IRISH midcourter Seren Redmond has a tale like many of her Irish teammates, but also does not.

Although born in the United Kingdom, her Irish grandfather gave her eligibility to represent the Republic, and as someone who grew up very immersed in Irish culture, she took up that opportunity.

It is this upbringing that makes her not think too much about the fact she lives in one country but represents another on the international stage.

“I think as a kid my dad would always wear his Ireland shirt during the Six Nations, so I think I always grew up knowing I was Irish, and so I think it sort of came naturally to play for Ireland,” Redmond said. “When I trialled when I was younger that’s how I saw it, so I don’t find it weird, I’ve always seen Ireland as my country and who I represent.”

However, netball has not been Redmond’s only sporting love, with soccer also a massive part of her childhood.

She started soccer as a toddler but netball did not come along until she was at school. She progressed through the pathways in both sports, even breaking into the Ireland set up at the tender age of 14.

She mainly focused on soccer during the COVID-19 pandemic, but did come back to netball. Once she hit her university years, it was time to choose between the sports and initially she chose soccer, but getting the chance to represent Ireland at the senior level is what ultimately led her to choose netball.

When it comes to her netball, she was initially a goal defence but as others grew and she did not, she ultimately transitioned to the midcourt.

Some of netball career highlights include making her Ireland senior debut at 19 years-old in the 2022 Euros, which is a tournament Ireland went on to win, and playing in the World Cup qualifiers.

Life is pretty busy for Redmond, with a geography degree at university also keeping her busy alongside her netball.

Redmond confessed that her life does have its challenges, but she has plans in place to ensure it does not get on top of her.

“I think there are definitely some challenges, but I think it’s just really about effective time management” Redmond said.

“I start my deadlines a lot earlier than a lot of my peers do, and I think I recognise that if I’m organised at uni and staying on top of deadlines, that I’m going to perform better on court. It’s just about that, making sure that my work is done before I need to worry about it getting on top of me.”