International

Nov 09 2026

Ireland WNT head coach Garlepp urges team to ‘just go for it’

New Ireland women’s head coach Thomas Garlepp has called on his team to “just go for it”, when they begin their FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers campaign against Iceland at the National Basketball Arena on Wednesday.

Asked what fans can expect from team under his stewardship, Garlepp said: “I think we’re going to give everything we’ve got, we’ll show up, we’ll go for it, we’ll play together. It’s going to be a super-tough game, Iceland is super tough team – they’re well drilled and they’ve had a positive system in place for a number of years. We’ll do the best we can and our whole thing is ‘just go for it’ – physically, together as a group and I think that’s what they’ll see.”

Garlepp, who was named as Ireland WNT head coach in August, was speaking after taking his first practice session and the Australian enjoyed getting on the court with his new side.

“It was a fun practice, I really enjoyed working with the team, I knew I would, they’ve been really good to work with remotely. Getting on the court with them was a lot of fun and they played well today. They moved well, they worked together and they shared the ball as a team, so that was very positive from my end and just reassuring. I thought it would go that way, but it was nice to see us working together”, he stated.

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The squad features four potential debutants – Aoibheann Donnelly, Katie O’Sullivan, Katie Williamson and Lucy Coogan - while Ella O’Donnell is in line for her first FIBA Women’s EuroBasket appearance, having made her debut in a friendly against Latvia in August 2022. Garlepp is excited to see his youthful squad make the step up: “A number of them have shown at the national junior level the potential they do have, so you’ll see their strengths on show, see them put their best foot forward.”

Ireland’s game Iceland tips off at 7pm on Wednesday at the National Basketball Arena and is live on the TG4 Player and App. Ireland then face two away fixtures, against Azerbaijan and Switzerland on November 14^th and 17^th respectively.

Ireland senior women’s squad

Edel Thornton (Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell), Ella O’Donnell (Manchester Basketball, England), Emer Dunne (Career Decisions UCC Glanmire), Enya Maguire (KK Studio Zagreb, Croatia), Hazel Finn (Trinity Meteors), Katie Williamson (FloMAX Liffey Celtics), Lucy Coogan (Essex Rebels, England), Maura Fitzpatrick (Caledonia Gladiators), Michelle Clarke (Killester), Sarah Hickey (SETU Waterford Wildcats), Aoibheann Donnelly (Cleveland Rockets), Caitlin Gloeckner (Cleveland Rockets) Katie O’Sullivan (VSC Cavan Eagles)

FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers Round 1 Fixtures

Wednesday 11th November 2026

Ireland v Iceland, 1900, National Basketball Arena, TG4 Player and App

Saturday 14th November 2026

Azerbaijan v Ireland, 1000, National Gymnastics Arena, Baku, TG4 (on-air at 0950)

Tuesday 17th November 2026

Switzerland v Ireland, 1800, Saint-Léonard, Fribourg, TG4 Player and App

Wednesday 10th February 2027

Iceland v Ireland, 2030, Asvellir, Hafnarfjordur TG4 Player and App

Saturday 13th February 2027

Ireland v Azerbaijan 1430, National Basketball Arena, TG4
Tuesday 16th February 2027

Ireland v Switzerland, 1900, National Basketball Arena, TG4 Player and App