New Warriors Assistant Coach Appointed

Netball Northern Ireland are delighted to announce the NI Warriors squad that will be travelling to Glasgow to compete in the inaugural Celtic Cup. A 14-strong squad has been selected for this opportunity to represent Northern Ireland in this prolific series.

The new International Competition will take place in Emirates Arena on 7-10 November.

Sheonah Forbes, NI Warriors Head Coach, 

We are looking forward to travelling to Glasgow to play in the inaugural Celtic Cup, to compete against our home nation counterparts, as well as the Zimbabwe Gems. Having not played against Wales or Scotland since the World Cup Qualifiers in 2022, we are excited to get the opportunity to show our growth and relight the home nation rivalry. The opportunity to play international netball against a variety of styles including the Zimbabwe Gems is key in our aim to compete in pinnacle events on the world stage. 

Netball NI are also thrilled to welcome Elissa Kent to the Warriors Management team for the upcoming Celtic Cup competition. 

Elissa, currently working as a Netball Development Coach within the Victorian Institute of Sport pathway and on the GEN32 programme, is coming to the UK to not only offer support to our Warrior management team, but to continue her own professional development in an international setting outside Australia, gaining exposure to European and African playing styles. 

Sheonah Forbes, NI Warriors Head Coach 

This is an exciting prospect for the Warrior athletes and our management team, to have Elissa join us will enable our group to not only showcase our style and culture for her to experience, but it will also support our growth as she will be tasked to bring positive challenge to the group. Her role will focus on individual focus areas pre competition and leading a unit area during match fixtures. Elissa’s attention to detail ensures we are counteracting the opposition and contributing to a positive challenging environment within the coaching team. Having known Elissa around the netball circuit I cannot wait to see her thrive as part of the Warriors.  

Elissa Kent, National Development Coach, Victorian Institute of Sport 

I am really excited to work with Sheonah, someone I have great respect for and have been able to build a relationship with since crossing paths at the Commonwealth Youth Games. I’m keen to share my own perspective and provide a different voice to the Northern Ireland Warriors, whilst also learning and evolving through exposure a different way of doing things. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work with Northern Ireland and Sheonah with the amazing support of Gen32, VIS and Netball Australia. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in, at the pre camp training and the Celtic Cup in Glasgow!   

Emily Martin, Coach Development Lead, Victorian Institute of Sport 

‘The AIS Gen 32 Program is a future-facing, two-year intensive program, where participating coaches learn contemporary ways of delivering coaching to future generations of athletes. The program itself partners with National Institute Networks and National Sporting Organisations such as the Victorian Institute of Sport and Netball Australia, and is a key component of the AIS High Performance Coach Development Strategy, forming part of the AIS’s commitment to become world-leaders in coach development ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games. The AIS, VIS and Netball Australia offer full support and are delighted to have Elissa working with the NI Warriors at the Celtic Cup competition for her to add her knowledge to the coaching team as well as for her to experience working with a senior national team at such a competitive event.’ 

Karen Rollo, Chief Executive, Netball NI 

 ‘It is great to be able to invite Elissa along to this event to support our Warriors and Management team. Sheonah and Elissa have been keen to work together, support one another and push each other forward in their roles. The support of the GEN32 programme at the Victorian Institute of Sport, has enabled us to secure this time for Elissa to come to the UK and work with us. High performance coaching can be a lonely and challenging place, we are delighted to facilitate this learning experience for Elissa and are looking forward to developing the relationship with the VIS.’ 

Elissa will be joining the Warriors in camp ahead of the Celtic Cup then spending some time within England before joining the squad in Glasgow for the competition. 

Buy tickets to the Celtic Cup here

Warriors Squad:  

Name	Club/Franchise	Court Area
Ana Mulholland	Crumlin Community NC	Centre Court
Ciara Crosbie	Tameside NC	Circle Attack
Emma Magee	The Downs NC	Circle Attack
Evelyn McCagherty	Nottingham Forest U23/Weston Park Blades	Centre Court
Fionnuala Toner	Belfast Ladies NC	Circle Defence
Frances Keenan	Belfast Ladies NC	Centre Court
Georgie McGrath	Kingsway NC	Circle Attack
Lauren Walshe	Belfast Ladies NC	Circle Defence
Maria McCann	Belfast Ladies NC	Circle Defence
Michelle Magee	Birmingham Panthers NSL	Circle Defence
Niamh Cooper	Nottingham Forest NSL	Centre Court
Orla McGeough	Tameside NC	Centre Court
Orlaith Rogers	Oaksway NC	Circle Attack
Rosa McCloskey	Kingsway NC	Circle Attack

Head Coach: Sheonah Forbes  

Assistant Coach: Debbie Bleakley 

Assistant Coach: Elissa Kent 

Team Manager: Beth Healy 

Physio: Sinead Chambers 

Performance Analyst: Lauren Webb 

If you would like to show your support for the NI Warriors, please donate here.

 

Netball Northern Ireland are thrilled to announce that the NI Warriors will be travelling to Barbados to compete in the Paradise Series against the Bajan Gems. A 13-strong squad has been selected for this opportunity to represent Northern Ireland on international soil. 

The 3 match test series will take place in Barbados on August 24th, 26th & 27th, with a warm up match against Barbados U21 on the 23rd. 

Sheonah Forbes, NI Warriors Head Coach, 

We are looking forward to travelling overseas to play against a different style of netball and exposing our athletes to a different climate. We are looking forward to playing Barbados again, having not played them since the 2019 World Cup.  

We keep pushing and striving to play the best teams around us to test where we are as a squad and continuing to show growth individually. The opportunity to play international netball is key in our aim to compete in big events on the world stage.

Warriors Squad:  

Name	Club/Franchise	Court Area
Caroline O’Hanlon	Leeds Rhinos/Larkfield NC	Centre Court
Ciara Crosbie	Oldham NC	Circle Attack
Emma Magee	Leeds Rhinos/The Downs NC	Circle Attack
Evelyn McCagherty	Central Warriors/Weston Park Blades	Centre Court
Fionnuala Toner	Belfast Ladies NC	Circle Defence
Frances Keenan	Belfast Ladies NC	Centre Court
Georgie McGrath	Kingsway NC	Circle Attack
Lauren Walshe	Belfast Ladies NC	Circle Defence
Maria McCann	Belfast Ladies NC	Circle Defence
Michelle Magee	Leeds Rhinos	Circle Defence
Niamh Cooper	Severn Stars	Centre Court
Orlaith Rogers	Sirens Development NSL	Circle Attack
Rosa McCloskey	Kingsway NC	Circle Attack

*clubs as per the 2023/24 season 

Reserves: Lisa Carlin, Mia Lanigan, Orla McGeough  

Head Coach: Sheonah Forbes  

Check out opportunities to sponsor the Northern Ireland Warriors here.

If you would like to show your support for the NI Warriors, please donate here.