Ireland national basketball team

Ireland Republic of Ireland
FIBA ranking T-94 Steady
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.

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.[1] 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.[2] Only two members of the team were over 6 feet (1.8 m) tall.[3]

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,[4] 1976,[5] 1984,[6] and 1988,[7] 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.[8] In December 2015, the team was reactivated for 2016.[9]

In December 2015, it was announced that the men's national team would play at the 2016 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries.[10]

EuroBasket 2009 Qualifying campaign

Current roster

Ireland National Basketball Team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Age – Date of birth Ht. Club
G 4 O'Sullivan, Adrian 24 – (1986-01-11)11 January 1986 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) UCC Demons Republic of Ireland
C 5 Dick, Paul 29 – (1981-01-22)22 January 1981 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Cheshire Jets England
G 6 Murphy, Lorcan 26 – (1984-03-06)6 March 1984 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Neptune Cork Republic of Ireland
G 7 O'Sullivan, Ciaran 25 – (1985-04-02)2 April 1985 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Travelodge Swords Thunder Republic of Ireland
F 10 James, Stephen 21 – (1989-04-02)2 April 1989 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Cheshire Jets England
F/C 12 Fitzpatrick, Brian 23 – (1987-01-13)13 January 1987 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Horsens IC Denmark
C 13 Cairns, Keelan 28 – (1982-01-21)21 January 1982 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Free Agent
F 14 O'Reilly, Colin 28 – (1982-01-31)31 January 1982 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) Norrköping Dolphins Sweden
C 15 Blount, Jordan 29 – (1981-07-31)31 July 1981 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Free Agent
G 21 Gallagher, Conor 28 – (1982-10-26)26 October 1982 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Dart Killester Republic of Ireland
G 22 Lacey, Kevin 23 – (1987-03-31)31 March 1987 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Swords Thunder Republic of Ireland
F 24 Hosford, Kyle 27 – (1983-04-14)14 April 1983 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Dart UCC Demons Republic of Ireland
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Republic of Ireland Puff Summers
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

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

Competitive record

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

Olympic Games

Olympic Games Record
Year Position Pld W L
United Kingdom 1948 23rd 6 0 6
Total1/20606

Group D 1948

Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts
 Mexico 4 4 0 234 109+125 8
 France 4 3 1 214 131+83 7
 Cuba 4 2 2 213 131+82 6
 Iran 4 1 3 136 215−79 5
 Ireland 4 0 4 70 281−211 4

European Small Countries Championship

FIBA European Championship for Small Countries
Year Position Pld W L
Malta 1988 Runners-up 5 4 1
Wales 1990 Fourth 5 3 2
Cyprus 1992 Fourth 5 2 3
Republic of Ireland 1994 Champions 5 5 0
Moldova 2016 Fourth 5 3 2
Total 25 17 8

Notable players

Honours

Kit

Manufacturer

2016: Macron [12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ "Ireland: 1948 Olympic Games : Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  3. ↑ Hunt, Tom (July–August 2012). "Ireland ‘slam-dunked’: basketball at the 1948 games". History Ireland. 20 (4). doi:10.2307/41588713.
  4. ↑ "Ireland: 1972 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Ireland: 1976 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "Ireland: 1984 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Ireland: 1988 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  8. ↑ Duggan, Keith (24 February 2010). "Basketball Ireland pull plug on international sides". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  9. ↑ "IRELAND SENIOR MEN RETURN TO ACTION". BasketballIreland.ie. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  10. ↑ "Ireland's men's basketball team to re-enter European competition in 2016". Inside the games. 22 December 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  11. ↑ https://www.rte.ie/sport/basketball/2016/1118/832656-pete-strickland-takes-ireland-basketball-reins/
  12. ↑ Ireland - FIBA European Championship for Small Countries, FIBA.com, Retrieved 10 January 2017.
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