The answer to the question about what happened to the Irish men's team is fairly simple - Denmark.

Ireland only lost one match, to the Danes, and that was enough to have them miss the final. Denmark wasn't at the Euro Cup in 2013, but when you go back to 2012 in Edinburgh, Ireland beat Denmark in the final - BY ONE POINT - in a come from behind win. That shows that Denmark certainly has the fire power to hit the Irish...and they did this year.

I think an aspect that has been overlooked in the comments so far is the number of Australian based players who went back to participate in the Euro Cup. That would make a significant difference. Another contributing factor would be player burn out- how much leave does everyone get in a year?- If you have already shelled out time and money to go to Melbourne for 2+ weeks do you reckon you will front up again.
I think this is an interesting tournament with interesting results but I think comparisons to squads achievements at the IC and making rating statements on potential ability miss some key issues thus far in terms of personnel.