Karen Hennessey

Karen Hennessey has the distinction of excelling at the international, US collegiate and Irish national league level.

International Player of The Year

1997

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National Cup

1992, 1996

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National League

1993, 1996

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Clubs

Meteors

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After representing Ireland at U15 and U17, she took up a scholarship with D1 Iona College where she’d graduate in 1988 having scored over 800-points and twice pulling down over 19-rebounds in a single game and 28-points on two occasions.

She made the MAAC All-Academic Team her junior and senior years and received Player of the Month awards on two occasions during her junior year.

Academically she was awards the College Physics Prize in her senior year.

Upon her return to Ireland, she  contributed hugely to Meteors remaining consistent challengers for national titles throughout the 1990s. With her brilliant footwork in the post and neat jump shot to go with her stellar leadership skills, she’d help the club win the 1992 and 1996 National Cups, the 1993 league (in which she scored 18-points in the final win over Naomh Mhuire) and was awarded Player of the Year for her efforts. In 1996 Meteors won the treble - National League, Cup and Top Four national championships (when she scored 18 points in the final against Wildcats). That same year she was honoured, along with Sonia O’Sullivan, by the Olympic Council of Ireland for her outstanding contribution to basketball.

In 1997, she received the International Player of the Year award from Basketball Ireland. In a nail biting 2020 Women’s National Cup final she also received the MVP trophy at the tender age to 34.

She was also involved in the senior national’s programme from 1984 to 1997 and captained the team from 1990 in which time she was regularly the side’s leading scorer and rebounder, and it contested two Promotion Cup finals in 1991 and 1994. This culminated in over 70 international caps, 33 as Captain. In 2006 she was assistant coach to the U20 Women’s team when they competed in the European Championships in Lituania.

In recent years she has continued her international career with the Women’s Masters team, who successfully competed in the European Championships in 2022, bringing home the Bronze, and ranked in the Top 10 scorers for the tournament.

She has combined playing and coaching in Meteors since 1994, coach multiple teams in the club securing many senior and underage, league and cup victories over the years.  In 2004 she took over the co-ordination of Basketball in St. Columba’s College where she teaches. Her involvement also extended to working Summer residential camps such as Dungarvan and Kilkenny and numerous club camps over the years. In 2017 she got involved with BIPPS and coached the East U15 Girls team to victories in 2017 and 2022.