Liffey Celtics opt to part ways with Super League team boss Karl Kilbride

Liffey Celtics are on the lookout for a new head coach for their Women’s Super League team after opting to part ways with former team boss, Karl Kilbride.

The decision by the club brought an end to Kilbride’s spell of three seasons in charge of the Leixlip outfit, during which he assembled a squad around Celtics mainstays, Áine O’Connor, Sorcha Tiernan and Ciara Bracken that, not only seriously challenged for the Super League crown, but also ended a wait of six seasons for Paudie O’Connor National Cup glory.

Indeed, while they were undone by Killester, both in last year’s Super League title decider and this season’s play-off semi-finals, Celtics did exact some measure of revenge when they beat their Dublin rivals in the cup final back in January.

It was a tremendous campaign for the Kildare side that also saw them surmount 2024/25 regular season winners, SETU Waterford Wildcats, along the way.

Reacting to the club’s decision to end his time at the helm, Kilbride said “It's disappointing, but that's life. I got an opportunity to coach a really talented team for three years and you’ve just got to make the most of it while you can.

“It's my 11th year in Super League and it’s the first time I’ve gotten fired, but there's no hard feelings.

“I’m obviously disappointed. I would have liked to be back because it felt like there's work still to be done there after not getting over the line in the league the last two years, but that's how it goes.

“The club felt the team was in transition and they wanted someone else to oversee that transition.

“That’s their prerogative and there's no hard feelings or anything like that. I still have a very good relationship, particularly with the senior players” he stressed.

The decision to let Kilbride go may well have been met with surprise in many quarters, but Liffey Celtics were quick to express their gratitude to Kilbride who again made them a serious force in the top ranks of Irish women’s basketball.

“Karl has been with us for three years and we've been very happy with him” stressed Celtics PRO, Joe Tiernan. “We've had a thrilling three years that culminated in winning the National Cup. That was super.

“In terms of his commitment and dedication to the job and how well Karl and his management team have done, the club has been very pleased.

“But we've got changes coming to the team. Rachel Huijsdens is moving abroad, there’s possibly changes with one or two other players and we have to bring in some different American, so right now, we felt it was a good time to make an overall change in the programme and refocus in terms of what we're going to go for in the next few years” he explained.

While disappointed at not being given the opportunity to return to his post with the Leixlip side, Kilbride, who is also head coach of the Ireland Under 20 Women’s team, is satisfied with all that he and the players achieved during his time at Celtics.

“They'd had a couple of bad years and, so when I was brought in, it was with the mandate to steady the ship and to make sure that they were challenging at the top again” he recalled.

“That first season was about implementing new processes and ideas, and by Year Two, we were challenging and we finished tied for top of league and forced a one-game playoff.

“Then this year we took it up a notch and, while we were very disappointed to lose the league semi-final the way we did, winning the National Cup was big.

“In that cup run we beat the team that won the league and the team that finished first in the regular season, so it was great.

“There's an awful lot of talent there for whoever comes in and takes over” he insisted.

Liffey Celtics have yet to announce a replacement for Kilbride, who will now be turning his attention to international duty as he prepares to announce his final Ireland squad for this year’s FIBA Under 20 Women’s EuroBasket Division B, which will take place in Miskolc, Hungary from August 2nd-10th.

And Celtics will be hoping to have some representation on that national squad travelling to the Europeans, with both their own Katie O’Sullivan and Georgia Munnelly having survived the previous cut to the panel back in March.

O’Sullivan, having played with the Ireland Under 18 squad, made the cut for the national Under 20 team last year, despite playing a year up.

Indeed, the highly-rated guard travelled to the FIBA Under 20 EuroBasket tournament and played in all seven games, averaging 15 minutes a match.

Ireland finished up fifth in last season’s tournament and will be heading into the 2025 competition as top seeds in Group B in which they will face off against Great Britain and Ukraine.