Oisín’s ready for new season
AS the EJ’s Sligo All- Stars count down the days to their season opener at home to Limerick on September 16th, the players are hoping to follow on last year’s phenomenal season.
The All- Stars had only returned to the Senior League after a long spell and not only did they put some of the more experienced sides to the test and went on an unbeaten run, the Northwest club also reached the President’s Cup final in the National Basketball Arena, narrowly beaten by Neptune.
One of the young stars of the EJ’s Sligo All- Stars is Oisín O’Reilly. Although he’s only after doing his Leaving Cert in Summerhill, the Drumcliffe man has gained national acclaim for his prowess on the basketball court.
He was recently part of the Irish U18s who competed at the European Championships in Estonia, so his talents speak for themselves.
The passion Oisín has for basketball and sport is clearly evident when speaking to him and he has plans not only to progress his own career, but aims to encourage more young people to play basketball too.
He told the Sligo Champion: “I was living in Dublin for a few years, my family moved to Sligo when I was in second class.
“When I was living in Dublin, I played with Ballyboden St Enda’s GAA club both in Gaelic and Hurling.
“I was also big into running and basketball too. When we moved to Sligo, Philip Hamilton’s dad encouraged me to do Community Games and that was where I met Glen ( Monaghan, youth coach with All- Stars) and I joined the All- Stars then when I was eleven.”
Oisín said that he immediately really took to playing basketball and had a real passion for it. His family too are all into sport. “I fell in love with the sport and decided to focus entirely on it.
“I have the height too, being 6’ 2. Mum and dad were also big into sport, mum played camóige while dad was into running.
“Dad is from Cork and mum is from Galway, they always wanted to move to the country so we moved to Sligo. My two younger brothers also play underage with the All- Stars and my sister, Melissa, is into sport as well.”
He credits Glen and Shane O’Meara for pushing the likes of himself and Philip through up to play senior basketball. “The commitment they give is huge and we saw what we could do last year. I think at the start of the season, we underestimated what we could achieve and how good we were.
“We went on a winning streak of six or seven games and that gave us the confidence we needed to go out and keep winning games.
“Then the next thing we were in the semi- final of the President’s Cup and then into the final. That too gave us a lot of confidence.”
Although the All- Stars is mostly a young team, with players of similar age to Oisín, there is also huge experience there with Ronan McGarrity and Mayo star Aidan O’Shea, who played a big role last season.
Oisín has immense praise for O’Shea and what he brings to the team. “Aidan is one of the most humble people I’ve ever met. He fits into the All- Stars perfectly and doesn’t look down or anything on anyone. He’s just another one of the boys.
“He made it easy to fit in with the team and is another one of us even though he’s a superstar in Gaelic and a national figure. He’s extremely professional and having someone like that helps us too.
“I think we have grown as a group over the last season, we are more together. Hopefully now with the new season we can push on and follow on with success.”
Of course another exciting aspect is having new Head Coach, Spaniard Alberto Garcia, joining this year. “I’m really looking forward to working with the new coach Alberto, when everyone is back at the start of the season we’ll be looking to impress him.
“It’s an exciting time for the club and Shane will still be there. Having a new Head Coach will bring something different and new.
“We’ve a new signing too from Spain, Jesus Sanmartin, he’s 6’ 8 and the tallest on our team.”
Oisín’s home in Drumcliffe and the surrounding North Sligo region have a lot of players on the AllStars team. “There’s a huge amount from Drumcliffe, Philip, Cian ( Lally) and Mark ( Chambers) are all from there and I suppose we are the first generation on this team.
“Hopefully there will be more coming through from Rathcormac school as well.”
Oisín also had brilliant success with Summerhill’s basketball teams, winning National titles. “We didn’t get as far as we had hoped this year but 2015 was a great year for us. “I was in TY that year and we won two All- Irelands, the Cup and League and we only lost one game that year in pre- season. “Luke McLoughlin and Jack Moran who were with me on the U16 team are with the All- Stars now.”
Oisín said that the Irish U18s had a lot of injuries to contend with at the recent European Championships in Estonia.
“We were hit with a lot of injuries and that held us back I suppose. We had two players from Neptune, who beat us in the President’s Cup missing with ACL and ligament damage, so they were a loss.”
Notwithstanding those factors, Oisín’s name was mentioned a lot after Ireland’s performances as he was one of the top scorers throughout the competition.
“I was happy enough with my performance on a personal level,” he modestly added.
That was his final year with the U18s and focus now turns to the U20 grade.
Another focus of his is coaching underage players. “With the Leaving Cert last year, I wasn’t able to coach as much as I would have liked. I want to keep kids interested in basketball, have them coming around our training sessions and see what it’s like.” In terms CSS Blue 33pts yellow 35pts SUNDAY August 20th: Lady Presidents prize to the Gents. Scurmore Course 1st Michael Mullins( 17) 44pts 2nd Liam Cawley( 21) 41pts b9 3rd Noel Enright( 22) 41pts 4th Brian Golden( 13) 40pts b9 5th Archie McMahon( 5) 40pts css White 39pts. Open day every Thursday. Semi open every Saturday. 096 36297 for timesheet
TUBBERCURRY
LADIES: Lady Presents Day was held at the club on Sunday last 20th August. Ms Mary McTiernan hosted a very enjoyable day The weather was mixed with a fairly good morning and muggy weather in the mid to late afternoon. However this did not affect the scoring. The results were as follows: 1ST Bridgie Clarke – 72 Nett 2ND Mary Kathleen Johnston 73 Nett GROSS Betty Scanlon 3RD Pat Kelly 73 Nett 4TH Frances Kennedy 74 Nett FRONT 9 – Marie O’Hara BACK 9 – Christine Hannan CATEGORY 13 Breege Walshe CATEGORY 23 – 29 – Kathleen Cryan CATEGORY 30 – 36 – Brid McLoughlin PAST President – Anne Scanlon NEAREST Pen – Geraldine Davey BEGINNERS Prize – Kathryn Collins 9 Hole 1st – Eileen Murtagh 9 Hole 2nd – Mary Kelly NEXT Sunday 28th is an 18 Hole Stableford – Sponsor Devenish Nutrition. - 22 - of playing professionally, Oisín said it’s very hard in Ireland. “There are opportunities abroad for kids with scholarships although it’s not something that I want to pursue,” he explained.
For now, his focus is on the All- Stars. “It’s very exciting coming into the new season and with the Spanish influence. We were shocked with the crowds we got last year. Some of the players with me on the Irish team said coming to Sligo was their favourite place because of the crowds and the atmosphere. I love basketball because it’s such a different sport. It doesn’t really get the exposure here on television but it’s such a great sport to get into. When you see and hear the crowds raising the roof of the Mercy, nothing beats that,” he added. And from September 16th onwards, the roof will be rising once again.