Martha Byrne defends Dubs’ stance as Ireland’s basketball players face Israel

Dublin footballer Martha Byrne believes the Irish basketball players have been placed in a difficult position in relation to Thursday’s EuroBasket qualifier against Israel.

Prior to throw-in for their National League opener against Kerry at Parnell Park last month, the Dublin women’s football squad took a strong public stance on the conflict in Gaza – with the players holding a banner calling for a ceasefire in Palestine: Sos cogaidh so Phalaistín.

Subsequently, the 2023 All-Ireland senior football champions released a statement outlining the reasons behind their collective viewpoint.

The EuroBasket match, which was originally due to be played in Dublin late last year, has been refixed for Riga this Thursday. There have been calls for Basketball Ireland to boycott the game, with former Dublin men’s footballer Michael Darragh Macauley among those leading the campaign.

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However, Basketball Ireland have outlined their reasons behind not withdrawing from the contest and so the game will go ahead in Latvia.

“I don’t know the full situation with their association, I presume that’s a decision that’s made between the team and their association,” says Byrne.

“It is a tough situation, particularly for players who are just there to play basketball and who don’t want to get involved in that type of thing.”

Byrne says the Dublin squad and backroom staff discussed the matter internally before proceeding with plans to stand behind a banner before their league opener.

“It was a decision taken by players and management,” she says. “As was said in the statement, we felt we had a platform and we could use it in a positive way.

“There were certain people who couldn’t partake for certain reasons, whether it be their job, that was absolutely respected. But anybody who took part in the photo, they stood behind the statement.”

The Cuala club player feels the Dublin squad will in the future look back positively on their decision to make a public statement on the matter.

“Yeah, something we’ll be proud of, certainly,” she adds.

On the pitch this year, Dublin picked up their first league win of the season with a 2-15 to 2-8 comeback victory over Mayo in Ballina on Sunday. Dublin trailed by nine points at the turnaround, but the visitors dominated the second half to win by seven.

“It was a long day and a long trip to Ballina and the first half was not as we wanted it to go, so the character we showed in the second half and to get the win was hugely important,” says Byrne.

“The wind was incredible, you couldn’t give a hand pass without it going a different direction. In the second half the forwards just kicked on and everything they seemed to kick turned to gold.”

And Byrne says there have been sightings of some familiar faces making appearances at training recently as several of Dublin’s experienced players look likely to return for 2024 – including Hannah Tyrrell.

“She’s not fully back yet, she obviously has a commitment in the form of a seven-month-old baby so she’s been afforded more time, which she absolutely should be,” says Byrne.

“Nicole Owens is back with us and we have the likes of Olwen [Carey] coming back, she was with the guards.”

Jennifer Dunne has recently returned after her time playing Aussie Rules and is expected to see game time over the coming weeks too, while veteran Sinéad Aherne has also signed up for another term.

“Sinéad is another one who’s back training with us, the experience that she offers and the knowledge that she has to pass on is huge.”

– Martha Byrne was speaking at the announcement of Dublin GAA’s new official protein partner, GetPRO.

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