Liffey Celtics youngsters making their mark at international level 

Liffey Celtics players Ciara Brogan and Crea Langan continue to figure strongly on the international basketball front for Ireland having survived cuts to their respective National Under 18 and Under 16 women’s squads last week.

Both players will be giving it their all to remain in the reckoning for inclusion in their panels which will be whittled down further ahead of FIBA Youth EuroBasket competition later this summer.

The two squads were pared back to 18 players following the Christmas period, with 6’0” forward, Brogan having managed to hold on to her place despite continuing her recovery from a severe shoulder injury.

But, as the most capped player among the reduced group with 31 international appearances to her name, Brogan is a player that Ireland Under 18 Women’s head coach, Tommy O’Mahony values very highly in his set-up, saying “Ciara is a big part of the squad.

“Unfortunately, right now, she is coming back from a serious injury, but, with a solid rehab programme, we are hoping she will be back to her best.

“We have a really talented squad and we are very excited for the journey ahead” he added.

Brogan’s coach in Liffey Celtics, Erin Bracken is also eagerly anticipating her return, saying “We’re hoping she’ll be back around the end of February/March because our Under 20 National Cup campaign has been pushed out due to an appeal, so we’re just hoping that it will fit nicely in with Ciara’s return.

“She’s super talented. She’s very athletic and physically strong and she’s very difficult to stop in transition, so it doesn’t really come as a surprise that she has made the extended panel for the Ireland Under 18 squad.” A player with Celtics since she was 12 years old, Brogan, who has also figured impressively for the Dublin Minor Football team, was on the Ireland Under 16 basketball squad two years ago.

Crea Langan, meanwhile, is another competitor who has made quite an impression both on the club and international fronts.

The young guard made the move to Liffey Celtics from Tridents some two years ago and continues to stake a strong claim for a berth in Paul O’Brien’s Ireland squad ahead of this summer’s Europeans.

“Crea is a really exciting player who has great length and athletic ability as a guard” said the National Under 16 team boss. “She has all the attributes to be a great international player if she continues to work on her skills” he insisted.

Those sentiments have been very much echoed by Langan’s head coach in Liffey Celtics, Cathal Clancy who told The Kildare Nationalist: 

"Crea joined Liffey Celtics two years ago, after making the jump up from Tridents, who, at the time, were a Division Two team.

“It was evidently clear at the time that Crea had a bright future in basketball.

“There are few players who have the natural talent that Crea has, but what sets her apart from the rest is her mentality and her dedication to improving.

“It was after our very first match that I had coined Crea a ‘mentality monster’, which was due to her, not only being the point guard leading our team on offence, but being the standard bearer for everything we want to do on defence” he said.

Langan will continue to train with the other 17 members of the national panel up until, at least, the end of April when the group will be further reduced to 12 for sessions in May and for the summer.

The squad will take part in a number of training camps over the next few months, with some friendlies hopefully being organised for around the Easter period given that there is no Four Nations competition for Under 16s this year.