The Irish, it is said, have a skill for turning a funeral into a celebration. Maigh Cuilinn’s recent ‘moving on’ from the Superleague, courtesy of their somewhat harsh relegation, is being met by many with a real sense of optimism as to the positives it just might bring to the club.

For the first time since the 2014/2015 season, Maigh Cuilinn will drop from Superleague to National League. Basketball Ireland, keen never to miss an opportunity to complicate a simple structure with unclear branding names, label the top division (essentially division 1) as Superleague with the second division named National League.

The longest serving Galway club at the top table of Irish basketball, Maigh Cuilinn has been in Superleague for 14 of the last 15 years, the solitary season of 2014/2015 at National League level the only exception.

It has been an amazing run for a club centered around a crossroads community in Connemara with no communal outdoor basketball court in the parish, let alone an actual sports hall to, you know, play basketball in.

Through some rather preposterously dedicated levels of volunteerism mixed with a passion and love for the game built over the 58 years since the club was founded in 1966, Maigh Cuilinn has thrived on the biggest stage.

The demands of Superleague have risen considerably in recent seasons through the proliferation of more professional players employed by all of the teams. It has brought welcome talent to these shores but has made it harder to genuinely compete while staying true to a philosophy of developing homegrown young talent.

That is not to say that there are no clubs out there in Superleague managing that balance. Being brutally honest with ourselves however, we have found it an increasingly difficult tightrope to walk and while we fought tooth and nail to survive in Superleague, a move back to National League where the club has such fond memories from the great teams of 1997 to 2009 and that one all conquering year in 2014/2015 which earned promotion, perhaps the seeds of a future golden era can once again be sown.

The reality is that the National League, as it was during those great days from 1997 to 2009, is highly competitive with some of the best players in Ireland still plying their trade in it. Expecting promotion in the first year or two back down in the division is a possibility of course but it would probably exceed expectations at this juncture.

What National League promises for Maigh Cuilinn is a chance at a reset at senior level after some thrilling but ultimately disappointing recent seasons at Superleague. We have amazing young talent bursting through from our underage and, given the demands of Superleague, it had proven difficult to work them into any steady rotation of playing time.

Let’s not be mistaken however, there were some unforgettable moments this season we will all remember. James Connaire’s performance against Killorglin in that first October home win. The Grant Olsson masterclass in Dublin to defeat St Vincents. An all around defensive work of art, led by returned home grown pro Patrick Lyons, to see off National Cup champions UCC Demons in November. The outrageous Joe Tummon, Kyle Cunningham sequence in that Ballincollig home game where Joe stuffed a two handed jam before Kyle stole the inbound and floated a beaut of a basket over 6 foot 10 Keelan Cairns on the half time buzzer. We could recount a hundred more (dozens alone from the contortionist that is Ivan Basic and some of his moves this season) but all in all it was, from a fan’s perspective, amazing entertainment each and every week.

Most importantly, we could be incredibly proud of the effort and honesty from our players and coaching staff who gave so much to represent the club with pride at the top level.

We enjoyed five super wins, enough to see us finish a full two clear games ahead of the two bottom teams from the Northern Conference. Unfortunately, it was not enough to get us off the bottom of the massively competitive Southern Conference table. Courtesy of the inexplicable rule that the bottom side in each conference is relegated rather than the two lowest ranked teams or some sort of a playoff, relegation beckons for Maigh Cuilinn.

What we can now look forward to is, hopefully, an increase in playing time for more of our great young players coming through the ranks. They will undoubtedly take some time to find their feet in what promises to be a really talented National League. As fans, we are excited to go on that journey with them.

We all hope that some of our most decorated players and veterans are up for the fight too as they will be needed now more than ever. Fingers are crossed that James Loughnane will finally return next season from an ankle injury sustained in the first game of the 2022/2023 Superleague season. Loughnane will hopefully be joined by fellow returning veterans such as Dylan and Kyle Cunningham, Joe Tummon and James Connaire. Their leadership will be massive for younger players now hoping to break through. Many of those ‘veterans’ benefited hugely from past Maigh Cuilinn greats, most notably the elders from the initial National League years in the late 90s and early noughties such as John and Nollaig Cunningham, Glen Hynes and Dara Canavan, still playing when they first came to the senior ranks. 

There is hope also that captain fantastic, Mr Grant Olsson (who is studying medicine in Galway) will return to don the Maigh Cuilinn green again next season. Olsson, who joined the club four years ago, has integrated himself within the club and is now very much seen as part of the Cumann Cispheile Mhaigh Cuilinn family.

Whatever the exact team make up is, the 2024/2025 season looks like an exciting new phase for the senior men’s team and will once again give us the chance to showcase our club against some of the biggest names in Irish basketball such as St. Paul’s Killarney, Portlaoise Panthers, Waterford Vikings and Tolka Rovers to name but a few.

Roll on next season!

You can read reports from all of our 2023/2024 Superleague games here

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