Five proud Maigh Cuilinn basketball legends were amongst those honoured Tuesday night at the Galway League Men’s and Women’s Teams of the Decade Ceremony (2010s).

Roisin Nihill and Marie Deegan were selected on the Women’s Team. John Cunningham, Glen Hynes and Rory Monaghan were selected on the Men’s team.

The selections were made by the Galway Area Basketball Board during a process undertaken during Covid lockdowns when actual basketball on the court was minimal and the idea was hatched to put together a team of the decade from the 2010s.

Read the Galway Bay FM report on the announcement here.

Congratulations to the five Maigh Cuilinn players selected, all of whom graced some wonderful teams that brought home a lot of silverware during their tenure and some long lived memories for the club.

We have a selection of pictures from the night here and below is a brief note on the five Maigh Cuilinn players selected.

Roisin Nihill
Roisin was one of the club’s earliest Irish internationals underage, starring for an all conquering Maigh Cuilinn girls team that won the club’s first underage national title, the U16 Girls Community Games. She would go on to play for University of Galway at the intervarsity level and Mystics in the National League. She was a key component of the cup and league winning Galway League sides in the mid 2010s.

Marie Deegan
Marie Deegan was without a doubt the driving force of the Maigh Cuilinn senior women’s section for the vast majority of the 2010s. We can’t claim to have crafted her skills on the basketball court as she came to us already a major talent from her days underage with Waterford Wildcats and then University of Limerick but we were certainly glad to have her and her massive contribution to Maigh Cuilinn and Galway Basketball will long be remembered.

John Cunningham
There is not much to say about this man that has not already been written. Maigh Cuilinn’s all time leading scorer (including netting our first ever basket at Superleague level way back in 2009). John had a glittering playing career that included being named Basketball Ireland National League player of the year in the 2000s. After stepping aside from Superleague in the early 2010s, he terrorized oppositions at the Galway League level for many a season and simply put, there couldn’t realistically be a credible Galway League team of the decade selection without JC on it.

Rory Monaghan
The professor! Rory was one of the early stars of Maigh Cuilinn basketball club and along with brother Fergal, came up through the ranks as part of the first generation of underage boys teams to really compete at a national level and Rory would go on to be a fixture on our early National League squads. That level of experience certainly carried through to the Galway League scene where Rory (when not galivanting the world as a super academic scientist whizz kid saving the world) has been arguably the heart of the Maigh Cuilinn Men’s Galway League section.

Glen Hynes
Glen was one of the key players through the early rise of Maigh Cuilinn senior men’s teams at a national level from new kids on the block at national league to perennial contenders. Who could forget in particular his epic shooting display in the first half of the National Cup final 2009 that sent us on our way to the title in the Arena. He has made his mark at local league also however and was a star of the Galway League side this year that won the 2023 Men’s Galway Cup.

We are incredibly proud of our five Team of the Decade players so well done guys!

The full team lists are as follows:-

Womens

• Hannah Coen Claregalway
• Georgina Ni Hassa Claregalway
• Aedin Nic Fhlannchadha Na Gaeil/TG4
• Lisa O Farrell Tribes/Maree/Claregalway
• Claire Flynn Titans
• Niamh Brew Titans
• Mary Grealish Titans
• Roisin Nihill Maigh Cuilinn
• Marie Deegan Maigh Cuilinn
• Triona Ni Chualain Carna
• Mary Harte Corrib
• Fiona Mc Callion Titans/ East Galway Celtics

Mens

• Gavin Mc Gee Tribes
• Micheal Walsh Tribes/Titans/Na Gaeil/PCA
• Cormac O Confhaola Na Gaeil
• David Mc Andrew Claregalway/Titans
• Michael Murray Claregalway
• David Hansberry Claregalway/Maree
• Michael Rockall Maree
• Shane Finn Maree
• Toms Fabriciuss Titans/Maree
• John Cunningham Maigh Cuilinn
• Rory Monaghan Maigh Cuilinn
• Glen Hynes Maigh Cuilinn

Well done also to the four Galway basketball legends voted into the Galway Basketball Hall of Fame – Pat Bourke of St Colman’s Gort, Joe King of Shamrocks Galway, Maura Harte of Claregalway and University of Galway Mystics and Ita Greene of Corrib Oughterard. Well deserved all!

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