Gill and Kiveney appointed to Basketball Ireland U17 Academy roles by EPC

Basketball Ireland's Elite Performance Committee (EPC) has appointed Andy Gill and Ciaran Kiveney to the role of U17 Women's and U17 Men's Academy Head Coach respectively ahead of the 2024/25 international season.  

Gill is well known to the Irish baskeball community, having held the role of Ireland U16 women's head coach for eight years between 2013 and 2022, while also working as an assistant coach in 2018. He previously served as a head coach in the British Basketball League (BBL) and has been working as a coach within the Basketball Ireland U17 Academy system for the last two years. Gill also currently hold the title of Performance Lead for Basketball Northern Ireland. 

"Andy is no stranger to international representation for Ireland," said Chairperson of the Elite Performance Commitee Deirdre Brennan. "His significant knowledge and experience in the high performance environment will be of huge benefit to the Basketball Ireland U17 Women's Academy programme this year. He has led numerous U16 Women's national teams in FIBA Youth EuroBasket, has been an U17 Women's Academy coach and is the Performance Lead for Basketball Northern Ireland. His technical and tactical prowess will ensure players involved in this programme will be well prepared to compete for advancement to our U18 FIBA Youth Basket campaign in 2026". 

Kiveney is also steeped in Irish basketball, having been involved in the Basketball Ireland Academy programme since 2022, acting as a provincial head coach of the U15 boys Leinster academy last season, as well as being involved with the U14 Midlands boys and U17 academy programmes in the past two years. 

Ciaran Kiveney speaks to members of the Basketball Ireland U17 Academy during a session. 

Domestically, Kiveney is embarking on his first season as head coach of Titans Basketball Club in the Men's National League Division One, following on from a successful stint as as assistant coach with Portlaoise Panthers at the same level. He has also led Athlone BC to the All-Ireland Club Championships (AICC's) at U16 level and to the final four of the Billy Kelly Plate at the U17 grade. 

Speaking of his appointment, EPC Chairperson Deirdre Brennan added: "We are delighted to appoint Ciaran as U17 Men's head coach. He has been a committed Basketball Ireland Academy coach who has invested in his development working with U14, U15 and  U17 academy players. It is great to see Ciaran now elevated to high performance level as a head coach and we look forward to seeing the impact he has on our talented U17 players".

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