Echo Women in Sport award: Lauryn Homan delivered for Brunell in National Cup 

AFTER producing sterling performances for her club Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell in January, coupled with her incredible display in the Paudie O’Connor National Cup final against Fr Mathew's, it was no surprise that Lauryn Homan was selected as the first Echo Women in Sport winner of 2024.

So how did it all begin?

“I joined the Brunell Academy because my friend Alanna O’Brien was attending and I decided to accompany her and from that point I fell in love with the sport,” she said.

The first coach at the academy for Lauryn was Ken Foley who was at the helm with the club for many years but she found time to thank the many coaches at her club.

“I think all my coaches helped me in some way and our club is full of volunteers that spend hours at the club and I am very grateful to all the people behind the scenes that make it happen for us to play at the top level of Irish basketball,” she added.

At schools level she attended St Vincent’s and in her own words was lucky to have another great coach in Dommie Mullins.

“Dommie made it enjoyable not alone for me but all the girls in the team and it was a great experience playing for the school.” 

In the 2022-'23 season, Brunell had a testing season as they played with only one American for long stages and with a new coach from Tralee Liam Culloty joining the ranks in the words of Homan it was a great learning experience for her and the team.

“Before last season court time was fairly sparse for me but Liam gave me an opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands and to be honest I haven’t looked back.

“Last season was all about defence as I usually marked one the opposing American players, so it was a steep learning curve that I feel helped my game.” 

When attending UCC, under coach Mark Scannell, they won the inter-varsities competition, another great experience.

“Mark has a good knowledge of the game and playing under him was another learning curve, but to win the inter-varsity tournament was a great experience with a fabulous group of players.” 

CALL UP

On the international front, the quality of Homan was spotted by coach James Weldon last season and she was duly called into the squad.

“For me, training with the best players in the country was a huge plus and it was a case of proving myself and hoping that coach Weldon would call me into the team and that happened when I made my debut back in November against France.” 

This season Brunell have looked the real deal that saw them recently win the Paudie O’Connor Women’s National Cup for the first time in the club's history as Lauryn reflected on this magnificent history.

“I suppose the semi-final win against Killester, who let me add, have possibly the best starting five in the country, was incredible, but the belief we have in our ability has been there all season and we knew once we got among them we had very good chance of reaching the final.” 

Having strength in depth is crucial if you want to compete for championships at the top tier.

I think last year we all got to play and now our coach can go 12 deep as our sessions are competitive but I suppose the main quality is the camaraderie in the team.” 

This season Brunell recruited Americans Jayla Johnson and Kayja Williams and Lauryn paid tribute to their professionalism both on and off court.

“It’s unreal that two professionals could fit into our club so easily as they look as if they had been playing with us since they were kids as they have become friends with all of us and on top of this they are serious athletes.” 

CALM

The contribution of coach Liam Culloty didn’t go unnoticed by Homan.

“I had experience with Liam when he was an assistant with the Irish U18 team when I played but his greatest qualities are his calmness and knowing how to get the best out of all his players.” 

The recent ACL injury has finished the season for Edel Thornton and Lauryn explained her respect for her club and country captain.

“We are all gutted as I have looked up to Edel since I was an 11-year-old she was my role model and now having the pleasure to play with her is incredible. 

It goes without saying that outside of dedicating the season to our founding member Andrew Drumm, I think we owe it to Edel to try and add the Super League title to our cup success.” 

Lauryn was sensational in the cup final contributing 26 points in their win over Fr Mathew’s a day she will never forget.

“The pressure was on us because we had played poorly in our league game against them but we knew if we produced our best basketball we had the quality to win.” 

Having a good mother to have your back and help you is crucial according to Lauryn as she paid tribute to Natasha a lady who is also a hard worker in the club.

“My mother goes above the call duty for me on a regular basis and we both consistently banter about the sport but yes I will always be grateful to her for the incredible loyalty and caring she has shown me all my life.”