The Northern Ireland national netball team, referred to as the Northern Ireland Warriors, represents Netball Northern Ireland in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup, the Netball at the Commonwealth Games and the Netball Europe Open Championships. Northern Ireland have won the 2009 and 2015 Netball Singapore Nations Cups. As of 1 December 2025, Northern Ireland are listed 14th on the World Netball Rankings.
Early tests The Northern Ireland national netball team has been active since the early 1950s. On 12 May 1951, when Scotland hosted their first home international, they defeated Northern Ireland 21–7 in Glasgow. Northern Ireland shooter, Peggy Curran, injured her ligaments in the first five minutes of the match and had to be flown home. On 31 October 1953, Northern Ireland hosted Scotland for the first time, losing 19–10. During the 1950s, Northern Ireland played Scotland six times. In 1954, Northern Ireland played England for the first time.
Tournament history Major tournaments Netball World Cup Northern Ireland played in the inaugural 1963 World Netball Championships and finished in 11th place. Their best performance in the tournament came in 1983 when they finished seventh. In 2019 Northern Ireland played in their twelfth Netball World Cup.
Tournaments Place1963 World Netball Championships11th1971 World Netball Championships8th1975 World Netball Championships9th1979 World Netball Championships17th1983 World Netball Championships7th1987 World Netball Championships10th1991 World Netball Championships12th1995 World Netball Championships18th1999 World Netball Championships16th2003 World Netball Championships19th2011 World Netball Championships8th2019 Netball World Cup10th Commonwealth Games In 2014, Northern Ireland made their debut at the Commonwealth Games. As part of their preparations for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Northern Ireland formed a partnership with Team Northumbria. This saw seven Northern Ireland internationals – Oonagh McCullough, Fionnuala Toner, Caroline O'Hanlon, Gemma Gibney, Michelle Drayne, Noleen Lennon and Niamh Cooper – play for Team Northumbria during the 2014 Netball Superleague season. With Kate Carpenter taking charge of both teams, Northern Ireland and Team Northumbria also shared a coach. In the tournament itself, they eventually finished seventh after defeating Wales by 58–36 in a classification match. Northern Ireland made their second appearance at the Commonwealth Games in 2018. Team captain, Caroline O'Hanlon, carried the flag of Northern Ireland during the 2018 Commonwealth Games Parade of Nations. Northern Ireland eventually finished eighth after losing to Malawi by 60–52 in a classification match.
Tournaments Place2014 Commonwealth Games7th2018 Commonwealth Games8th2022 Commonwealth Games10th2026 Commonwealth Games World Games Tournaments Place1985 World Games6th World University Netball Championship Northern Ireland represented the Colleges and Universities Sports Association of Ireland at the 2012 World University Netball Championship. It was initially planned that Ireland would send an All-Ireland team, featuring players from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. However no players from the Republic were selected for the final squad. As a result, it was a Northern Ireland team, in effect, that competed in the tournament.
Tournaments Place2012 World University Netball Championship4th European tournaments Netball World Cup Qualifiers Tournaments Place2007 World Netball Championships Qualifier – Europe3rd2011 World Netball Championships Qualifier – Europe1st2014 Netball Europe Open Championships3rd2019 Netball World Cup Regional Qualifier – Europe2nd2023 Netball World Cup Regional Qualifier – Europe3rd
Netball Europe Open Championships Northern Ireland have played regularly in the Netball Europe Open Championships. Their best performances came in 2012 and 2017 when they finished second and won silver medals on both occasions.
Tournaments Place1998 FENA Open1999 FENA Open2000 FENA Open2001 FENA Open2002 FENA Open2003 FENA Open2004 FENA Open2005 FENA Open2006 FENA Open2007 FENA Open4th2008 FENA Open3rd2009 Netball Europe Open Championships3rd2010 Netball Europe Open Championships4th2011 Netball Europe Open Championships3rd2012 Netball Europe Open Championships2th2013 Netball Europe Open Championships3rd2014 Netball Europe Open Championships3rd2015 Netball Europe Open Championships4th2016 Netball Europe Open Championships4th2017 Netball Europe Open Championships2th 2019 Netball Europe Open Championships3rd
Europe Netball Open Challenge Tournaments Place2024 Europe Netball Open Challenge1st Invitational tournaments Celtic Cup The Celtic Cup series is hosted and organised by Netball Northern Ireland, Netball Scotland and Wales Netball. The series features Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales playing a series of test matches against each other and visiting national teams.
Tournaments Place2024 Celtic Cup4th2025 Celtic Cup6th Netball Singapore Nations Cup Northern Ireland won the Netball Singapore Nations Cup in both 2009 and 2015
Tournaments Place 2007 Netball Singapore Nations Cup 2009 Netball Singapore Nations Cup 2015 Netball Singapore Nations Cup
Notable players Current squad
Captains Captains YearsPamela Lockett1963June Wightman1975 Sheelagh O'Prey1979Elizabeth Rodgers1987, 1991Jennifer Bradley1999 Noleen Lennon2009–2011Gemma Gibney2012–2016Hannah Willis2014Caroline O'Hanlon2016–Fionnuala Toner2024–Michelle Magee2025–
Head coaches Coach YearsDoreen Dutton1971 Maureen Mawhinney1975, 1979Mary French1983Mary Hicks1987, 1991Ann Anderson1995 Marian Lofthouse1999 Gill Mason2003 Elaine Rice2008–2011Jill McIntosh2012Kate Carpenter2013–2015 Elaine Rice2015 Julie Kimber2015Elaine Rice2016–2018 Dan Ryan2018–2021Elaine Rice2021–2022 Sheonah Forbes2023–
Honours Europe Netball Open Challenge Winners: 2024 Netball World Cup Qualifiers Winners: 2011 Netball Singapore Nations Cup Winners: 2009, 2015 Netball Europe Open Championships Runner up: 2012, 2017
References