Gleneagle aim to rekindle glory days of ’80s

THE basketballers of Gleneagle Killarney contest a national cup semi-final this weekend for the first time since 1996, but nostalgia addicts must go back to the Eighties for the glory days of basketball in the Kingdom.

Basketball was the glamour sport of a dull decade in Ireland, and Mario Elie, Terry Strickland, Bob Stevens and Jasper McIlroy lit up places like the Parochial Hall, Neptune Stadium and St Brendan’s College hall in Killarney. The Irish players weren’t too shabby either, and Killarney man Paudie O’Connor was one of the best.

“We were one of the better teams in the country,” says O’Connor. “Ourselves and the Cork teams had some great tussles. We had some great teams, always with a nucleus of homegrown players complemented with some very good American players. Without good local players you couldn’t win.” O’Connor’s brother Séamus concurs. “There was a great buzz at the time, these fellas were huge stars and added something different to the sporting scene.