Tommy J. Allen

Tommy Allen, born 1946, is the Republic Of Ireland's most capped international hockey goalkeeper of all time. Tommy joined Monkstown Hockey Club as a fourteen-year-old in 1960. Following a number of years as goalkeeper on the third and second teams he became a regular first team member in 1968 on the departure of Tony Dodd to Railway Union. The following year he gained his Ireland under 23 International against Wales in Dublin. He got his first full International Cap also against Wales in Southampton in 1974. During his International career he played in the Intercontinental Cup in Rome in 1977, the European Cup in Hanover and World Cup Final in Buenos Aires in 1978. The following year he toured Australia and New Zealand with the Irish team. After Ireland's participation in the Intercontinental cup in Malaysia in 1981 he retired from the outdoor International scene amassing 28 caps. However, he continued to remain on the Irish team at Indoor Hockey getting a record equalling 60 caps of which 52 were consecutive. On the Leinster team for ten years up to 1983 during which the Leinster Regiment Interprovincial cup was won four times. In his years as Monkstown goalkeeper up to 1987, he was on winning league teams in 1976 and 1982 and the Mills Cup winners in 1974 and 1979.