O'Brien, O'Reilly and Howard to lead U16 WNT, U16 MNT and U18 MNT programmes

Basketball Ireland's Elite Performance Committee (EPC) has filled three head coaching positions ahead of the 2026/27 international season.

Paul O'Brien has been re-appointed as head coach of the U16 WNT following the conclusion of his initial three-year stint.  Emer Howard will take over as U18 MNT head coach, while Gareth O'Reilly moves into the U16 MNT head coaching position. 

EPC Chairperson, Deirdre Brennan, spoke about the reappointments of O'Brien and Howard with the inclusion of O'Reilly as the newest head coach.

"We are delighted to announce the appointment of three youth International head coaches for the next three years. Emer will begin her three-year tenure with the U18 Men, while Paul returns to lead the U16 Women. Both bring a wealth of experience, outstanding energy, and an unwavering commitment to developing the next generation of players," said  Brennan.

"We are especially pleased to welcome Gareth to his first international head coach role at FIBA Youth EuroBasket level. Gareth has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to his coaching development within the high-performance pathway, serving as an assistant coach across our U16, U18 and U20 men's programmes, as well as leading the Basketball Ireland U15 Men's Academy team. His appointment is a testament to his dedication, expertise and continued growth as a coach.

The EPC would also like to thank Niall Berry and his coaching staff for their tireless work with the U18 MNT programme, including an 11th place finish at FIBA Youth EuroBasket 2024. We wish them all every success on their continued coaching journey. "

Howard led Ireland to an 11^th place finish at this year’s FIBA U16 Youth EuroBasket in Skopje, North Macedonia, completing her second year with the U16 MNT. Previously, she was an assistant coach on the Ireland U18 MNT as they recorded a 5-3 record and a historic 11th place finish at FIBA Youth EuroBasket 2024. Howard has also been an assistant coach on the Ireland U20 WNT during their FIBA Youth EuroBasket campaign in 2017, as well as coaching underage basketball at clubs including Tolka Rovers, Drogheda Wolves and Swords BC over the last 17 years. 

“I’m incredibly proud and honoured to be appointed Head Coach of the Ireland U18 Men’s Team. Representing Ireland is always a privilege, and I’m excited to continue working within the national programme at the next age level.

We have a really talented generation of young players at this age group, and our goal will be to create an environment that challenges them, helps them grow and prepares them to compete with confidence at international level. I’m hugely ambitious for this group and for Irish basketball, and I’m looking forward to building a team that plays with identity, toughness and pride every time we put on the green jersey.”

Gareth O’Reilly recently held the position of assistant coach for the U18 MNT, where they finished 17^th at the 2026 FIBA U18 Youth EuroBasket in Croatia. O’Reilly has worked with the U16 MNT on two other occasions - at the FIBA U16 Youth EuroBasket's in 2018 (15th) and 2023 (21st). He was also the assistant coach for the U20 MNT in 2019 and the U18 MNT in 2022. O'Reilly is the current director of coaching at UCD Marian, while also being the assistant coach of their Domino's Men's Super League side.

"I'm absolutely delighted and honoured to be appointed as Ireland U16 Men’s Head Coach. Representing your country is a huge privilege, and I’m really excited to get started and to work with the next group of players coming through Irish basketball," said O'Reilly. "There is a lot of talent and potential within Irish basketball, and I’m looking forward to creating an environment where these players can develop, challenge themselves and represent Ireland with pride. We want to build a team that plays with real energy and togetherness, and competes for each other. There is a strong foundation already in place thanks to the work of the Basketball Ireland Academy coaches, and I’m looking forward to building on that and helping this group of players reach their potential."

Paul O'Brien took charge of the U16 WNT at the 2026 FIBA U16 Youth EuroBasket, where his squad came sixth in T3. Prior to being head coach of the U16 WNT in 2024 and 2025, O'Brien was the assistant coach on the sidelines. O'Brien has an extensive coaching background, as he is also the head coach of Maigh Cuilinn in Domino's Men's Division One.

“Its an absolute honour to have been re-appointed as head coach of the U16 Women's National Team, so I would like to thank the EPC for having that faith in me. I'm really looking forward to working with this years group and cant wait for the trials to get started in a couple of weeks."