Irish hockey international Peter Caruth comes out as gay

Peter Caruth, who has 142 caps for Ireland and represented his country at the Rio Olympics, has become the first international hockey player to come out.

In a message on Instagram, Belfast native Carruth said: "it's ok to be gay", adding that "to come out as gay is an honour".

The full statement from the 34-year-old read: "I'm happy to announce that I'm GAY. It's been filtering around slowly but I'm here to say it's ok to be gay.

"Being the first 'male' Irish Olympian and International hockey player to come out as gay is an honour and I'm thankful for the support shown thus far."

Gold medallist Kellie Harrington married her partner Mandy Loughlin earlier this year, Tokyo 2020 marathon runner Aoife Cooke has campaigned on LGBTQ issues in her native Cork since her return from college in the US in 2007, while taekwondo star Jack Woolley is bisexual.

Caruth's statement follows on from Leinster scrum-half Nick McCarthy, who came out publicly as gay on Monday.