Super League (Ireland)

This article is about the Irish basketball league. For other uses, see Super League.

Super League

Most recent season or competition: 2022–23 Irish Super League season
Sport	Basketball
Founded	1973;51 years ago (1973)
First season	1973–74
No. of teams	14
Countries	Republic of Ireland (12 teams) Northern Ireland (2 teams)
Continent	Europe
Most recent champion(s)	Éanna (1st title)
Most titles	Neptune (11 titles)
Relegation to	National League Division 1
Official website	Basketball Ireland

The Super League (formerly known as SuperLeague and Premier League) is the top-tier men's basketball league in Ireland. The league has 14 teams (12 in the Republic of Ireland and two in Northern Ireland). The league is an active member of Basketball Ireland, which is recognised by FIBA (also known as the International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in Ireland. Neptune holds the record for most league titles, having won the competition 11 times.

Teams

Belfast Star

Ulster Uni

Moycullen

Maree

Tralee Warriors

Killorglin

Neptune
UCC Demons

Ballincollig

Sligo All-Stars

Dublin

Dublin teams
Éanna
Killester
St. Vincent's
Templeogue

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Locations of Super League teams

Templeogue

St. Vincent's

Killester

Éanna

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Locations of Super League teams in Dublin

Team	Arena	City/Area
Ballincollig	MTU Arena	Cork
Belfast Star	De La Salle College Newforge Sports Complex	Belfast
Éanna	Coláiste Éanna	Rathfarnham, Dublin
Killester	IWA Sports Hall Oblate Hall	Dublin
Killorglin	Killorglin Sports Complex	Killorglin
Maree	Kingfisher, NUIG	Galway
Moycullen	Kingfisher, NUIG	Galway
Neptune	Neptune Stadium	Blackpool, Cork
Sligo All-Stars	Mercy College	Sligo
St. Vincent's	St. Vincent's C.B.S.	Glasnevin, Dublin
Templeogue	National Basketball Arena Nord Anglia International School	Dublin
Tralee Warriors	Tralee Sports Complex	Tralee
UCC Demons	Mardyke Arena	Cork
Ulster University	Jordanstown Sports Village	Jordanstown

History

Early years

In 1973, the Irish Basketball Association established a national basketball competition for men with two divisions. This saw many Dublin-based clubs enter their Men's A team into the top flight league, with the likes of Killester, St. Vincent's Dublin and Marian competing for supremacy against Cork-based clubs Blue Demons and Neptune. ^[1] After six seasons, Kerry-born Killarney player Paudie O'Connor felt that Irish basketball was short of quality. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} O'Connor wanted to add glamour to the game and make it more appealing, believing showmanship and skills such as slam dunking would bring basketball to a new level in Ireland. Despite objections from the governing body and other clubs across the country, the first American players, Greg Huguley and Cornel Benford, arrived in Killarney in September 1979. Two months later, Brian Ulmer replaced Benford and St. Vincent's Killarney went on to clinch the national league title in the 1979–80 season. ^[6] The addition of Americans transformed the Irish game. ^[7] As a result, the league brought in regulations to limit the number of foreign-born players to two and thus prevent the full professionalisation of the league, as had happened in Britain. ^[8]

A golden era

O'Connor went back to the States in 1981 and recruited Arnold Vesey and Tony Andre, the latter becoming Irish basketball's first superstar. ^[2] The pair helped Killarney win their second title in three years, and their success paved the way for further American success in the top flight league. Both Cork teams, Blue Demons and Neptune, began recruiting Americans as a result of Killarney's rise, and Neptune found one of their best-ever imports – Terry Strickland. Strickland helped Neptune become the ultimate powerhouse throughout the 1980s, as they won four titles in a row between 1984–85 and 1987–88. Blue Demons and Neptune had a fierce rivalry during the 1980s – every title between 1980–81 and 1990–91 was won by one of those sides (except 1981–82). Terry Strickland of Neptune and Jasper McElroy of Blue Demons led their sides to success, but had fierce competition coming up against the likes of Kelvin Troy and Mario Elie (Killester), Dave Hopla (St. Gall's), and Deora Marsh (Ballina). ^[9]

While the local Irish players were all amateurs, the American imports had to register as professionals. To afford such players, sponsors were a big part of every club. The IBA promoted a scheme whereby investors put money into clubs, and in return, the players will be walking billboards for their brand. ^[8] However, there were instances when the lack of big sponsors and talent led to clubs struggling to keep up with the increased competition. Marian were champions in 1978, but the new semi-professional era of the league saw them get left behind, and following the 1982–83 season, the team was relegated from the top flight league. They had a very successful campaign in Division 2 in 1983–84, finishing a close second behind Liam McHale's Ballina, and earned promotion back to the top flight. However, following the 1985–86 season, Marian were relegated for a second time, returning again for the 1987–88 season. ^[8]

In 1986 and 1987, plans were implemented to reduce the number of imports a team can have. 80% of the clubs agreed that the number should be reduced from two to one, and with the support of the IBA, the ruling came into play for the 1988–89 season. There was a very negative reaction to the change in Cork, as they felt they were being unjustly treated and punished for being successful. The two main arguments made for the change was to give local Irish players more opportunities and to cut costs, with it becoming too expensive to pay two imports for some clubs. As a result of the change, the hype of Irish basketball began to wear down and the public became disinterested in the sport throughout the 1990s. ^[9]

Post-halcyon

Neptune continued to be the dominant team throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Belfast's Star of the Sea began to challenge them in the late 1990s as they collected three National Championships between 1996 and 1998, ^[10] and won two league titles in 1998 and 1999. ^[11]

In 1998, the league's long association with sponsor Budweiser came to an end, and thus ESB became the new sponsor. In addition, a new format was introduced for the 1998–99 season. A relaunch of the league was inevitable with the change of sponsor but the IBA also took the opportunity to devise yet another new format, which resulted in the expansion of the Superleague to 14 teams – effectively, an amalgamation of the two men's national league divisions from 1997–98. ^[12]

Due to the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak, the 2000–01 season was abandoned in March 2001. The 2001 title was originally not awarded to any team, despite the fact that Killester were leaders at the time of abandonment. The National Championships, due to be held on 24/25 March, were also abandoned. The following month, an IBA panel declared that Killester were the winners for 2001. ^[13]

In 2003, North and South Conferences were introduced into the league. As a result, the league champion would be determined by the team who made it through to and won the grand final. Prior to 2003–04, the league title was awarded to the team who finished on top of the ladder and the runner-up was who finished second on the ladder; a post-season tournament was then held to determine a National Champion. Past National Champions include St. Vincent's (1995, 1999 and 2003), ^{[14] [15]} Star of the Sea (1996–98), ^[16] Notre Dame (2000) ^[17] and Tralee Tigers (2002). ^[18] In 2012–13, the league reverted to the old model and removed conferences, re-establishing league champions as the top of the ladder finishers, and established a Champions Trophy tournament for the final two weeks of the season. ^[19]

New era

In 2013, Basketball Ireland rebranded the competition and changed the name from SuperLeague to Premier League. ^[20] Over the next three seasons, UCC Demons won seven of the nine trophies, including going unbeaten in the 2014–15 season. ^[21]

In 2015, Basketball Ireland's representative team Hibernia played in the FIBA Europe Cup. The team's roster was filled with Premier League players. ^[22]

In 2016, Basketball Ireland renamed the competition "Super League" for the 2016–17 season. ^[23]

Roll of Honour

Season League winner National Cup winner 1973–74 Blue Demons Not yet established 1974–75 Killester 1975–76 Killester 1976–77 Killester 1977–78 Marian 1978–79 St. Vincent's Dublin 1979–80 St. Vincent's Killarney 1980–81 Blue Demons 1981–82 Killarney 1982–83 Neptune 1983–84 Blue Demons St. Vincent's Dublin 1984–85 Neptune Neptune 1985–86 Neptune Blue Demons 1986–87 Neptune Killester 1987–88 Neptune Neptune 1988–89 Blue Demons Corinthians 1989–90 Neptune Neptune 1990–91 Neptune Ballina 1991–92 Ballina Neptune 1992–93 North Monastery St. Vincent's Dublin 1993–94 St. Vincent's Dublin St. Vincent's Dublin 1994–95 Neptune North Monastery 1995–96 Tralee Tigers Ballina 1996–97 Neptune Notre Dame 1997–98 Star of the Sea Notre Dame 1998–99 Star of the Sea Notre Dame 1999–2000 Neptune Notre Dame 2000–01 Killester Killester 2001–02 Waterford Crystal Limerick 2002–03 Neptune UCC Demons 2003–04 Tralee Tigers UCC Demons 2004–05 UCC Demons Tralee Tigers 2005–06 St. Vincent's Dublin UCC Demons 2006–07 Killester Tralee Tigers 2007–08 Tralee Tigers Killester 2008–09 UCC Demons UCC Demons 2009–10 Killester Killester 2010–11 Killester UCD Marian 2011–12 UL Eagles UL Eagles 2012–13 UL Eagles Neptune 2013–14 Killester UCC Demons 2014–15 UCC Demons UCC Demons 2015–16 UCC Demons Templeogue 2016–17 Templeogue Swords Thunder 2017–18 UCD Marian Templeogue 2018–19 Tralee Warriors Killester 2019–20 Belfast Star Templeogue 2020–21 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021–22 Tralee Warriors Tralee Warriors 2022–23 Ballincollig Maree 2023–24 Éanna UCC Demons Champions Trophy Season Winner Runner-up 2012–13 UCC Demons DCU Saints 2013–14 UCC Demons Killester 2014–15 UCC Demons Templeogue 2015–16 UCC Demons Killester 2016–17 Tralee Warriors Templeogue 2017–18 Tralee Warriors Templeogue 2018–19 Templeogue Belfast Star 2019–20 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

Team League titles Winning years Neptune 11 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003 UCC Demons 8 1974, 1981, 1984, 1989, 2005, 2009, 2015, 2016 Killester 8 1975, 1976, 1977, 2001, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2014 DCU Saints 3 1979, 1994, 2006 Tralee Tigers 3 1996, 2004, 2008 Belfast Star 3 1998, 1999, 2020 UCD Marian 2 1978, 2018 Killarney 2 1980, 1982 [6] UL Eagles 2 2012, 2013 Tralee Warriors 2 2019, 2022 Ballina 1 1992 North Monastery 1 1993 Waterford Crystal 1 2002 Templeogue 1 2017 Ballincollig 1 2023 Éanna 1 2024 Team National Cup titles Winning years UCC Demons 8 1986, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2024 Neptune 5 1985, 1988, 1990, 1992, 2013 Killester 5 1987, 2001, 2008, 2010, 2019 Notre Dame 4 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 DCU Saints 3 1984, 1993, 1994 Templeogue 3 2016, 2018, 2020 Ballina 2 1991, 1996 UL Eagles 2 2002, 2012 Tralee Tigers 2 2005, 2007 Corinthian 1 1989 North Monastery 1 1995 UCD Marian 1 2011 Swords Thunder 1 2017 Tralee Warriors 1 2022 Maree 1 2023 Team Champions Trophy titles Winning years UCC Demons 4 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Tralee Warriors 2 2017, 2018 Templeogue 1 2019

Source: Basketball Ireland

See also

• Basketball Ireland

References

1. Roll of Honour 1973 – 2014
2. Americans enriched a unique era: When Ireland loved basketball
3. Mourning Irish basketball's first superstar and greatest visionary
4. Paudie O Connor and the first Black basketball players in Killarney
5. Hanging from the Rafters
6. Killarney mourns for 'the greatest Irish basketball player ever'
7. A teasing glimpse into an era where the sport was king
8. History of Club
9. We Got Game…The Golden Age of Irish Basketball
10. Star hat trick ends season on high
11. Star go back to back in Superleague
12. New superleague format
13. Super League: Season 2000–2001
14. Killester suffer double Championship heartbreak
15. St Vincent's lift National title
16. Star of the Sea triumph
17. Basketball: Notre Dame win National Championship
18. Premier League: Season 2001–2002 Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
19. Basketball Ireland SuperLeague winners
20. A whole new ball game as Premier League begins
21. O'Brien, Brendan (23 September 2016). "There's no getting rid of stalwart Tim O'Halloran". irishexaminer.com. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
22. Basketball Ireland to enter new FIBA Europe Competition
23. NATIONAL LEAGUE FIXTURES 2016/2017

External links

• Basketball Ireland website
• bi.comortais.com archives
• We Got Game: The Golden Age of Irish Basketball
• Basketball Ireland Men's League, Cup and Champions Trophy archive