dress BBQ– turns out PINK is the new black!
Club Highlights 2012
Such was the level of craic had in Rotterdam that the Pink Ladies decided it would be a super idea to invite all of the new friends they’d made from around the world to come and play a tournament in Dublin – and so, Dublin Pink Hockey Fest 2012 was born, bringing visiting teams from the UK, Netherlands, Germany, and even Australia.
The Pink Lady ranks continued to grow on the training pitch, and by the time the tournament rolled around there were enough players to field TWO teams! The Ladies claimed gold medals, and The Pinks the silver – but social lives proved the REAL winners in the aftermath of Dublin Pink Hockey Fest, as the Pink Ladies’ bond became iron-clad.
Club Highlights 2011
This is the year that it all began, back in early 2011 when club founder Etain Kidney took the notion that she would set up a gay ladies hockey team. A few hockey-playing lady-loving ladies amongst her mates fit the bill immediately, and so on a sunny Sunday afternoon in UCD the Pink Ladies had their very first training session – all five of them!
Etain persevered with a ‘build it and they will come’ approach, and slowly but surely the club grew. Club mates, work colleagues, friends of friends, eagle-eyed Facebook ad readers – the Pink Ladies ‘Class of 2011’ came together as strangers, travelled to the LGBT EuroGames in Rotterdam as a team, and returned home bearing bronze medals.