Excitement continues to grow as Panthers progress

Portlaoise Panthers head coach, Keith Conroy appears to have secured the final pieces in the assembly of an impressive squad, with the arrival of Ciara Byrne and, most recently, Amy Dooley ahead of the start to the new Women’s Super League basketball season in October.

The recent withdrawal of DCU Mercy from the top flight due to financial pressure, meant that Portlaoise were suddenly presented with the opportunity to bring back one of their home-grown talents in Byrne, and the club wasted no time in grasping the opportunity.

The highly-rated point guard will be a huge addition to the Portlaoise set-up and Conroy was delighted to see her make a return to her old club.

“Unfortunately DCU had to pull out of the league, but it was our gain to be able to bring back Ciara” he told the Laois Nationalist.

“And now she is coming back with all that incredible amount of Super League experience.

“She’s a phenomenal player. At training, she’s just controlling things straight away, and the transition is so much easier because she would have played with all these girls coming up, and they’re just so happy to have her back.

“She would have been a captain of all these underage teams, she was a captain of an Irish Under 20 team, and to have that sort of experience when we didn’t think we were going to have it, is just massive for the team” he said.

More recently, Portlaoise secured the services of former UCC Glanmire player, Amy Dooley – an addition that Conroy feels completes his panel for the new upcoming campaign.

Indeed, the club and international experience that Dooley brings to the Panthers fold will be invaluable as they look to build on their survival in the top ranks last season.

“To add Amy Dooley to our squad, an Irish international and one of the best Number 5s in the country, is just brilliant,” said Conroy.

“Amy is living just outside Carlow and she was with Glanmire the last couple of years, and maybe the travelling just got a bit hard.

“I had met Amy early in the year and she didn’t know what she was going to do. Obviously we were hoping to get her with Portlaoise. We had a few chats the last couple of weeks and she decided to come to us.

“It’s just great. For me, it’s the last box to be ticked on the team. It was the one position in which we needed a bit more cover, and to bring in an Irish international to play that spot for us is just massive.

“Amy is a hell of a player with serious work ethic as well, and she brings that experience, that composure and just brings a lot to the table for us,” he insisted.

Certainly Conroy and his backroom team have been busy over the summer, assembling a squad they hope will prove more of a force in the Super League this season.

Victories over the likes of DCU Mercy and Catalyst Fr. Mathews over the course of the second half of last season proved crucial in seeing them avoid the drop.

But, with the likes of Byrne and Dooley now joining top pros in Alyssa Velles and Hailey Jordan, together with the recent arrival of Ireland 3×3 international, Lynn Tunnah, Portlaoise appear poised to mount a more serious challenge this time around.

“To add those two players to our two pros, Hailey and Alyssa, and then on top of that, you’re adding in Megan Dunne, Jasmine Burke, Lynn Tunnah, we have a serious team now and everyone’s really excited for the first weekend of October when we play our first game,” said Conroy.

“We’re just focused on that now and the team is really buzzing. The excitement is already building and we just can’t wait to get going,” he added.