Ireland U16 men’s head coach Pat Price has selected 41 players for the next stage of trials, following initial trials at Gormanston last weekend.

“We are very happy with the turnout, as well as the physical and mental effort by the boys over the weekend. It’s a long process and we’ll learn a lot in the coming months”, Price said.

Ireland U17 men’s head coach Gareth O’Reilly has shortlisted 61 players following recent trials at the Gormanston.

“It was great to see the large number of players from all around the country that took part in our talent identification session this past Saturday,” O’Reilly noted.

“After such a long time away from the court, the quality of play and the desire to wear the green jersey was evident for all to see.

“Myself and my coaching staff are really looking forward to working with the group of selected players as we move forward to the next phase of our selection process in November.”

Ireland U18 men’s head coach Paul Kelleher has picked 51 players for the second round of selection, following trials at Gormanston last weekend.

“We had an extensive process to identify the players for the next phase of the selection process. We were quite impressed with the talent on show and look forward to more engagement and finalising the squad,” Kelleher said.

The next round of trials are due to take place on November 20th and 21st.

Ireland Men’s U16 Shortlist

Ireland Men’s U17 Shortlist

Ireland Men’s U18 Shortlist

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Bernard O’Byrne vacated the role in July after he mocked the Black Lives Matter movement in a Facebook reply to a BBC News post about the foul on Raheem Sterling that led to England’s winning goal in the Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark.

Feehan spent 16 years as the CEO of the Six Nations and the British & Irish Lions, between 2002 and 2018.

The former chief of the then-Pro12 is excited to step into the role in place of O’Byrne and play a part in growing the sport in the nation.

“Yeah, I suppose there’s a multitude of things really,” Feehan said when asked about his decision to join Basketball Ireland. “I suppose the big one is the potential for growing the sport in Ireland.

“Basketball, as you are probably aware, is the fourth biggest sport in the country – it’s the biggest indoor sport in the country and to some extent, not a lot of people know that.

“And that’s sad in a way, but it’s also a great potential opportunity and also, I think commercially there’s lots of room for improvement.

“It’s going to be one of those ones where so much potential to grow the sport, not just in terms of playing numbers but in terms of levels of interest with the general public and together into the national psyche as a major sport within the country.

“So, yeah, it’s a great challenge.”

Feehan has previously been involved in sponsorship with Irish basketball “about 25 years ago” with Killester Lucozade Sport.

He is looking forward to continuing that relationship with basketball as CEO of the national governing body and promoting its diversity.

“It is so inclusive, it actually effectively allows everybody and anybody within the country to get involved in sport, and to have a natural interest in to show that you know it can work for anybody no matter what background they come from, no matter what gender they are.”

Ireland have had recent success on the international scene with their men’s and women’s teams.

The men’s team won the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries that Ireland hosted in August after four wins from four at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght.

The women’s side came second in Cyprus in July at the same tournament, being denied a first-ever FIBA Small Countries win by Luxembourg – Claire Melia earned an All-Star for her performances.

“I think every sport needs aspirational figures and aspirational teams to go for it.

“If you can’t be inspired by wanting to play for your country to play at the highest level for your country, there’s something wrong.

“Similarly, with all the top clubs, you know, We’ve got to get players below that level to want to play for those top clubs.

“So at the end of the day, the international scene has been very important – it’s your shop window in lots of respects for your sport.

“So we’ve got to make it as important as any other international, any other sport in our [country]. So we’ve got to put the program together to make that happen.”

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The announcement was made at Thursday’s launch of the 2021/22 National League season at the National Basketball Arena.

The men’s Super League and Division One will now be known as the InsureMyVan.ie Super League and InsureMyVan.ie Division One.

The women’s Super League and Division One will be named the MissQuote.ie Super League and MissQuote.ie Division One.

Basketball Ireland’s prestigious National Cup is now called the InsureMyHouse.ie Cup at all levels of the game.

The agreement with CFM will also see the company support Ireland’s national teams, as they return to FIBA EuroBasket qualification in November.

InsureMyVan.ie is to become the lead sponsor of the men’s team and MissQuote.ie are a lead sponsor of the Ireland U20 women’s team and a supporting partner of the Irish senior women’s team.

Basketball Ireland’s Commercial Manager Conor Meany welcomed the new deal. “The timing of this announcement couldn’t be better, as we head back into competitive domestic basketball for the first time in 18 months.

“It is a major endorsement of what we believe is possible in the sport and it is fantastic to have found a company that shares that vision.

“CFM Group are on a similar trajectory to us and have been growing rapidly over the past decade.

“We’re looking forward to working alongside them to grow their suite of brands and our sport over the coming years.”

Jonathan Hehir M.D. of CFM Group said: “CFM Group with market-leading brands InsureMyVan.ie, MissQuote.ie and InsureMyHouse.ie are proud to partner with Basketball Ireland, to support the growth of the most popular indoor sport in the country.

“As an Irish company employing local staff, our success is built upon a young Irish team of fully trained insurance specialists, motivated to be the best in the sector, delivering high-quality low-cost insurance to our customers.

“We are delighted to embark on this basketball sponsorship covering the National League, National Cup and international teams, supporting young men and women participating across the length and breadth of the country.”

The National League returns next week after an 18-month absence due to Covid-19 – the first fixture of the season take place on Friday 8^th October, with The Address UCC Glanmire hosting Team Garveys St. Mary’s in the Missquote.ie Super League.

DCU Mercy were the 2019/20 women’s Super League champions, their opening game is a home tie against WIT Waterford Wildcats, on October 10th.

Head coach Mark Ingle is itching to get back on the court: “We at DCU Mercy are really looking forward to the start of the women’s Super League on October 10th.

“It has been a long time trying to get back on the court, but onwards and upwards now for all involved.

“It should be a really exciting season, as I’d imagine all the players are hungry for the game as they have missed it.”

Defending men’s Super League champions Belfast Star also don’t play until Sunday 10^th October, when they host UCD Marian at De La Salle College.

Head coach Adrian Fulton is eager to begin the defence of their Insuremyvan.ie Super League title: “We are very much looking forward to getting back to the cut and thrust of the league. It’s obviously nice to be going in as defending champions, but that really counts for very little at this stage.

“Most teams will have very different playing rosters, including ourselves, and I’m sure the league will be as closely contested as in the previous few seasons, with lots of teams in with a shot at the title.

“We hope that the fans will take the opportunity to come out and support their teams and create a great atmosphere, as they have done in previous years. From my perspective, we are definitely behind in our preparation.

“I hope we can be as competitive as possible in the opening month and will try to improve as the season develops.”

The draw for the InsureMyHouse.ie Cup takes place on Tuesday 5th October – Division One clubs will learn their opponents from 1 pm, with the draw streamed live from the National Basketball Arena on Basketball Ireland’s Facebook channel.

The draw for Super League sides is live from RTÉ studios and will be broadcast on ‘Game On’ on RTÉ 2fm from 6:30 pm.

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This comes after the Irish government’s latest announcement which informed us that the majority of restrictions are set to be lifted by Friday, October 22.

Basketball Ireland have stated that, until October 22, there will be a capacity limit of 100 people for indoor group activities where all those involved are immune – either fully vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 within the last 6 months, or accompanied minors (under 18).

“This has been a long arduous 17 months or so for the basketball community,” said Basketball Ireland CEO Paddy Boyd. “Our clubs, players, officials and volunteers have suffered and to finally have a return date for all levels of our sport is excellent news.

“The fact that our clubs can have spectators at events, up to 60% of venue capacity, is brilliant. It is great timing with our senior National League sides allowed to resume pre-season fixtures from September 13^th and the National League starting from October 9^th/10^th.”

From September 6^th, indoor events can take place with a 60% capacity limit where patrons are immune – those attending must be fully seated at arenas.

Where patrons have mixed immunity status, there will be no change to the current restrictions during September.

Chair of Basketball Ireland’s ‘Return to Play’ group, Charles Higgins, said: “We will issue a full breakdown of the new restrictions later this week to our basketball community, so they can plan in anticipation of September 20th. We shall be seeking clarifications from Sport Ireland on some of the guidelines issued by government today.

“I really want to express my gratitude to the basketball community who have persevered throughout this elongated period without the sport. They have shown huge resilience, adapting to outdoor basketball when indoor wasn’t possible. Now the reward is there and there is huge excitement to finally get the chance to be back indoors on a court and get our sport up and running fully again.

“I’d also like to thank my fellow members of the ‘Return to Play’ group who have helped navigate our sport through this torrid time, with situations changing regularly. We have tried to guide our basketball community through it all as best as possible and we shall continue to do so.”

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The role was vacated by former CEO Brendan O’Byrne after he came under fire for a social media comment.

Boyd has experience in the position with other Irish National Governing Bodies, having also performed the role with Irish Sailing, Canoeing Ireland and the Camogie Association and is also a former CEO of Sail Canada.

Boyd will take up the position with Basketball Ireland on a part-time basis, alongside his current role as CEO of Pentathlon Ireland, a position that he has held since May 2018.

His experience totals to over 30 years in the position with his first role beginning in 1988.

Speaking about his appointment, Paddy Boyd said: “I’m delighted to have this opportunity to work with Basketball Ireland on an interim basis. It’s Ireland’s biggest indoor sport and has shown incredible growth over the last number of years. During my time I will strive to keep this positive momentum going until the permanent CEO is appointed.”

The Ireland Women’s national basketball team recently finished runners-up in the FIBA Women’s European Championship for Small Countries in Cyprus, missing out on their first-ever triumph.

The men are set to kick off their Euros for Small Countries campaign, which will be hosted in Limerick at the University of Limerick’s UL Sport Arena on Tuesday, August 10th.

Basketball Ireland CEO, Paul McDevitt, said: “Paddy’s experience as an NGB CEO is without question and his expertise will help Basketball Ireland during a busy period for our sport. Our international teams back are in action, we’re hosting the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries and we’re gearing up for the return to indoor sport, preparing for the 2021/22 season.

“We have begun the recruitment process to find a permanent CEO and it’s a position we expect to receive a high calibre of applicants for a hugely attractive position in Irish sport.”

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Ireland Women kicked-off their FIBA European Championship For Small Countries campaign in Nicosia, Cyprus with a 71-point victory over Andorra.

The game marks their first match since 2019 after they were forced into a Covid-induced break, and also their first win.

Ireland started as they meant to go on with the offensive power of the side proving to be too much for the Andorran defence early on.

Dayna Finn, who was on her debut, led the side in scoring on the night with 14 points and was an important figure at the start of the game.

Finn helped her side gain a commanding 17-0 lead and James Weldon’s side marched on from there, never letting go of the advantage they had.

Edel Thornton was the thorn in the Andorrans’ sides as she racked up three steals in the first quarter alone.

Ireland upped their game in the second quarter, posting 32 points – their largest haul in any quarter.

The side’s defensive rebounds were instrumental in their attacking display as their counter-attacks proved lethal against the Andorran defence.

The Andorrans suffered an error-filled display courtesy of the hard work and tenacity of the likes of Thornton and Rachel Huijsdens.

Hower, Noah Mico Lorenzo and Cristina Andres Rabasa showed up for their country and put up double-digit points.

Through this solid defence, the Irish continued to have unanswered high-scoring runs.

The side finished the game with 36 defensive rebounds and 27 offensive rebounds, including the one that led to the lay-up Grainne O’Dwyer pounced on to break the 100-point barrier.

Weldon and co. will be impressed with their showing in the opener in Nicosia and will now look towards a game against Malta on Thursday afternoon.

Ireland: Michelle Clarke (9), Aine McKenna (10), Dayna Finn (14), Claire Rockall (7), Rachel Huijsdens (9), Grainne Dwyer (11), Edel Thornton (4), Fiona O’Dwyer (10), Claire Melia (9), Hannah Thornton (5), Sorcha Tiernan (12), Aine O’Connor (4).

Andorra: Cristina Andres Rabasa (10), Noah Mico Lorenzo (13), Laura Laurent Marrugat, Mariona Palou Vidal, Carla Solana Perez (2), Claudia Brunet Solano (6), Julia Marquez Tomas (2), Anna Mana Buscall, Patricia Meira Gallego, Mireia Magrinya Alonso, Cloe Torcuato Rodriguez (DNP).

To see the recently announced Men’s squad, click here.

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