Loss of DCU Mercy throws shadow over launch of new season

DCU Mercy had won women’s league titles and national cups but like Dundalk in the League of Ireland, their demise shows how even the ‘biggest’ can come a cropper.

Wed, 25 Sep, 2024 - 07:11

Brendan O'Brien

Tuesday afternoon at the National Basketball Arena and the place is a riot of colour, smiles and flash photography as players and coaches converge from across the length and breadth of the country for the annual launch of the men’s and women’s leagues.

The sense of renewal that comes with this time of year permeates the very boards and beams of the arena itself given it will soon be redeveloped from jaded venue into state-of-the-art stadium courtesy of a €38m redevelopment.

But not everything is sweetness and light.

Irish basketball is long accustomed to counting the pennies and there have been times when the sums just didn’t add up.

DCU Mercy were the latest club to fold because of financial pressures. They withdrew from the Super League only this summer.

Mark Ingle, who founded the club with his wife Annette two decades ago and served for so long as head coach, explained the difficulties in trying to keep the lights on in an interview with the Echo newspaper in July.

A “near impossibility”, was how he summed it up.

DCU Mercy had won women’s league titles and national cups, winning the former for the last time only four years ago. Like Dundalk in the League of Ireland, their demise shows how even the ‘biggest’ can come a cropper on the domestic club scene.

Liam Culloty, head coach with Gurranbraher Credit Union Brunell, shook his head ruefully when the conversation turned to the loss of DCU Mercy to the Super League. And he spoke for the absolute importance of having the financial muscle to withstand the strain.

“We rely very heavily on sponsors and we have got great sponsors in Gurranbraher Credit Union and Tiles R Us. Without them we would really struggle. My first year at Brunell was two seasons ago and we didn’t have a pro for long parts of the season.

DCU Mercy's Coach Mark Ingle speaks to the team. Pic: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

“Sponsorship is so important. It’s not a good story with DCU Mercy pulling out. They were such ambassadors of the league, a household name, and they were always in finals. They were so successful so it is really unfortunate to lose them.” Keith Daly has taken in the domestic scene from an assortment of angles.

The new head coach with Fr Mathews in the Women’s Super League, he spent the last ten years with Neptune where he coached the U18s boys to National Cup success and served as assistant on the senior men’s team. He has also worked with the Basketball Ireland Academy.

Daly is an accountant by trade, and that has to be handy in this gig.

“You need two things, right? You need the people, good people who want to push it in the right direction, and you also need the money. Fundraising is obviously the biggest challenge. When you hear of clubs folding they are the two biggest factors.

“You always see one or two front-line people but how many people are in the background doing other jobs? It’s a full-time job. Three or four full-time jobs, to be honest. You hear of some clubs having a lot of backing behind them and you can see the results on the court.”

This season’s leagues will be run along new lines with the ten-team women’s Super League operating on a home-and-away basis before the top eight advance to the playoffs. The men’s equivalent will see 13 teams run to 24 games each before entering the playoff stage Griffith College Eanna had to play 22 games to win their first men’s title last year. This year’s champions will need 27 to claim the same prize.

That makes for a longer road and it will include a handful of back-to-back games through the campaign. The potential for added costs seems clear and it will ask extra of team rosters with those further down the depth chart coming more into play.

“The good thing about the league this year is that a lot of teams have a lot of rookies,” said Ireland international Jordan Blount who has made the move from Energywise Ireland Neptune to Flexachem KCYMS in Killorglin.

“So they are coming straight from college where they are used to playing multiple games a week. For myself, I crave games. I can’t wait for it but it does create that nuance where some players might be hurt and can’t play two days in a row.

“You get a flu and you could miss two games and two games could be the making or breaking of a whole season. So it does put a demand on every player in the roster, not just to be available, but to be sharp and ready to play at a high level.

“I love the format, I am really excited for it.”