Edel Thornton was appointed as Ireland senior women's captain in August 2022, having previously been co-captain with Gráinne Dwyer. She plays for Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell in the Women’s Super League, winning the Paudie O’Connor National Cup in 2023/24. She has played with the club from academy to U20 and Super League, before leaving to go to college in the United States. Edel played NCAA Division 1 basketball with Quinnipiac University for four years, before graduating and returning to Ireland. Edel joined Trinity Meteors when she came back to Ireland and played there for two years, helping them secure promotion to the Super League in 2020. Edel captained Ireland U18’s and just finished her second senior campaign, winning a silver medal at the 2021 FIBA Women’s European Championship for Small Countries. A regular throughout the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2023 Qualifiers, however she missed out on Ireland’s FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers opener with France in November 2023 due to injury, she then sustained an ACL injury in January 2024 and returned to the international fold in February 2025 for games with France and Latvia.
Hazel Finn plays with Women’s Super League side FloMAX Liffey Celtics, having previously been with University of Galway Mystics. She claimed the MVP in the 2024/25 Paudie O’Connor Cup final in January 2025, helping FloMAX Liffey Celtics to their second title. Finn was part of the Ireland U20 squad at the 2024 FIBA U20 Women's European Championships. She was called up for the November 2024 window of the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers and made her international debut against Latvia on November 7th and returned for the February 2024 window against France and Latvia.
Bridget Herlihy joined Spanish club Unicaja,Spain for the 2024/25 season having previously been with Spanish club Ensino Lugo CB for the 2023/24 season. Prior to her spell in Spain, she was with Swedish club Marbo Basket. Herlihy, whose grandfather hails from Kerry and grandmother from the Aran Islands, was born in Braintree, near Boston, Massachussetts, She was discovered by Basketball Ireland Hall of Famer Susan Moran and Bridget's father subsequently made contact with Ireland head coach James Weldon. Herlihy made her international debut against Estonia at the National Basketball Arena in August 2022 and helped Ireland to a 2-0 victory in the Gotham Drywall Series. Herlihy also played in the two-game series away in Portugal later that month and has been a regular since her FIBA Women's EuroBasket debut against the Netherlands in November 2022.
Kate Hickey plays with Women’s Super League side SETU Waterford Wildcats. She was part of the Ireland U20 squad at the 2022 FIBA U20 Women's European Championships. Hickey made her senior international debut in the friendly series with Austria in August 2022. She was called up to the Ireland squad for the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers game with France in November 2023, making her EuroBasket debut, she also played in the February and November 2024 windows.
Michelle Clarke plays for Women’s Super League side Killester, where she has come up through the ranks and is currently serving as captain. She led the side to a Women’s Super League and Champions Trophy double in 2023/24. She was part of the senior women’s team which won silver at the FIBA Women’s European Championship for Small Countries in Gibraltar in 2016 and in Cyprus in 2021. She also captained Ireland at U16 level. A regular for James Weldon during the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2023 Qualifers, returning for the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers game with France on November 2023 and the February 2025 window.
Claire Melia joined Spanish side University of Ferrol for the 2024/25 season, excelling in her first season in FIBA Euron Cup. She won the Women’s Super League and Champions Trophy double with Killester in the 2023/24 season after a one-season stint with Trinity Meteors, with whom she reached the Paudie O’Connor National Cup final. She won the domestic treble with The Address UCC Glanmire in the 2021/22 season - the Paudie O'Connor National Cup, Women’s Super League and Champions Trophy. Previously she played with Portlaoise Panthers, with whom she won the Division One National Cup in 2020. She also played NCAA basketball with St. Joesph’s in Philadelphia. Internationally, Melia won a silver and bronze medal at the U18 and U20 European Championships in 2017 and 2019 respectively. She also won a silver medal at the 2021 FIBA Women’s European Championship for Small Countries, in Cyprus. Melia has made the All-Star 5 at the U18 and U20 European Championships and at at the 2021 FIBA Women’s European Championship for Small Countries. Melia was a regular starter during the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2023 Qualifiers, she captained Ireland against France in their FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers in November 2023.
Sarah Hickey plays with Women’s Super League side SETU Waterford Wildcats. She was part of the Ireland U20 squad at the 2022 and 2023 FIBA U20 Women's European Championships. She was called up to the Ireland senior women's squad for the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023 Qualifiers game with the Netherlands in November 2022 but didn’t feature, but made her international debut against the Czech Republic in February 2023. She was selected once more for the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers game with France in November 2023, as well as windows in February 2024, November 2024 and February 2025.
Abigail Rafferty joined English club Oakland Wolves for the 2024/25 season, having played in the Women’s Super League for Ulster University. Rafferty made her international debut against Israel in February 2024 in a FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 Qualifier. She also featured for Ireland in the two-game friendly series with Uganda in July 2024, but missed the August 2024 games with Denmark and Netherlands following her call up to the Ireland U23 3x3 squad for the FIBA Nations League. She was called up again to the senior squad the November 2024 and February 2025 windows of the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers
Enya Maguire played college basketball for four seasons Houston
Christian College, before spending the 2024/25 season at the New
Jersey Institute. Maguire, whose father Gareth Maguire was a highly
decorated international, has featured regularly in summer friendlies for
James Weldon’s side, she made her debut in the two-game series
against Estonia in August 2022, followed by a two-game series with
Portugal. She returned in 2024 with two away games against Uganda
in Germany, followed by home games with Denmark and Netherlands.
She played in the two-game series with Norway in July 2025 and was
called up for the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers in
November 2025 where she is in line for her debut. Maguire also played
with Ireland’s 3x3 team in the 2024 FIBA 3x3 Women’s World Series.
Sorcha Tiernan plays in the Women’s Super League with her hometown club FloMAX Liffey Celtics, a club with whom she has won a Super League and two Paudie O’Connor National Cup titles, in 2018/19 and 2024/25 . She has represented Ireland at U16, U18 and U20 level, winning the silver medal and the bronze medal at the U18 and U20 European Championships in 2017 and 2019 respectively. She also picked up a silver medal at the 2021 FIBA Women’s European Championship for Small Countries in Cyprus. She made her 3x3 international debut at the FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup qualifiers in Constanta, Romania in June 2021. A regular with James Weldon's team during the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023 Qualifiers and returned for the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers windows in November 2023, February 2024 and February 2025.
Bronagh Power-Cassidy has concluded an impressive Stateside career, where she finished the 15 highest scorer of all time with Holy Cross, on 1425 points. She helped them to back-to-back Patriot League titles in 2022/23 and 2023/24. She then played for Villanova Wildcats during
2024/25 season and is now a graduate assistant coach with the team. She made her international debut in the two-game home series against Estonia in August 2022, before travelling to Portugal for a two-game series.
Appointed Ireland senior women’s head coach in November 2018, taking over in January 2019. Led Irish senior women to a silver medal at the 2021 FIBA Women’s European Championship for Small Countries. He has also worked as an assistant with the senior international team in between 2003 and 2006. He was Ireland U18 women’s assistant coach in 2001 and head coach in 2005, 2007 and 2013. He also worked as an assistant coach at the World Student Games in 2003 (South Korea) and 2005 (Turkey). Weldon is a three-time Super League coach of the year. He won nine national titles with UL Huskies in a four-year period. He also set up a women’s Super League team in Killarney and took them to 3rd place in their first season and 2nd in their second season. He also won a national title with KCYMS men’s team.
Jillian Hayes was appointed as assistant coach to the Irish senior women’s team in February 2019. Hayes is the current head coach of Women’s Super League side SETU Waterford Wildcats, taking over from Tommy O’Mahony for the 2024/25 season. She previously held the role with the club for three years from 2018/19 until 2020/21. She coached the club’s U18’s for the 2021/22 season. She has won one U16 All-Ireland in 2018 as a head coach, and was assistant coach when the club won the U20 National Cup in 2020. In 2018 Hayes was named Underage Coach of the Year. She played for Waterford Wildcats from U12 up to senior level, winning six leagues, three cups and four championships at senior level and also one U19 Cup. Hayes was named Irish Junior Player of the Year twice, and Senior Player of the Year four times. Internationally, she represented Ireland at U15, U17, U19 and senior levels. Hayes was inducted into the Basketball Ireland Hall of Fame in May 2024.
Current head coach of UCD Marian in the Men’s Super League. He was head coach Leixlip Amenties Liffey Celtics during the 2021/22 season. He joined James Weldon's backroom team for the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023 Qualifiers campaign. Ioannis is a former Super League winning coach with UCD Marian and was a bronze medal winning coach with the Irish senior men’s team in 2018 at the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries.
