HE still remembers hesitating for a moment before pressing send on the email that changed his life.
Fifteen years ago David Harte, then just 22 years old, took a chance – the West Cork man wanted to play his hockey in The Netherlands so in the summer of 2010 he sent an email to all Dutch premier league clubs, asking for an opportunity.
‘I had played 52 times for Ireland by that stage and was willing to do anything to get over here,’ Harte (36) told this week’s Star Sport Podcast.
‘In the email I said I was willing to come over for a trial and show what I can do. I still have that email for a reason: to remind me where it all started and how the dream came about and to live that dream over here. Little did I know that 15 seasons later, I’d still be here playing!’
The former Bandon Grammar School student wanted a club to take a chance on him – his wish came true. SCHC in Bilthoven snapped up Harte, and his adventure in The Netherlands began. Two years later, again he seized the initiative – he saw Kampong’s goalkeeper was leaving so he sent their coach a message on Facebook, and the rest is history.
David Harte is a two-time Irish Olympian.
Harte is now a Kampong legend, twice voted the best men’s hockey goalkeeper in the world, a three-time national champion with the Utrecht club (2017, 2018 and 2024) and a Euro Hockey League winner (2016). Great times, incredible memories, but Harte is ready for the next chapter in his life.
He informed the club earlier this year that he and his family – his wife Lyn and their daughters, Georgia and Ava – are moving to Belfast where Lyn is from and grew up. Harte’s 13-year stay with Kampong, and 15-year adventure in The Netherlands, is drawing to a close.
‘It was a big decision but one that I know is certainly best for our family – my wife and our two daughters – and that was ultimately the deciding factor,’ he explained.
‘It was going to happen eventually. Living over here has been fantastic, and still is, but it’s just not home, so we will be returning to the island of Ireland, moving to Belfast.
‘This was always the plan. I was chatting with my wife Lyn and we were asking where does the future lie for us – is it in Ireland? Or here in The Netherlands? Or another foreign adventure to Australia or America or somewhere like that? With everything going on in the world and with everything that we have realised over the last four or five years since having kids and not having that close network around you of grandparents or sisters or brothers or aunties or uncles, it was time (to move home).
‘When I was over in India for the Hockey India League (in January) I sent the club a message that I won’t be an option for next season, and that was pretty much it. It was a surreal moment, to do it over a Whatsapp message, but a weight off the shoulders at the same time, knowing that we had made a decision.’
Harte will turn 37 in early April but the two-time Olympian still feels he has a lot to offer, so expect to still see him playing next season, but where will that be?
‘I am still loving my hockey and I still feel I can perform at an incredibly good level. I still feel there is a lot more to give, although maybe not for a prolonged period of time, but for a shorter time,’ Harte explained.
‘Since the news came out there has been some interesting contacts and offers made from different clubs around Europe and closer to home. Just weighing up options, seeing what’s best and seeing what fits into family life and not the other way around.
‘The goal is to go back to the Hockey India League in January (2026) and they are making it an even shorter period of time, so instead of six weeks away it will be down to 24 days; for me to be able to go and do that would mean a lot to us from a financial stability point of view, but also still playing at the highest level.’
David Harte celebrates SV Kampong's 2024 Dutch men’s title success with his wife Lyn and their daughters, Georgia and Ava.
Harte, who hasn’t featured for Ireland since starring at the Olympics in Paris last summer, hasn’t ruled out an international return, if the stars align.
‘International wise, I’m still not entirely sure what it looks like. I stepped away from the programme so I have to get in touch with the coaching staff and see what their plans are going forward,’ he said.
‘It’s probably easier being in Ireland, most of the training is in Belfast or national camps in Banbridge so it might be easier than flying in and out from The Netherlands. I really have to see, first, what's best for my family, then for myself, and see if it is something that can be done and can be combined with work or still playing abroad.’
On the pitch right now, his priority is Kampong and finishing this season on a high before he says goodbye to a country that is the the home to so many incredible memories. Lyn moved there in 2016. They got married there. Bought their first house. Georgia and Ava were both born in The Netherlands.
‘It has been better than I could have ever imagined, wished for, hoped for, but all good things have to come to an end,’ he added.
Harte still has that email he sent in 2010. It’s a reminder how this incredible chapter in his life began. Now it’s time to write the next one.
