David Harte in the right place ahead of his Indian winter

The run up to Christmas and New Year's is always a hectic time but for Ireland men's national team hockey goalkeeper David Harte, this Yuletide will be especially busy.

That's because the two-time Olympian will be half the world away, playing in the revived Hockey India League, which will run from 28 December to 1 February.

The Cork native previously played in the competition for four consecutive seasons from 2014 to 2017 before it fell by the wayside.

But when it became clear that Hockey India were bringing it back, Harte jumped at the chance to return.

"I'm looking forward to getting back over," the 36-year-old goal-minder tells RTÉ Sport from his home in the Dutch city of Utrecht.

"I thoroughly enjoyed my experiences there. And let's be honest about it, as a hockey player goes, you don't have many opportunities like this in your career or your sporting life to financially earn what you can over there in that short space of time,"

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Watch the full interview above

The main downside for Harte is the wrench of being away over Christmas.

"The biggest hurdle for me will be missing Christmas with the family for the first time ever and especially the two small ones but eventually daddy will explain when they're a bit older to understand the reason why he's doing it, for our future and for the family," he says.

"But there will be tough times sitting somewhere in India on 25 December thinking I wouldn't mind being back home in Ireland."

The format of the league takes inspiration from