Ireland national basketball team

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

Ireland

FIBA ranking	110 5 (18 September 2018)[1]
Joined FIBA	1947
FIBA zone	FIBA Europe
National federation	Basketball Ireland
Coach	Pete Strickland
Nickname(s)	The Green Army
Olympic Games
Appearances	1 (1948)
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	None
EuroBasket
Appearances	None
Championship for Small Countries
Appearances	4
Medals	Gold: 1994 Silver: 1988
Uniforms
Light Dark

The Ireland men's national basketball team represents the island of Ireland. It is organised by Basketball Ireland with players from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland play their home matches at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin. The team has yet to qualify for the final stages of EuroBasket or the FIBA World Championship.

Contents

• 
  1 History
  


• 
  2 Rosters
  
  
  
  • 
    2.1 2018
    
  
  
  • 
    2.2 2016
    
    
    
    • 
      2.2.1 Depth chart
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  3 Head coach position
  


• 
  4 Competitive record
  
  
  
  • 
    4.1 EuroBasket
    
  
  
  • 
    4.2 Olympic Games
    
  
  
  • 
    4.3 European Small Countries Championship
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  5 Notable players
  


• 
  6 Honours
  


• 
  7 Kit
  
  
  
  • 
    7.1 Manufacturer
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  8 See also
  


• 
  9 References
  


• 
  10 External links
  

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]

Rosters

2018

Head Coach: Pete Strickland

Asst. Coach: Ioannis Liapakis

No.	Player	Pos.	Team (Location)
4	Adrian O'Sullivan	SG	UCC Demons (Cork)
5	Aidan Quinn	SG	Belfast Star (Belfast)
10	Ciaran Roe	PG	Pyrobel Killester (Dublin)
15	Eoghain Kiernan	C	Pyrobel Killester (Dublin)
9	Jordan Blount	F	UIC Flames (Chicago)
14	Keelan Cairns	C	Belfast Star (Belfast)
6	Lorcan Murphy	SF	Black Amber Templeogue (Dublin)
11	Matt Kelly	SF	UCD Marian (Dublin)
7	Patrick Lyons	PG	Moycullen (Galway)
16	Paul Freeman	C	Moycullen (Galway)
12	Taiwo Badmus	F	University of Virginia at Wise (Virginia)
8	Travis Black	SG	Griffith College Swords Thunder (Dublin)

^[13][12]

2016

Ireland National Basketball Team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club G 4 O'Sullivan, Adrian 7003908900000000000♠24 – (1986-01-11)11 January 1986 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) UCC Demons C 5 Dick, Paul 7004109040000000000♠29 – (1981-01-22)22 January 1981 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Cheshire Jets G 6 Murphy, Lorcan 7003976500000000000♠26 – (1984-03-06)6 March 1984 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Neptune Cork G 7 O'Sullivan, Ciaran 7003937300000000000♠25 – (1985-04-02)2 April 1985 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Travelodge Swords Thunder F 10 James, Stephen 7003791200000000000♠21 – (1989-04-02)2 April 1989 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Cheshire Jets F/C 12 Fitzpatrick, Brian 7003872200000000000♠23 – (1987-01-13)13 January 1987 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Horsens IC C 13 Cairns, Keelan 7004105400000000000♠28 – (1982-01-21)21 January 1982 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Free Agent F 14 O'Reilly, Colin 7004105300000000000♠28 – (1982-01-31)31 January 1982 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) Norrköping Dolphins C 15 Blount, Jordan 7004107140000000000♠29 – (1981-07-31)31 July 1981 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Free Agent G 21 Gallagher, Conor 7004102620000000000♠28 – (1982-10-26)26 October 1982 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Dart Killester G 22 Lacey, Kevin 7003864500000000000♠23 – (1987-03-31)31 March 1987 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Swords Thunder F 24 Hosford, Kyle 7004100920000000000♠27 – (1983-04-14)14 April 1983 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Dart UCC Demons	Head coach Colin O'Reilly Assistant coach(es) Puff Summers Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

^[14]

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3
C	Brian Fitzpatrick		Conor Gallagher
PF	Keelan Cairns
SF	Colin O'Reilly	Kevin Lacey
SG	Paul Dick	Jordan Blount	Stephen James	Lorcan Murphy
PG	Kyle Hosford	Ciaran O'Sullivan	Adrian O'Sullivan

Head coach position

• 
  / Jay Larrañaga – 2008–2010


• 
  Mark Keenan – 2014 (Irish Superleague Select Team)


• 
  Colin O'Reilly – 2015 (Hibernia Basketball - selection of players from Irish National leagues)


• 
  Pete Strickland – 2016–present^[15]
  

Competitive record

Below are the results for tournaments that Ireland has participated in. Ireland has never qualified for a Basketball World Cup.

EuroBasket EuroBasket Qualifying Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1936–1977 Did not enter 1977 Did not qualify 5 1 4 1979 Did not enter 1981 Did not qualify 4 0 4 1983 5 0 5 1985 Did not enter 1987 Did not qualify 4 0 4 1989–1995 Did not enter 1997 Did not qualify 5 2 3 1999 8 4 4 2001 11 3 8 2003 21 10 11 2005 Division B 8 5 3 2007 Division B 6 1 5 2009 Division B 8 2 6 2011–2021 Did not enter

Olympic Games Olympic Games Pre-Olympic Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1948 23rd 6 0 6 1972 Did not qualify 4 0 4 1976 5 0 5 1976 5 0 5 1984 3 0 3 1988 4 0 4 1992 5 0 5 Total 1/20 6 0 6 European Small Countries Championship FIBA European Championship for Small Countries Year Position Pld W L 1988 5 4 1 1990 4th 5 3 2 1992 4th 5 2 3 1994 5 5 0 2016 4th 5 3 2 2018 4 2 2 Total 29 19 10

Notable players

• 
  Pat Burke – Only Irish-born to have played in the NBA, played for Orlando Magic & Phoenix Suns. Also a Euroleague and ULEB Eurocup winner with Panathinaikos BC and Real Madrid Baloncesto
  


• 
  Marty Conlon – NBA player for Seattle SuperSonics, Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Bullets, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Clippers, but not born in Ireland


• 
  Cal Bowdler – NBA player for Atlanta Hawks, but not born in Ireland


• 
  Jay Larrañaga – former captain of Ireland national team


• 
  Billy Donlon – current^[when?] head coach of the Wright State University men's basketball team^{[citation needed]}
  


• 
  Donnie McGrath - Irish American, he played for Anadolu Efes, Spartak St. Petersburg and Žalgiris Kaunas amongst others

Honours

• 
  EuroBasket Division B Promotion runners-up: 2005


• 
  EuroBasket Division C winners: 1994. runners-up: 1988

Kit

Manufacturer

2016: Macron ^[16]

See also

• Ireland women's national basketball team


• Basketball Ireland


• Ireland national under-19 basketball team


• Ireland national under-17 basketball team


• Ireland national 3x3 team

References

1. 
   ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


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. 
    ^ ^ab "Ireland - FIBA European Championship for Small Countries". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
    


13. 
    ^ http://www.basketballireland.ie/seniormen/
    


14. 
    ^ http://www.basketballireland.ie/2016
    


15. 
    ^ https://www.rte.ie/sport/basketball/2016/1118/832656-pete-strickland-takes-ireland-basketball-reins/
    


16. 
    ^ Ireland - FIBA European Championship for Small Countries, FIBA.com, Retrieved 10 January 2017.
    

External links

• 
  Basketball Ireland Official site


• 
  Ireland national team results from FIBA
  


• 
  Basketball Ireland Twitter account

v t e Basketball in Ireland
Players
Governing bodies	Basketball Ireland Basketball Northern Ireland
League	Super League
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Venues	National Basketball Arena
See also	Hibernia Basketball

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