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Ireland men's national basketball team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Ireland women's national basketball team.

Ireland Republic of Ireland
File:Bballireland logo.jpg
FIBA ranking90 Decrease 2 (15 August 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA1947
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationBasketball Ireland
CoachMark Keenan
Nickname(s)The Green Army
Olympic Games
Appearances1 (1948)
MedalsNone
FIBA World Cup
AppearancesNone
EuroBasket
AppearancesNone
Championship for Small Countries
Appearances6
MedalsGold Gold: (1994)
Silver Silver: (1988)
Bronze Bronze: (2018)

The Ireland national basketball team (Template:Lang-ga) represents the island of Ireland in men's international basketball competition. It is governed by Basketball Ireland with players from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland plays their home matches at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin.

Ireland doesn't have much history on the international stage, as they have yet to reach qualification to top tournaments being the EuroBasket or the FIBA World Cup. However, the national team did manage to reach the Summer Olympics once, in 1948.

History

Ireland (white) against Luxembourg (blue) in 2009

The Amateur Basketball Association of Ireland (ABAI; now Basketball Ireland) was formed in 1945 and affiliated to FIBA in 1947. An indoor version of basketball had been played in the Irish Army from 1936, but using non-standard rules to create an indoor winter substitute for Gaelic football; until 1943, the Army Athletic Council officially recognised only Gaelic games.[2] The ABAI sent a team of the best Army players to the 1948 Olympic tournament in nearby London, despite the refusal of Army command to release the players for intensive training. The team coaches were officers unfamiliar with the sport, who outranked the players and ignored their advice. Although many top sides were absent from the London Games in the aftermath of World War II, the Irish team finished last, losing every match heavily; the worst a 71–9 loss to Mexico, who finished fourth.[3] Only two members of the team were over 6 feet (1.8 m) tall.[4]

The team's standard improved gradually from the 1970s to the 2000s, as more school leavers won scholarships to play US college basketball, and some Irish American professional players took up eligibility to compete for their ancestral country. Ireland entered European-zone Olympic qualification tournaments in 1972,[5] 1976,[6] 1984,[7] and 1988,[8] losing every match each time. In 1988, Ireland finished runner-up in the inaugural Promotion Cup, the third tier of EuroBasket, later named EuroBasket Division C, and now the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries. In 1993, the National Basketball Arena opened in Dublin, which became the team's new permanent home. Division C was hosted there the following year, and Ireland beat Cyprus 81–78 in the final to gain promotion to EuroBasket Division B. Ireland narrowly failed to win promotion to Division A in FIBA EuroBasket 2005 Division B, losing to Denmark by 4 points after having won the first game in Dublin by 10 points.

In February 2010, during the Irish financial crisis, Basketball Ireland announced that it was €1.2m in debt and was deactivating its senior international squads to cut costs.[9] In December 2015, the team was reactivated for 2016.[10]

In December 2015, it was announced that Ireland would play at the 2016 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries.[11] The team finished in the fourth position overall.

Ireland played in the 2018 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries, held in San Marino from 26 June to 1 July. After finishing 1–1 in group play—losing to Malta then defeating Andorra–Ireland lost to Norway and then defeated Gibraltar to finish in third place.[12]

Competitive record

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2018 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries[13]

Ireland national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
}}
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
G 4 Adrian O'Sullivan 24 – (1993-07-21)21 July 1993 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) UCC Demons Republic of Ireland
SG 5 Aidan Quinn 22 – (1995-07-10)10 July 1995 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Belfast Star Northern Ireland
SF 6 Lorcan Murphy 23 – (1994-12-08)8 December 1994 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Templeogue BC Republic of Ireland
PG 7 Patrick Lyons 22 – (1995-08-16)16 August 1995 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Moycullen BC Republic of Ireland
SG 8 Travis Black 27 – (1991-01-16)16 January 1991 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) Swords Thunder Republic of Ireland
F 9 Jordan Blount 21 – (1997-01-05)5 January 1997 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) UIC Flames United States
C 10 Ciaran Roe 25 – (1993-06-21)21 June 1993 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Killester BC Republic of Ireland
SF 11 Matthew Kelly 30 – (1987-10-15)15 October 1987 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) UCD Marian Republic of Ireland
F 12 Taiwo Badmus 24 – (1993-07-03)3 July 1993 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Virginia–Wise United States
C 14 Keelan Cairns 26 – (1992-05-26)26 May 1992 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) Belfast Star Northern Ireland
C 15 Eoghain Kiernan 21 – (1996-07-10)10 July 1996 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Killester BC Republic of Ireland
C 16 Paul Freeman 35 – (1983-03-31)31 March 1983 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Moycullen BC Republic of Ireland
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Greece Ioannis Liapakis
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the competition
  • Age – describes age
    on 26 June 2018

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench
C
PF
SF
SG
PG

Head coach position

Notable players

Past rosters

1948 Olympic Games: finished 23rd among 23 teams

4 Donald O'Donovan, 5 Frank O'Connor, 6 Paddy Crehan, 7 Jimmy McGee, 8 Bill Jackson, 9 Harry Boland, 10 Tommy Keenan, 12 Dermot Sheriff, 13 Danny Reddin, 14 Paddy Sheriff, 15 Jim Flynn, 16 Christy Walsh (Coach: ?)

2016 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries: finished 4th among 8 teams[17]

Ireland national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
G 4 Adrian O'Sullivan 22 – (1993-07-21)21 July 1993 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) UCC Demons Republic of Ireland
G 5 Paul Dick 25 – (1991-04-30)30 April 1991 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Cheshire Jets England
SF 6 Lorcan Murphy 21 – (1994-12-08)8 December 1994 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Neptune Cork Republic of Ireland
SF 7 Ciarán O'Sullivan 25 – (1990-12-27)27 December 1990 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Swords Thunder Republic of Ireland
SF 9 Stephen James 24 – (1992-03-16)16 March 1992 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Cheshire Jets England
C 10 Brian Fitzpatrick 26 – (1989-11-06)6 November 1989 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Horsens IC Denmark
C 11 Keelan Cairns 24 – (1992-05-26)26 May 1992 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) UCC Demons Republic of Ireland
PF 12 Colin O'Reilly 32 – (1984-01-30)30 January 1984 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) UCC Demons Republic of Ireland
SF 13 Jordan Blount 19 – (1997-01-05)5 January 1997 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) UIC Flames United States
C 14 Conor Gallagher 31 – (1984-09-15)15 September 1984 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Dart Killester Republic of Ireland
F 15 Kevin Lacey 27 – (1989-02-24)24 February 1989 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Swords Thunder Republic of Ireland
PG 16 Kyle Hosford 27 – (1989-06-27)27 June 1989 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) UCC Demons Republic of Ireland
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Republic of Ireland Puff Summers
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the competition
  • Age – describes age
    on 28 June 2016

Kit

Manufacturer

2016: Macron [18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  2. ^ Mac Lua, Brendan (1967). "12: The Passing Years". The steadfast rule : a history of the G.A.A. ban. Dublin: Press Cuchulainn. pp. 85–87. OCLC 16988629.
  3. ^ "Ireland: 1948 Olympic Games : Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  4. ^ Hunt, Tom (July–August 2012). "Ireland 'slam-dunked': basketball at the 1948 games". History Ireland. 20 (4). doi:10.2307/41588713.
  5. ^ "Ireland: 1972 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Ireland: 1976 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Ireland: 1984 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  8. ^ "Ireland: 1988 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  9. ^ Duggan, Keith (24 February 2010). "Basketball Ireland pull plug on international sides". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  10. ^ "IRELAND SENIOR MEN RETURN TO ACTION". BasketballIreland.ie. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  11. ^ "Ireland's men's basketball team to re-enter European competition in 2016". Inside the games. 22 December 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Ireland - FIBA European Championship for Small Countries". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Ireland at the 2018 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries". Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  14. ^ "Pete Strickland takes over as head man of the Irish men's national team". Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  15. ^ "Basketball Ireland names Mark Keenan coach of the men's national team". Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  16. ^ "Billy Donlon will draw from his Northwestern, Michigan days to build UMKC basketball". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  17. ^ "Ireland at the 2016 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries". Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  18. ^ Ireland - FIBA European Championship for Small Countries, FIBA.com, Retrieved 10 January 2017.
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