Lying on 0.39 of an acre at the end of a private driveway, the house, which is set over two floors, is elevated and surrounded by a raised patio that gives lovely views to the well-stocked gardens and old orchard walls. The current owners bought this house in 2000 and undertook a full renovation of the property in 2007, when they extended, adding a new kitchen and larger livingroom. At the time they also went upstairs, adding two attic bedrooms and a bathroom, while turning the old kitchen downstairs into a playroom/study. With a nod to Georgian features, as rooms run into one another and French doors and an internal arch have Georgian-style fanlights, interiors are bright thanks to lots of glazing, including skylights in the kitchen and a dual-aspect principal bedroom. On entering, living accommodation is to the left, with a well-lit living/diningroom with solid-oak floors warmed by a solid marble open fire; the room has access to the garden via French doors. From here, there is access to a country-style kitchen – complete with a lovely corbel hood over a smart range – which also has a matching set of French doors that open to a raised sun terrace. To the right of the hallway lie three of the five bedrooms, along with a playroom and two bathrooms, one of which is an en suite for the principal bedroom. Both the main bathroom and en suite have been recently upgraded. Owners love the aspect and seclusion of their home, saying: “In summer the sun rises in the main bedroom and follows around to the livingroom by midday. In winter it rises on the red brick wall [the old orchard boundary] and lights it up, while the wall itself comes alive in the summer with wild flowers and bees”. The gardens are secluded, laid out mainly in lawn, with lots of mature trees, shrubs and plants that provide year-round colour and interest. There is ample room to extend or indeed for further construction – subject to planning permission – on this slice of prime residential land, which is on the doorstep of the village of Killester, where shops, cafes and supermarkets can be found. For beachgoers, Dollymount Strand – ever-popular with kite surfers – is nearby, as is the Dart, St Anne’s Golf Club and Clontarf Sailing Club. The Ber is E1, which new owners will likely want to address, for which they can research SEAI grants. The current owners are downsizing, placing their five-bedroom home on the market through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €1.095 million. Elizabeth Birdthistle, a contributor to The Irish Times, writes about property, fine arts, antiques and collectables Facebook pageTwitter feed© 2025 The Irish Times DAC It's been a decade since either UCC Demons or Killester have etched their name on the Domino's Men’s Super League trophy One of those droughts will end this evening at the National Basketball Arena This is a rivalry that has been building throughout the season with the last instalment a chippy affair in the Mardyke Arena shortly after Killester lifted the Pat Duffy National Cup at the expense of UCC Demons earlier this year Demons had the last laugh on that occasion in a 108-96 win in front of their home fans but reversing January’s final defeat with silverware on the line would be much sweeter "People definitely play differently with more pressure," believes UCC Demos guard Patrick Robinson who joined the team at the start of December "That’s why playoff basketball suits us as a team though because we have practiced those critical situations which allows us to come out on top." Robinson was this week named to the Domino’s Men’s Super League All-Star first team whom Robinson is very thankful to be playing with Even if we’re struggling to get him the ball during the game when it’s crunch time and we find a way to give him the ball he’s likely to get fouled and that free-throw is almost always going in." The College of Charleston graduate isn’t wrong Tillman is averaging 22.5 points this season including a whopping 69.8% from inside the arc and 75.7% from the foul line as the Cork side bid for their ninth league success "I’m sure we’re going to pick it up where we left off," Robinson adds with a smile when the subject of tension between the teams is raised This is the number one versus the number two team in the league playing for a championship Kason Harrell’s fourth season as a Killester player couldn’t be going much better The Pittsburgh guard picked up the MVP award in the Pat Duffy National Cup final and joins Tillman Robinson and his team-mate Paul Dick on the Domino’s Men’s Super League All-Star First Team One of his biggest disappointments in orange and black came at this stage last season though when he was unable to lead Killester past Griffith College Éanna in the decider "Jonny’s probably not going to like me saying this but that game has been on my mind since April of last year," Harrell began "It’s definitely a big reason why I wanted to come back to try and get to this stage again and I’m just thanking God that I’ve been afforded this opportunity to be back here just one year later." the club were hit by an injury to Irish international Paul Dick in January Harrell is delighted to have him back close to full fitness ahead of the final on Sunday "Anytime you lose one of the best players in the country so him going down like that definitely added a little bit of struggle to the regular season and we dropped a couple of games but one thing about our team is that we stay together we were able to pick up where we left off." "This is going to be a war on Sunday," continued Harrell "We were able to get them in the cup and I know they took that very personally as defending champions so we knew going into the Mardyke (in the league afterwards) that it was going to be intense and it surpassed expectations." "Meeting them again for another trophy is going to be 40-minutes of all out war I think the fans can expect a really good game from both teams and at the end of it I believe the best team will come out on top," he added it will be the first championship for the team since the 2013/14 season and the perfect conclusion to Harrell’s four-year journey to the top of the mountain in North Dublin RTÉ.ie is the website of Raidió Teilifís Éireann RTÉ is not responsible for the content of external internet sites UCC Demons edged Killester 94-92 in a thrilling Domino’s Men’s Super League final at the National Basketball Arena on Sunday nine rebounds and five assists in a brilliant all-round performance.  The game was in balance right up to the final seconds with Robinson’s basket and a James Hannigan free throw proving to be the difference in a game of fine margins between the top two from the regular season This game was also repeat of the Pat Duffy National Cup final and the temperature rose slightly midway through the first quarter as Isiah Dahser and Kyle Hosford got themselves in a tangle while wrestling for possession of the ball Kason Harrel had 10 points in the opening quarter his dunk made it 26-19 with just under a minute and a half to go This game was always going to be tight and there was just two points between the sides by the end of the quarter A Scott Hannigan three brought the game level at 38-38 each midway through the second quarter The teams matched each other stride for stride Elijah Tillman was his usual menace in the paint his put back after Robinson’s layup didn’t land saw the American draw a foul and the and-one put Demons 49-47 up with seconds remaining The impressive Harrell had the final say in the half to bring it level at 49-49 apiece going into half-time after Paul Dick’s buzzer-beating three attempt rimmed out.  Tillman exited the court early in the third quarter In his absence Robinson took the mantle with a pair of jump shots and a free throw to help UCC Demons into a 60-54 lead four minutes into the quarter Thankfully for Demons Tillman returned with a layup and then created the space for a Hosford three and Demons were 66-59 up with four minutes remaining in the quarter Any concern over Tillman’s fitness was extinguished following a trademark dunk with 3’12” to go in the quarter Killester needed a response and Isaac Westbrooks hit a timely three to make it a four-point game A corner three from Killester captain Ciaran Roe was the last score of the quarter Roe’s floater at the start of the fourth quarter reduced the deficit further Killester were 79-75 up to complete the turnaround Next up was UCC Demons captain David Lehane to unload from the three point line UCC Demons lost the influential Kyle Hosford for the closing stages a Robinson layup and it was a two point game midway through the quarter A three from Lehane made it 89 each with three minutes to go Robinson hit a two with 23.9 seconds remaining Harrell had two free throws to bring it level again only one was downed from the free throw line and it was 94-92 with 6.2 seconds to go however there was to be no further late twist to an outstanding final UCC Demons captain David Lehane said: “Just after an unbelievable season you have to get your rewards and I thought we did that today but today we just got lucky and got over the line.” “There’s nothing between these two teams It’s a battle of who’s better on the day and to be honest there wasn’t much of a difference but we did just enough to get over the edge.” Lehane also praised game MVP Patrick Robinson Tralee Warriors 48-61 Glanmire (Full game report here) Meteors 84-54 St. Mary's Castleisland (Full game report here) Merry Monk Ballina 81-68 Cavan Eagles (Full game report here) Tralee Warriors 72-84 Limerick Celtics (Full game report here) Templeogue 65-78 St. Paul's Killarney (Full game report here) McEvoy's Cavan Eagles 67-58 Limerick Celtics (Full game report here) Limerick Celtics 81-70 ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers (Full game report here) Titans 95-65 Tralee Warriors (Full game report here) Utility Trust St. Paul's 63-83 Killester (Full game report) National Basketball Arena Tymon Park, Dublin, IrelandD24 N449   (map) T: +353 1 459 0211E: info@ireland.basketball Get the latest basketball news to your inbox,ticket offers Destiny Strother of Killester in action against Mathilde Diop of Utility Trust St Paul's during the Domino's Women's Super League final at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght Killester were crowned Domino’s Women’s Super League champions after easily accounting for Killarney outfit Utility Trust St Paul’s at the National Basketball Arena on Sunday The Kerry side only trailed by five points at the interval but a riveting third quarter from Killester in this period saw them extend their lead to 25 points restricting their opponents to a mere four points Both teams looked tentative in the opening exchanges but a Lorraine Scanlon free throw gave the Killarney side a one- point lead before Michelle Clarke responded with a basket for the Dublin outfit Gradually Killester began getting on top but it until the seventh for them to lead 10-9 as St Paul’s scoring dried up In the closing minute sloppy play from the Killarney side helped Killester command a 21-16 lead entering the second quarter On the restart St Paul’s responded with five unanswered points that tied the game at 21 points each Turnovers were affecting St Paul’s and with Samantha Haiby showing her class Killester surged into a nine- point lead It was the turn of Killester to go into a scoring drought as a brace of Callie Cavanaugh free throws reduced the deficit to five points in the 17th minute In the closing possession Lorraine Scanlon nailed a buzzer beating lay-up that ensured the Killarney side were very much in contention despite trailing 38-33 The half-time stats made interesting reading for Killester as despite having a five-point lead they had only made three of the 15 shots attempted outside the arc in the opening 20 minutes that gave them a 20% average St Paul’s only attempted five shots and failed to make any as they looked a side lacking in firepower Killester nailed the opening basket with a neat Leva Bagandanaviciene jumper and they followed up with a Clarke three-pointer Just three minutes into the quarter Killester increased their lead to 13 points as the Kerry side looked to be struggling It took St Paul’s six minutes to open their scoring account in this quarter and when the Killester American Destiny Strother nailed consecutive three pointers their lead increased to 25 points - 62-37 heading into the fourth quarter Coming down the stretch it was case of closing out the game as this game was decided long before the final buzzer with Killester running out convincing winners Killester captain Michelle Clarke said here side were keen to make ammends for cup final defeat in January.  I think our talent is still there this year but we didn’t always match it with our work ethic I think we righted a wrong that we didn’t get right in January Delighted to come out with the result that we did.”  “When you play a Kerry team there’s one thing guaranteed and that’s that they have a ‘never-say-die’ attitude and we needed to match that today and I thought we did for enough time to come away with a nice win.” From as little as €1 a week with our digital introductory offer Already a subscriber? Sign in Zhao Xintong was crowned China’s first world snooker champion By clicking on 'Sign Up' you will be the first to know about our latest and best sporting content on this browser You have accepted push notifications for this content. If you would like to manage your push notification preferences, you can do so here 1) 0ms,border-color 250ms cubic-bezier(0.4 1) 0ms;transition:background-color 250ms cubic-bezier(0.4 1) 0ms;color:#1976d2;padding:0px;min-width:0;}.css-1sgza6o:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;background-color:rgba(25 0.04);}@media (hover: none){.css-1sgza6o:hover{background-color:transparent;}}.css-1sgza6o.Mui-disabled{color:rgba(0 1) 0ms;color:#1976d2;padding:0px;min-width:0;}.css-w5p45x::-moz-focus-inner{border-style:none;}.css-w5p45x.Mui-disabled{pointer-events:none;cursor:default;}@media print{.css-w5p45x{-webkit-print-color-adjust:exact;color-adjust:exact;}}.css-w5p45x:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;background-color:rgba(25 0.04);}@media (hover: none){.css-w5p45x:hover{background-color:transparent;}}.css-w5p45x.Mui-disabled{color:rgba(0 0.26);}PrintShareSaveThe death has occurred of Peacefully in the wonderful care of St Vincent’s hospital Dublin surrounded by her heartbroken family and friends Predeceased by her parents Cis and Patrick (Pake) Kelly grandniece Hayley and circle of close friends Requiem Mass on Saturday afternoon at 1pm in The Church of the Immaculate Conception followed by burial afterwards in Roundfort Cemetery Funeral Mass will be streamed live on Roundfort, Robeen and Carras Parish Facebook page also on K. Donnellan Funeral Directors Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Keithdonnellanfd Mary’s family would like to thank everyone for their understanding at this difficult time, if you would like to offer a message of condolence you can do so below. Enquiries to Keith Donnellan Funeral Directors, 094 9371274. Funeral Service.css-h76uj{display:inherit;margin-right:-4px;margin-left:8px;}Date Published: CondolencesDonate to CharityWould you like to mark a birthday, memorial mass or anniversary for a Loved One?You can now create a family notice on RIP.ie to remember your loved one. Rip.ie, The Irish Times Building, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, Ireland UCC Demons' captain David Lehane (right) who was ejected from play against Killester during the Men's Super League at The Mardyke Arena. Picture: Eddie O'Hare UCC Demons produced a season best to defeat Killester in an exhilarating Men’s Super League clash at the Mardyke Arena on Sunday Having only returned for their overtime win over Sligo in Sligo at 3am on Sunday morning was always going to be both a very physical and mental test for the Cork side In one of most highly charged games of the season Demons lost captain and coach as David Lehane and Danny O’Mahony were both ejected for picking up two technical fouls each Kason Harrell only took 15 seconds to get in backdoor for a simple lay up for the visitors before James Hannigan replied with a free throw UCC Demons' coach Daniel O'Mahony who was ejected following two technical fouls against Killester during the Men's Super League at The Mardyke Arena Picture: Eddie O'HareTo be fair Killester were passing the ball at pace and with Demons defence suspect Killester were punishing them at will they deservedly led 13-11 in the third minute Although having a great season Demons defending at times in this campaign has been dreadful but a James Hannigan interception gave them a two- point lead Just as he did in the cup final Isiah Dasher broke Demons hearts with some incredible three pointers as the Dublin side led 39-35 entering the second quarter On the restart the Killester shooting average didn’t drop as they continued to nail shots for fun and after just two minutes of the second period they increased their lead to nine points To be fair the one Demons player that played stringent defence when introduced was Blake Murphy as he showed the type of movement that’s needed at this level Then came an incident that saw Demons punished with three technical fouls which resulted in Killester getting awarded six free throws UCC Demons' Kyle Hosford goes past Killester's Andrew McGeever during the Men's Super League at The Mardyke Arena Picture: Eddie O'HareIn the closing minutes Demons rallied and a late Patrick Robinson steal and basket gave Demons a 63-60 lead Tensions were high at interval as the players left the court and frustrations almost spilled to a major melee but it was thankfully brought to order Tillman got the third quarter up and running with a slick jumper but Demons continued to be lethargic in defence The game continued to ebb and flow but once again indiscipline cost them again with yet another technical foul It was evident the tension in this game was at fever pitch but Killester following an Isaac Westbrook jumper Killester surged into a four- point lead UCC Demons' Patrick Robinson lays up a basket against Killester during the Men's Super League at The Mardyke Arena Picture: Eddie O'HareDemons coach Danny O’Mahony was then ejected for a second technical foul and shortly his assistant Stuart Rodgers received one for another verbal spat at the officials Killester led 85-80 entering the fourth quarter and Tillman began with a slammer that had the home fans in rapture Coming down the stretch Demons led 90-88 with six minutes remaining and when Tillman made a brace of free throws the lead extended to four points In the closing minutes Demons built up an 11- point lead and despite Killester rallying there was no way back for the cup champions more Cork Basketball articles Keep up-to-date with the top stories in Cork with our daily newsletter straight to your inbox Please click here for our privacy statement. Join Éamonn Murphy, Denis Hurley and Barry O'Mahony on the new season of The Echo Sport Podcast where they'll be analysing Cork GAA. Add Echolive.ie to your home screen - easy access to Cork news we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads may adversely affect certain features and functions Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen Defending champions Limerick Celtics earned the opportunity to go back-to-back in the U20 Men’s National Cup after they dispatched a spirited Killester side 58-52 at MTU Arena on Sunday morning It was Killester who raced out to a 15-6 lead early in the first Cathal Rogers and JJ Knief all hitting threes from the top of the arc and Limerick Celtics looked a little flustered Obed Obode checked out with 3:16 to go in the first and without his presence for Killester inside the length of Philip Kearney and Martin Frawley was seen to full effect point guard Dennis Matthews and Sean Ryan all picked up scores to level proceedings 15-15 at the end of one The black and orange regained their composure well at the outset of the second quarter crashing the offensive boards and picking up four second chance points through Tom Byrne inside the first two minutes The complexion of the game change with 6:50 remaining in the half Frawley again doing good work down low drew Obode’s third foul for the and one opportunity it meant the Killester big man was forced to sit for the remainder of the half Cian Gleeson hit a spectacular dunk to draw the teams level 19-19 shortly after and when he added to his total with a lay up moments later it appeared as if Celtics were going to get on top however to would only enter the locker room with a three-point advantage Killester head coach Ciaran Roe was forced into an early timeout in the third following a 6-0 run which saw Limerick Celtics take a 36-27 lead at the seven minute mark Matthew Barry and Cian Gleeson doing the damage the Dublin side came back strongly following Roe’s words of advice and scores from Knief and a second long range bomb from Cathal Rogers had the deficit at just five A tense final ten minutes saw both teams struggle to score the basketball consistently Gleeson opened with a three but Tom Byrne replied with two jumpers to take his total to 11 for the game and keep the Dubliners within four as the game hinged on Limerick Celtics making their pressure free-throws at the death Frawley and Kearney all showing their mettle and it’s a meeting with Dundalk Ravens in the final with the chance to retain the title they won 12 months ago Patrick Robinson hit a sensational 35 points for UCC Demons against Killester UCC Demons produced another miraculous win that saw them crowned Dominos Men’s Super League champions after an epic win over Killester at the National Basketball Arena on Sunday This game had everything and although Demons looked in trouble coming down the stretch they found the will a win to win against all the odds with MVP Patrick Robinson finishing with a 35-point tally Ciaran Roe only took 40 seconds to nail the opening three-pointer and he followed with a lay-up to surge Killester into a five-point lead Demons were sloppy in the opening exchanges with silly passing and shooting options Roe was posing Demons all sorts of problems with his outside shooting and he managed to nail two more shots outside the arc that helped his team lead 13-7 in the fourth minute The Cork side looked to be struggling on many fronts with Americans Elijah Tillman and Robinson making little or no impact they were down 18-10 in the sixth minute Elijah Tillman of UCC Demons dunks the ball Picture: Tyler Miller/SportsfileAnother huge problem for Demons was their poor defending with Killester getting easy looks and unchallenged lay-ups Luckily Demons kept hanging in and a Robinson three helped them reduce the deficit to five points with 1.42 remaining in the first period The closing exchanges were fast and frantic as Demons managed to reduce the deficit to 26-24 entering the second quarter Andrew McGeever nailed a three-pointer for Killester on the restart only for Toby Christensen to respond for Demons Robinson levelled the game midway through the quarter as the tempo wasn’t relenting and with four minutes remaining to the interval the teams were still on parity Another Robinson basket gave Demons the lead for the first time in the half but silly shooting options came back to haunt them as Killester surged back up by six Credit to Demons they battled back in style mainly due to playing smarter basketball as they led 49-47 with 30 seconds remaining before the excellent Kason Harrell tied the game Demons had possession with 4.30 seconds with a time out but amazingly Robinson stepped out of bounds and Killester got back possession but the sides went in at the break tied at 49 points each after a gripping half Demons only made five from 15 attempts outside the arc with Killester six from 11 an impressive 55% tally The biggest problem for Demons was their inability to get good assists into Tillman as the big man was basically starved of quality ball Tillman did start with a brace of free throws but Harrell immediately brought the sides back on level pegging Tillman went off injured after scoring in the 22nd minute when he seemed to pull up with a calf strain The Cork side despite missing the physicality of Tillman were hanging in and led 61-56 midway through the quarter The action was fast and furious and despite Demon increasing their lead to eight points Killester finished stronger and entering the final quarter the Cork side had only a three-point cushion Killester opened up with consecutive baskets and when Roe followed up with three and a basket The Dublin side were now on top and with seven minutes They also lost veteran Kyle Hosford to a second technical UCC Demons supporters urging on their side the National Cup holders couldn't put Demons away Robinson led the fightback and with 1.24  remaining The closing minutes were electric as Robinson tied it up before putting Demons ahead: 93-91 Harrell then went to the line on the next play and made one of his two free throws Killester were forced to foul with the clock winding down to regain possession which sent James Hannigan to the line He converted one of his two free throws and Killester called a time-out Harrell missed a game-winning three and the ball ended up with McGeever who got a shot off but missed as the buzzer sounded and Demons celebrated victory after an epic contest It was a tale of two contrasting semi-finals as Killester and Liffey Celtics secured their spots in this year's Paudie O’Connor National Cup decider The Leixlip-based Celtics made their intentions clear from the opening buzzer against the Waterford Wildcats last weekend as they raced into a double-digit lead inside the first quarter And Karl Kilbride’s side never looked back as they maintained a healthy lead throughout with captain Áine O'Connor leading by example with 20 points while Sorcha Tiernan proved strong in defence and contributed 14 points in the 25-point victory made hard work of their attritional victory over Kerry outfit St Paul’s eventually securing a one-point victory at Neptune Stadium The Dublin side found themselves nine points in arrears during the first half a strong start to the third quarter saw them hit 12 points unanswered to edge in front But it remained tight throughout the second half and it all came down to two Samantha Haiby free throws in the final moments to secure the 70-69 victory for Mark Grennell’s side for Sunday’s final at the National Basketball Arena as two of the country's top teams meet for the mid-season silverware Liffey Celtics currently lead the way in the Super League it is the Dublin club who enjoy the head-to-head bragging rights after coming out on top in their incredibly close league clash earlier this season Killester also proved victorious when the two sides met in last season’s Super League play-off to land the title romping to a 90-62 victory at the National Basketball Arena in March are a team going through a renaissance of sorts as they have maintained their form from last season and have only lost twice during this campaign with a solitary basket the difference in both defeats And they are primed to return to winning ways of their recent history when they landed back-to-back Super Leagues in 2018 and 2019 – they also secured the Paudie O’Connor Cup in that dominant 2019 season Sorcha Tiernan was part of that all-winning team and alongside fellow Ireland international O’Connor they are the only players remaining in the current Liffey Celtics squad "I think we have to play with the intensity that we showed in the semi-finals where we were the imposers and set the tempo of the game," said Tiernan "I think we did a really good job of that and we have to do the same in the final if we want to come out on top "Last year we came away from the semi-final hurt and disappointed and we didn’t want to experience that feeling again so it was just about making the extra effort and we did that from start to finish Tiernan believes that the side’s resurgence has been based on club consistency which has boosted the confidence levels to get the better of their rivals in this evening’s decider and I think that has been key," said Tiernan "There is an element of you keep doing what you are doing but there is also an element of this is an occasion that doesn’t necessarily come around that frequently when asked about the team’s approach to the Tallaght decider "I’m not going to say we are going to approach it like any other game and we are going to approach it with the mindset that we are going to win it but we want to try to enjoy the build-up and try to enjoy the game if we can." Killester stalwart Michelle Clarke is expecting another tough test between the two teams and predicts a well-matched final with two equally impressive sides going head-to-head "I think it’s just going to be a great game of basketball," said Clarke there is a depth to both teams and both teams have a lot of experience so I think it is going to be a really good spectacle for both clubs and the neutral supporter "I hope it’s not more of the same with how the first 40 minutes went but if the end result is the same when asked about the previous game between the teams "We went in 18 points down in that game and clawed our way back and took our first lead in the game with 16 and a half seconds left in overtime so you couldn’t get much closer to the end of the game to pull that one out of the bag "So hopefully that won’t happen as we don’t want to be crawling up the hill but hopefully it will be just as competitive." Clarke attributes the team's run of recent success and this year’s form to the continuity that her side have enjoyed in recent years she is also quick to admit that inconsistencies have led to some below-par performances throughout the current campaign which it always is when you’re playing that relentless Kerry team you know you are going to be worked for 40 minutes," she said "It can only give us confidence that we really did not play our best basketball but we still managed to find a way to get the win over the line "It was pure grit and determination to come away with the win at the end so we can pat ourselves on the back and be proud of the fight we put up because it is easy to put the heads down – they were fantastic out of the blocks – and the fact that we didn’t lose the head and stayed with it." Clarke is hoping that combination of quality and cohesion will help Killester to produce the perfect performance to land the trophy to make it a double cause for celebration following the men’s victory on Saturday night becoming the first club to record that feat in the competition's history "We haven’t had that stellar performance yet so it would be nice for our big players all contributing to a big performance," said Clarke "Last year we had a really big performances in the final so hopefully that will stand to us and it will be more of the same on Sunday "You never want to peak too early in the season so no better time to do it than in a cup final." Killester\u0027s Michelle Clarke and Liffey Celtics\u0027 Sorcha Tiernan with the trophy \u003Cp\u003ESorcha Tiernan (right) helping Liffey Celtics to semi\u002Dfinal success against Waterford Wildcats\u003C/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EMichelle Clarke (left) celebrates the semi\u002Dfinal win with her Killester team\u002Dmates\u003C/p\u003E CHAMPIONS: Killester captain Ciaran Roe with the Pat Duffy Cup after his side's victory a sensational final period saw Killester deny UCC Demons back-to-back bid and secure their sixth Pat Duffy National Cup at the National Basketball Arena A single point separated the teams heading into the fourth quarter but the Demons couldn’t keep up with Killester’s immense pace MVP Isiah Dasher finished with 31 points and 11 of those came in the final stretch Pretty Green Eyes pounded around the Tallaght venue’s stands Those bleachers were immaculately divided with Killester’s bright orange on one side and French tricolours for the Demons’ blue James Hannigan gave the Cork crowd an early reason to verbally test the wooden roof with the opening three-pointer Elijah Tillman came into this decider as the leading cup points scorer and landed two free throws to keep them in full voice A trojan defensive effort by Paul Dick paved the way for Dasher to hit his first three of the night That instigated a stretch of dominance that saw them lead 26 to 18 at the end of the first quarter The second stanza started with a Tillman slam as he gradually began to exert his influence It was a decider full of needle and niggle and outright fury Pic: ©INPHO/Bryan KeaneDasher snarled at Lehane after a foul that allowed the wing to drain one of two free throws and push Killester seven clear When the wrong number was read out for a Paul Dick foul a patron in the bleachers leapt to his feet and roared until Demons coach Danny O’Mahony heard his call He quickly questioned the announcement and it was clarified A series of wayward efforts by Dick was met by jeers from the UCC section When he forced a foul in the middle of the second Killester roared a guttural response He missed and the whistles commenced again Captain David Lehane took issue with a bump that came his way as he made his way to the line for one particular time-out A foul call against Hannigan had O’Mahony and his legion seething subsequently A Tillman block and layup left the place really rocking but it was 45-41 for Killester at the break Nine points from turnovers in the first half will have been particularly pleasing for Jonny Grennell December Player of the Month Patrick Robinson nailed consecutive free throws to draw level for just the second time in the decider Tobias Christensen managed to give UCC Demons the lead with five minutes left in the quarter By now every single play was soaked with tension A loose ball in the left three exhausted bodies sprawled across the court managed to pick himself up and produce a terrific three The scoreboard read 63-62 for Killester with one quarter left Dick went down holding his lower leg before making for the bench Tillman was stopped in the lane and Baptiste Chazelas summoned a vital rebound at the other end to give the Dublin club a six-point lead A jinking Kason Harrell had time to celebrate in front of the crowd after a super step They were 13 up and had their opposition scrambling for a break You have accepted push notifications for this content. If you would like to manage your push notification preferences, you can do so here. © Examiner Echo Group Limited, Linn Dubh, Assumption Road, Blackpool, Cork. Registered in Ireland: 523712. Joy for Patrick Robinson after the win for UCC Demons in over Sligo All-Stars. Picture: Larry Cummins Demons will go into the game as underdogs with Killester looking the most talented side in the country this season The semi-finals were two contrasting games with Demons huffing and puffing in their 91-77 win over Sligo All Stars who lost American Rob Montgomery in the days leading up to the game with a hamstring injury Killester were superb in their semi-final when easily disposing of fellow Dublin side Eanna 93-74 Demons looked good in the opening quarter and at one stage in the first half looked to be coasting with a 20-point lead before going into meltdown in the second half A delighted Kyle Hosford after the semi-final win Picture: Larry CumminsThe one plus is that Demons never looked likely to lose as they looked a side in second gear and coach Danny O’Mahony is confident his side will show a better side to their game in this final “Look last season we defeated the best sides in the country and in my book I know we have it in us to compete with any side particularly when it comes to a cup final,” O’Mahony said Demons last season brought down quality sides like Maree Belfast Star and Ballincollig down in this championship and O’Mahony is aware that Killester will be a difficult match-up “It’s down to us to find a way to nullify them and I firmly believe we have the players to match them if we find our best form on the big stage,” added O’Mahony Elijah Tillman the big Demons centre will no doubt be double teamed by Killester and that will give Demons some looks at the hoop Danish ace Toby Christensen is playing steady basketball and his defensive qualities will need to be sharp in this final For the first time since James Hannigan joined the club from Neptune Credit to Hannigan he has led the way in the scoring charts in many games for his club and no doubt he will get some good looks against Killester on a court he produced many scintillating displays on over the years another Hannigan in the shape of twin brother Scott hit 22 points the last time these teams clashed in the Super League that Killester won 97-87 Scott is a warrior on court and that type of player will be needed against a Killester side that are quick in transition Killester have a serious American duo in Kason Harrell and Isiah Dasher who both finished with 21 points each in the semi-final win against Eanna Picture: Larry CumminsThe speed of both players is electric and their ability to shoot three-pointers at will is a problem for every team they compete against on a weekly basis Paul Dick is very talented and has been Killester’s key man this season they will have to restrict him and keep him in the 16-point range The Dublin side also have a decent Bosman in Baptiste Chazelas and he muscled Tillman hard at the post in the league game who is some player to have in the trenches when in battle Hosford also loves playing on the big stage and captain Dave Lehane playing with the club since he was a six-year-old would like nothing better than to lead his team to a national championship at this level Killester are hot favourites but it would be foolish to write off a Demons team who are seeking their ninth National Cup title at this level Storm Éowyn has caused one Women’s Super League fixture to be postponed this weekend with University of Galway Mystics’ home tie with Killester called off on Friday due to damage at their venue in Claregalway It is to be rescheduled for a yet to be determined date Paudie O’Connor National Cup champions FloMAX Liffey Celtics return to league action with an away trip to Trinity Meteors Captain Áine O’Connor says their attentions are firmly on this weekend’s game: “We had a great win in the Cup last weekend and definitely enjoyed celebrating it but we know how competitive the league is and the challenge that playing Meteors will bring on Saturday so we've refocused and are looking forward to getting back on the court.” Head coach Karl Kilbride added: “Saturday will be really tough Meteors are the highest scoring team in the league they’ve won four of their last five and they have a bunch of talent inside and out We know they’re going to be a big threat both on the offensive boards and in ball screens we’ll need to be laser focused back on the league this weekend or we’ll find ourselves in for a really rough evening.” Trinity Meteors haven’t played since 76-61 loss at Killester on January 4th and head coach Hillary Netsiyanwa is hopeful they can hit their stride quickly “We are looking forward to being back after a long break taking on the Cup champions Liffey will always be a challenge Second-placed SETU Waterford Wildcats will be looking to bounce back from their recent Cup semi-final defeat to Liffey Celtics and league loss to Catalyst Fr Paul’s Killarney host Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell and Midland Portlaoise Panthers are at home against Catalyst Fr Killester return to Men’s Super League duties following the highs of last weekend’s Pat Duffy National Cup success Paul Dick who picked up an injury in the final win over UCC Demons Killester head coach Jonny Grennell said: “We are looking forward to a tough game this weekend Star have had two league games the past two weeks we would just pick back up where we left off in the league - easier said than done though Star present match up difficulties across the board but the fact we don't have Paul Dick will give us a greater sense of urgency to get a positive result.”  who suffered heartache last weekend will return to Dublin again this weekend with a tricky tie against defending Super League champions Griffith College Éanna Head coach Daniel O’Mahony praised his players’ focus ahead of this weekend’s fixture “Great to be back in league action straight away so this weekend could be huge one if we are to push for the league title I’m very impressed with lads efforts this week at practice“ Energywise Ireland Neptune have a double gameweek they’ve already claimed local bragging rights with a 92-89 success over Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU on Thursday night and they’re back at Neptune Stadium again on Saturday night The other two fixtures scheduled for this weekend sees Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU host Templeogue while Flexachem KCYMS take on Maree at Killorglin Sports Complex Vincent’s and UCD Marian was postponed earlier this week.  In Men’s Division One Presidents’ National Cup champions Limerick Celtics host SETU Waterford Vikings Tony Hehir’s side remain unbeaten in the league (13-0) who will be looking to banish their Cup final disappointment when they travel to Carrick Cruisers Elsewhere it’s Ulster University versus Moy Tolka Rovers Galway side Titans BC play Scotts Lakers Killarney Drogheda Wolves against Mater Private Malahide and Killarney Cougards versus Maigh Cuilinn are seeking to continue their perfect record so far this season when they host Limerick Sport Huskies at Virginia Show Centre It’s a repeat of the Cup semi-final and a Dublin derby as Oblate Dynamos play iSecure Swords Thunder The remaining fixtures sees Limerick Celtics face Abbey Seals Dublin Lions and Templeogue against Cleveland Rockets Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU v Templeogue Energywise Ireland Neptune v EJ Sligo All-Stars Griffith College Éanna v UCC Demons Paul’s Killarney v Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell SETU Waterford Wildcats v The Address UCC Glanmire Midland Park Portlaoise Panthers v Catalyst Fr Carrick Cruisers v ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers Limerick Celtics v Abbey Seals Dublin Lions McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles v Limerick Sport Huskies UCC Demons’ Elijah Tillman and Killester’s Paul Dick take part in media day at the National Basketball Arena ahead of Saturday's Pat Duffy National Cup, which is live on TG4 from 1945 Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan The first club to win the men’s national league in this country were Blue Demons from Cork they headed up to Dublin for a series of back-to-back games in the Oblate Hall beating Killester on the same Saturday evening Abba won the Eurovision “At the time we just didn’t know how to stop someone as powerful as Andy Houlihan,” says Killester’s Martin Grennell The following season though Demons met their Waterloo; Killester coached by a Corkman called Fr Eamonn McCarthy were too strong for them and everyone else If Demons were the first champions the league had that Killester side were its first dominant team given the club would only have been 10 years old when it pulled off that three in a row In 1967 a Fr Mick Casey was stationed in the parish and quickly identified the carpark across from the church as a possible court for some of his altar boys like Grennell and Eamonn Molloy to play the same sport he had played a bit in his native Rathmore in Kerry Then again almost every club and player was young back then Demons were only founded the year previous Their origins were similarly godly and noble The Vincentians that ran the church in Sunday’s Well set up a boys youth club to help keep local teens out of harm’s way and even exhumed the remains of their predecessors in the church’s Crypt to accommodate it The core of that Demons team that won the league in ’74 – Peter Coughlan Noel McCarthy – had been altar boys and De Paul boys before they graduated into Demons and later inaugural national league champions The sport continued to rapidly grow and in line with it so did Demons and Killester Demons were the first club to respond to Killarney parachuting in Americans by bringing in Dave Beckom and Wayne Williams to sweep up every title going in 1981 The following summer Mick McCormack went over to Chicago and duly recruited a Jerome Westbrooks to join Killester Then when the National Cup was established Demons contributed hugely to its popularity by reaching its first three finals propelled by local ‘norrie’ fire and the star power of one Jasper McElroy Losing the first one in ’84 to St Vincent’s in the Oblate Hall didn’t deter them Nor losing to Burgerland Neptune and that immortal Terry Strickland steal in the new Neptune Stadium in ’85 (“Just remember the real Steal that day happened on the table!” quips Jim Dineen; 40 years later and the memory of an error on the scoreboard and scoresheet is still as fresh as he is sharp) In ’86 though Demons and Dineen would have their vengeance The following year their sequence of contesting every final was broken fittingly enough by Killester; after some barren years the Dublin club were again a force not least because they had as forceful a player as one Kelvin Troy among their ranks and had paired him with another bona fide rock star While their worst hour would be the Top Four semi-final against Demons in Sligo when Troy infamously pushed Elie probably their two finest hours were the Cup overtime semi-final win over Demons Demons have even dropped out of the league several times first from 1993 to 1998 and again then in 2019 to 2021 But even when they’ve stepped away it’s been with the view to a relaunch In the middle of their 1990s hiatus from the league they reached a couple of memorable U19 National Cup finals building on the sterling work of a key figure of the ’74 breakthrough team coached by the former altar boy Martin Grennell Those respective minor teams formed the nucleus of possibly the two finest Superleague teams of the 21st century Shane Coughlan would go on to win six Cups contest another four finals and claim four leagues The Killester side of Paddy Kelly and Johnny Grennell won five leagues and three Cups Several of them were naturally at the other’s expense In 2009 Demons beat Killester in both the Cup and league final only for Kilester to hockey them the following year in the last Cup final RTÉ would televise live Of all the titles Demons won between 2014 and 2016 the sweetest has to be the 2014 Cup semi-final comeback crowned by Adrian O’Sullivan’s late freethrows Yet even that year Kilester would come back to pip them in the league title chase Nivea in the 2009  Superleague Final at Aura Complex Picture: Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE “Both those sets of players would have huge respect for one another,” says Mickey O’Leary who has chaired Demons for most of the last 30 years “I remember one night we had what you could call a pub survey where we asked Shane Coughlan who was the best Irish player he came up against Everyone assumed it would be an Adrian Fulton or a Stodser [Stephen McCarthy of Neptune] but Shane said he’d put Paddy Kelly ahead of even them.”  Now almost a decade on from Coughlan’s retirement and half a century on from his late father Peter captaining and coaching the first Irish national league champions here are Demons back in another Cup final: their 16th in the 41 years of the competition No one has won more than they have (eighth) In fact win this and they’ll go ahead in the ‘majors’ roll of honour (a ninth Cup to go with their eight leagues would see them overtake Neptune with their 11 leagues and five Cups) “The whole atmosphere seems to change around Cup games,” says O’Leary ‘It’s the Cup next week.’ I mean my own daughter was reared on just assuming we’d be going up to Dublin for the Cup every year If it wasn’t the Superleague team it would be an U20 team or the intermediates.”  During his Olympics commentary Timmy McCarthy upon seeing a Dutch player scramble for a loose ball namechecked his old coach and friend Jim Dineen and cited a term he coined: Dive On Glass “I was more an administrator than a coach and when I was coaching I was more of a motivator than an X and Os man But what I’d always try to instil in anyone that has played for us is if that ball is on the ground Even if there’s glass between you and that ball you dive on that glass to win that ball.”  Killester though bring their own desire and even glass to the party as polished and more refined as it may seem The same Mick McCormack that recruited Jerome Westbrooks sponsors the team: he owns Pryobel Glass which is why his beloved team are known as Pryobel Killester star of that ’98 minor team and father of Martin Playing for him is his cousin Paul Dick and Isaac Westbrooks son of Jerome who coached four other members of the current team in St Fintan’s just as he coached five of the current women’s team in Holy Faith And watching in the stands will be Mick Casey just as he was in the Neptune Stadium last week for the semi-final win over Éanna burned from being moved from one parish to another Like so many others connected with the club and indeed Demons that is as it was in the beginning and ever shall be UCC Demons' David Lehane running at the Killester defence during the Pat Duffy national cup final at the National Basketball Arena, Tallaght. Picture: Eddie O'Hare A stunning last quarter from Killester proved too much for UCC Demons to handle as the Dublin side were crowned Pat Duffy National Cup Cup champions at the National Basketball Arena on Saturday night The Killester MVP American Isiah Dasher gave an exhibition of shooting and ended up with a game high 31 points Demons basically ran out of gas coming down the stretch but in truth when your professionals at the not at the race in a national final final you have little chance of championship honours UCC Demons' coach Daniel O'Mahony and asstistant Stuart Rodgers against Killester during the Pat Duffy national cup final at the National Basketball Arena Picture: Eddie O'HareDemons started well and a stunning James Hannigan three pointer had the faithful in rapture but Paul Dick responded with a coast-to-coast basket The atmosphere was electric with the match officials allowing a lot of contact go from both sides in the offence court Killester suddenly got a run and with Demons missing a number of easy tips the Dublin side surged into a 14-9 lead Midway through the quarter the game looked to be running away from Demons as their shooting options bordered on the ridiculous and a Paul Dick lay up in the seventh minute gave them a seven-point lead 16-9 Kyle Hosford was doing well for Demons and when he nailed a couple of free throws in the eight minute the lead was reduced to four points Not for the first time in this game was contact left go and Demons suffered in the closing minute as Killester punished them with two late baskets that saw them establish an eight-point lead 26-18 lead entering the second quarter Tillman resumed with a slammer but Killester kept responding and consecutive baskets from Dasher saw them race into an eight-point lead in the 14th minute There is little doubt Demons now looked a side on the ropes but suddenly they found a new lease of life and they responded with three unanswered baskets that reduced the deficit to two points with four minutes remaining to the interval The closing minutes were tense with both sides missing easy tips but carless play from Demons gave Killester a couple of easy baskets in the closing minute that regained their six-point lead Luckily Demons had the final say with a brace of Lehane free throws that saw them go in at the break trailing 45-41 UCC Demons' Kyle Hosford lays up a basket from Killester's Isaac Westbrooks during the Pat Duffy national cup final at the National Basketball Arena Picture: Eddie O'HareLooking at the half time stats Demons American Patrick Robinson had a disastrous half contributing a mere two points that hurt his team Both teams had poor shooting averages outside the arc with Demons 4/14 and Killester faring worse when they also chipped in with 4/19 Poor defence again from Demons allowed Baptiste in for an easy tip but Robinson was on hand to execute his second basket for Demons The sides were level in the 23rd minute but Demons battled back and went ahead following a Christensen basket a minute later In the closing possession Demons had the final say when Blake Murphy nailed a three pointer that reduced the deficit to the minimum 63-62 entering the final quarter The restart saw Demons resume with their careless shooting and Killester basically picked them off and a time out was called by Demons coach with 7.15 remaining with his side trailing 70-68 There is little doubt Demons American pairing were struggling big time in this game with Tillman missing numerous easy tips and Robinson totally out of sorts Midway through the quarter Killester took control as the Dasher scoring avalanche ensured the title was going to Clontarf for the sixth time UCC Demons' Scott Hannigan takes on Killester's Isiah Dasher during the Pat Duffy national cup final at the National Basketball Arena Picture: Eddie O'HareMVP: Isiah Dasher (Killester) Killester: I Dasher 31 Add Echolive.ie to your home screen - easy access to Cork news, views, sport and more UCC Demons players James Hannigan,Scott Hannigan and Kyle Hosford celebrate the win over Energywise Ireland Neptune during the Men's Super League quarter final replay at the Mardyke Arena. Picture: Eddie O'Hare When these teams last met at basketball headquarters Killester came out on top in the National Cup final and Demons will be hoping to go one better on this occasion The teams last clashed in the Super League at the Mardyke Arena that Demons won 108-96 but in fairness Killester were without their class Irish international Paul Dick Dick was sidelined for about six weeks after that game and Killester didn’t look as efficient without his skills Demons have certainly been through the mill in recent weeks as they were made play a rematch with Energywise Ireland Neptune after defeating their great rivals in the original quarter final by seven points Despite playing under protest Demons demolished Neptune in the rematch that set up a semi-final against Tralee Warriors UCC Demons' Elijah Tillman and David Lehane celebrate the win over Garvey Tralee Warriors in the Men's Super League semi-final at the Mardyke Arena Picture: Eddie O'HareIn probably one of the best games witnessed in Irish basketball for many years Demons came out on top much to the relief of their loyal fans What we have come to expect from Demons is that they are a high scoring team and that’s been proved in many games this season with the exception of the cup final loss that they ironically lost to Killester The Dublin side play in your face defence and are lightening quick in transition and that could be a problem for Demons in this decider On the other side of the coin Demons who play poor defence in the majority of their games are capable and must do a lot better in that department The proof of that was proved against Tralee Warriors when they trailed their Kerry opposition by 11 points with three minutes remaining in the third quarter Demons realised their title aspirations were vanishing but luckily they answered the wake-up call and scored the seven unanswered points that reduced the deficit to four points entering the crucial final period To be fair the pendulum swung because of Demons intensity in defence that got them back in the game and the rest is history Demons coach Danny O’Mahony has had a wonderful run since taking over at the helm and the players hold him in great esteem When you have the dressingroom it is half the battle and it would be great if the players give coach O’Mahony the title he longs for Recruitment by the Demons chief has been from the top drawer and in Elijah Tillman they have a warrior whose nightmare experience in the cup final at basketball headquarters still hurts the likeable American Tillman is loved by Demons faithful and the 30- year old would like to finish the season with the biggest title of Irish basketball in his locker Tillman is a tough player to guard and if Demons play smart without rushing silly outside shots and give the big man at least one touch of the ball this could upset the Killester rhythm The second Demons Patrick Robinson has been a revelation as he is guaranteed to have 30 plus points in every game and will no doubt want to finish his Demons career on a winning note Former captain Kyle Hosford started slowly against the Warriors but when the game hung in the balance The final assist to Tillman was text book stuff from Hosford and in a game where the stakes are very high Demons will need him to be disciplined James Hannigan was back to his best against the Warriors with a 20- point tally and twin brother Scott put in dogged display in the defending department Captain David Lehane is a warrior and will give his all against a Killester side that have a great coach in Johnny Grennell and two fabulous Americans in Kason Harrell and Isiah Dasher Throw in Irish players Ciaran Roe and Andrew McGeever and Bosman Baptiste Chazelas and you realise this will be a tough test for the Leesiders This game could be decided on who plays the smarter basketball and if Demons have belief in their ability they could well reach the Holy Grail but it will be a very tough test FloMAX Liffey Celtics beat Killester 65-53 to secure their second Paudie O'Connor National Cup title at the National Basketball Arena on Sunday The Kildare’s outfit's strength in depth proved telling illustrated by Hazel Finn coming off the bench to claim the game MVP - her energetic performance at both ends seeing her pick up the award after 13 points and eight rebounds Liffey Celtics built an early 5-0 advantage in the contest after Alexandra Navarette’s layup But Ieva Bagdanviciene’s three reduced the deficit to one in the fourth minute Michelle Clarke’s driving layup kickstarted a seven-point run for Killester as they went 14-9 up with two minutes to go in the first quarter by the end of the it after Finn’s two-point jump shot Liffey Celtic’s Irish internationals clicked into gear in the second quarter a Rachel Huisjdens two-point jump shot and a Finn layup nudged the County Kidare outfit 17-14 in front early on who landed a three with three minutes gone Tiernan was also linking up well with Huisjdens she picked her out in the paint and a layup from the former DCU Mercy player had Liffey Celtics 26-18 ahead at the quarter midpoint captain Michelle Clarke landed from the three point line with three minutes to go to trail 30-21 only for Kate O’Sullivan to respond in kind seconds later A Tiernan jump shot and it was 35-21 to Liffey Celtics with 1.15 left in the quarter her layup in the closing seconds cut the deficit to ten A pair of Navarette layups and two Tiernan jump shots and it was a 19-point lead A three from Navarette brought Liffey Celtics up to 50 Killester picked up the next score thanks to Sarah Courtney’s three but their comeback hopes suffered a major blow when they lost Bagdanviciene the Lithuanian rolled her ankle and had to be carried off Finn's three with two minutes to go in third quarter had Liffey Celtics 56-33 up Kelly Bracken and Clarke exchanged threes in closing stages but it was another Huisjden’s layup which finished off the scoring in the quarter leaving Liffey Celtics with a commanding 25-point lead at 63-38 but it took until the fourth minute of the fourth quarter to get a score it was followed shortly afterwards by a corner three by Haiby another Haiby three made it a 15-point game Sorcha Tiernan and Clara Boyce celebrate their cup final win \u003Cp\u003EThe FloMAX Liffey Celtics players and staff celebrate with the trophy\u003C/p\u003E \u003Cp\u003EHazel Finn of FloMAX Liffey Celtics in action against Leilani Turner and Desting Strother of Killester BC\u003C/p\u003E Conor O'Sullivan scores for Energywise Ireland Neptunev in the Pat Duffy Cup quarter final; Energywise Ireland Neptune vs Killester at Neptune Stadium Killester had to withstand a fourth-quarter rally before booking their place to the Pat Duffy National Cup semi-final at the Neptune Stadium The Dublin side who dominated the majority of the game let their guard down in the fourth quarter and despite Neptune getting to within striking distance that’s as good as it got for them A good start for Neptune saw American Chance Hunter executed consecutive baskets in the opening minute that was followed by a Roy Downey three pointer Credit to Neptune they were playing a high tempo game and with Hunter following an Isiah Dasher three pointer the home side raced into a seven-point lead Suddenly Neptune got sloppy and some poor turnovers saw Killester edged ahead by the minimum 19-8 in the seventh minute The Killester Irish Senior International Paul Dick is playing some wonderful basketball this season and his energy and experience ensured his team surged into a four-point lead entering the final minute In the last possession Hunter gave away a silly foul and American Dasher nailed the resultant three free throws that gave the Dublin side a 31-23 lead entering the second quarter On the restart Dasher followed up with a beautiful move to the hoop as Neptune suddenly looked a team on the ropes The biggest problem Neptune were encountering was their tendency to turn over the ball that gave their opponents an easy passage to the hoop In the 14th minute Killester commanded a 40- 31 lead and with their defence remaining solid Neptune were struggling to break it down The standard of basketball in the closing minutes of the half were scrappy as Killester looked comfortable at the break when commanding an 18-point lead 56-38 Jaksa Sola scores for Energywise Ireland Neptunev in the Pat Duffy Cup quarter final; Energywise Ireland Neptune vs Killester at Neptune Stadium Cork Pic Larry CumminsLooking at the Neptune stats at the break 12 turnovers didn’t make pretty reading and they needed a huge improvement in that department to get back in the game Another noticeable aspect about Killester was the manner they were drilled and they are one of the best teams in this country with coach Jonathon Grennell a leader of men On the restart Paul Dick nailed a jumper following yet another Neptune turnover The baskets became easier for Killester as they exposed Neptune’s lethargic defending with their big zone getting punished at will In a two-minute rally Neptune found new energy and executed four consecutive baskets with Conor O’Sullivan superb as the lead was whittled down to 15 points 75-60 A Cian Heaphy three and a late tip-in from Hunter and suddenly it was game on with the lead reduced to 10 points entering the final quarter 77-67 A stunning Jahmal Wright banked shot gave Neptune the perfect start and a brace free throws from Cian Heaphy and suddenly it was a six-point game A stunning three from Ciaran Roe steadied the ship for Killester before Nil Sabata and a Conor O’Sullivan three-pointer reduced the deficit to four points 82-78 midway through the quarter When the going got tough the tough got going and Killester regained their composure when the Neptune threatened to snatch the game away from them Three consecutive technical fouls on Neptune didn’t help their cause coming down the stretch as Killester showed their class to run out comfortable winners CORK V DUBLIN: Killester's Kason Harrell and Patrick Robinson from UCC Demons Colin O’Reilly was back in Ireland for the first time and he led a Demons team against a star-studded Killester team including Paddy Kelly Demons won both the league and Cup that season as the two teams played at a significantly higher level than the rest of the country The following year Killester got their revenge by humiliating Demons in a cup final that Killester led by as many as 36 Danny O’Mahony and Jonny Grennell all played in at least one of those past games and will have sharp memories of them as they prepare for Saturday night at the National Basketball Arena Since Elijah Tillman arrived in Ireland at Christmas last year Demons have been one of the best teams in the country They have an identity playing through the big man and most teams have struggled to deal with it has been very effective against them - Killester Knocking them out of the playoffs last year and beating them earlier this season the Dublin side have been the better team in the two sides' recent meetings A big reason for that is that Killester are the one team in Ireland that can match Demons offensive firepower and the run-and-gun style that works so well for Demons may actually help Killester too The league game earlier in the year didn’t tell too much as Demons had played Killorglin the night before and Killester were rested but Killester will feel they have the upper hand in the matchup TV viewers should be happy because we are going to see offence Both teams are fast-paced and rank first and second in the league in points per game Killester have no traditional inside presence and instead rely on their incredible guard trio of Kason Harrell Isiah Dasher and Paul Dick to drive and kick the ball to create scores That trio combined for 75 in the league game earlier this year and Demons need to find a way to slow them down Zone is a possibility but even with that Killester are great at running at you before you ever set up your defence Killester need to swarm Elijah Tillman in the post whenever they can and maintain a fast pace to try and fatigue the big man The biggest concerns for Killester will be if they were to go cold from the perimeter in the Arena like they did in the league final the bigger concern would be a tight referee's whistle on the big day leading to foul trouble for a key player For Demons to win they need to be locked in for all 40 minutes They are still guilty of switching off mentally and Killester are so powerful that they will punish them My fear for Demons is that they can try win games all through offence and this is the one offence that can overpower them Killester are favourites but good luck betting against Demons in the Cup Defence wins championships is the mantra that both Women's Cup finalists The two are top of the league and rank 1st and 2nd in points allowed per game Liffey have the best defence but are just 6th in scoring while Killester are 2nd in defence and 3rd in scoring Neither team will overpower the other in the half-court and it’s hard to see how this game won’t be won in the late 60s or 70s Liffey Celtics felt they threw away the league meeting between the teams in Clontarf as Killester came from behind to beat them 74-72 in overtime Michelle Clarke and Aine O’Connor led the two teams in scoring as both teams’ Americans were curtailed Killester’s Samantha Halby is the most dynamic of the import players and she was held to 13 points Whether Liffey can limit her again will be a big question Liffey for their part had 19 turnovers which can't happen against good teams If they mind the ball better they have a great shot at the Cup Killester needs to find a way to get Samantha Halby going She’s the best of the Americans on show and the biggest X-factor going into the game Sharpshooters Ieva Bagdanaviciene and Michelle Clarke will reap the benefits if Halby gets going and that’s when Killester are at their best Ensuring that they don’t turn it over and fuel Liffey’s break is critical too they need to play their great defence like usual I think the biggest thing for them will be ensuring that they have spacing in the half-court and don’t force anything They have greater depth but are very reliant on Irish scoring which isn’t always guaranteed in finals The more they can rotate their players and keep the tempo up the better it should be for them I think Halby makes Killester slight favourites but Liffey have been here and done it before and have Irish internationals throughout the squad Killester's Paul Dick and Michelle Clarke at the National Basketball Arena Pic ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan Paul Dick would come down from Belfast and go to basketball camps with his cousin Michelle Clarke in her hometown of Dublin “We’d give our names as Michelle Grennell and Paul Grennell,” grins Michelle Already a subscriber? Sign in Introductory offers for new customers. Annual billed once for first year. Renews at €120. Monthly initial discount (first 4 months) billed monthly, then €10 a month. Ts&Cs apply more basketball articles BASKETBALL ROUND UP: UCC Demons' Kyle Hosford goes past Killester's Andrew McGeever during the Men's Super League at The Mardyke Arena. Pic: Eddie O'Hare Demons are going to finish with the best record in the regular season after their 12 point win at home to Killester The two clubs have a long history against each other with January’s Cup final win for Killester the most recent chapter before today The action in the Mardyke was a relentless shootout particularly in the first quarter as the two teams combined for an incredible 74 points (39-35).  Men’s Super League pace setters Killester can extend their lead on the chasing pack when they meet third-placed Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU to begin the fifth double game weekend of the season.  Jonny Grennell’s side suffered no hangover from their Pat Duffy Cup Final win as they dispatched Belfast Star 86-78 on the back of another strong showing from Isiah Dasher bringing their winning streak in the Men’s Super League to 12 games They hold a one game lead over UCC Demons with a game in hand Paul Dick is likely to continue his spell on the sidelines following his injury in their cup success at the National Basketball Arena Five of Ballincollig’s seven defeats have come in one score games last weekend’s buzzer beater loss to Energywise Ireland Neptune will have been frustrating to head coach Antonio Lopez despite the fact they bounced back with a 101-69 win against an under-strength Templeogue team two days later.  UCC Demons survived the ejection of Kyle Hosford and a Neil Lynch three at the buzzer to leave South Dublin with the spoils and stay in second place in the standings They’re back on the road this weekend to face Maree in Galway before welcoming Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU to the Mardyke Arena for a Sunday afternoon Cork derby Garvey’s Tralee Warriors bid to stay in touch at the top will be tested with back-to-back away ties against a Bright St Vincent’s side fighting to avoid the drop and a talented Belfast Star outfit capable of taking out any team in the league if Dre Jackson and Darweshi Hunter hit top gear UCD Marian can make it six wins in seven games as they take on an EJ Sligo All-Stars team struggling with key injuries and Templeogue – without Tavias Fagan through injury – will need a huge performance from latest recruit Samuel Henderson if they’re to upset Belfast Star and draw level with Henderson’s former team Bright St There are implications at both ends of the table in Sunday’s fixtures Vincent’s welcome EJ Sligo All-Stars to Glasnevin in a game both will view as must win if they’re to start looking upwards rather than below them Flexachem KCYMS have won two of their last three following a run of four successive defeats but they’ll be up against it when Killester travel to Killorglin and Griffith College Éanna will attempt to end Energywise Ireland Neptune’s two game winning run as Pat Price looks to guide his side over .500 for the first time since October Elijah Tillman of UCC Demons dunks during the Domino's Men's Super League final Patrick Robinson produced a 35-point tally that helped UCC Demons win the Domino’s Men’s Super League following an epic decider against Killester at the National Basketball Arena on Sunday A collection of the latest sports news more cork - sport articles Ruth McManus, an associate professor at DCU, wrote the book, Killester: From Medieval Manor to Garden Suburb Presenter Marty Whelan, a Killester native, will launch the book. Photo: Getty Amy DonohoeTue 22 Apr 2025 at 07:00A new book charting the history of Dublin’s northside suburb of Killester will be launched by presenter Marty Whelan next week. Killester: From Medieval Manor to Garden Suburb, explores the area’s development from its earliest days as Killester Demense, through its transformation in the early twentieth century as a garden suburb for ex-servicemen. Ruth McManus, associate professor in Geography and associate dean for Teaching & Learning at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in DCU, wrote the book with urban geographer Joseph Brady. “Local residents felt they wanted to have some sort of a memorial to that phase of history,” Ms McManus said. “I do a lot of work on suburbs. I think a lot of people living in newish parts, parts that really took off in the ‘50s and ‘60s and after that, they don’t feel they have much of a history. “I love validating people’s experiences of moving out to new suburbs, telling them what it was like, the people they knew and the way the place changed over time. I think this is a really nice initiative. “I went right back; I dug to the very earliest records we have of Killester. “I live very close by, and thought I knew it reasonably well. But I had no idea there’s charters, legal documents about the ownership of Killester that go back to the 1170s. I think that’s really amazing.” According to Ms McManus, for a lot of people, what will really be the attraction is stuff in the book that’s never been published before. “I think everybody loves it when you start to look at a map and see what your place was like in the past. It’s very intriguing,” she said. “We were really lucky because the Howth Estate owned Killester for hundreds of years and they had a book of estate maps. “These are hand drawn maps from the 1800s. They’re hand coloured and really beautiful. But they also can get a sense of what the place was like. “There were also some beautiful aerial photographs taken in the 1950s. “People will be able to identify streets they know, see where the houses are being built. You can see the foundations, landmarks that are still there like the church, the school. “There are areas that are still in fields and you can see the stacks of hay, that level of detail.” She highlighted that Killester evolved through time, for a place which was once considered the countryside, and is now a thriving urban suburb. “There’s the story of the market garden and the various things that happened in the area over the years,” Ms McManus said. “The thing that makes Killester stand out is that in the 1920s, a new housing scheme was built specifically for ex-servicemen who came back from the First World War. “It was an unusual way of doing things because we were about to become independent, there was all this political turmoil. “There was a collaboration with the British government and an organisation established that was building houses for Irish people who had served in the British Army during the war. Killester was the largest of these estates. “When it was built, it was well outside the city. Families offered a house in Killester turned it down because it was too far away. “Nowadays, it’s very desirable and very handy for town. It’s funny how people’s perspectives change. “There was Killester House at the centre of it. There’s nothing there now, it was burned in 1920, but the story of the people then who lived there is also very interesting. The Lido Newcoming Family was one of the richest families in Dublin. “They ran a private bank which was right beside Dublin Castle. The building is still there, it was the rates office for Dublin corporation back in the day, and is one of the finest Georgian buildings in Dublin. They lived in Killester, so they had this wonderful country house. “There were various other people along the way and the house had its ups and downs. We can trace that through various documents. “There’s a long list of the furniture being sold, the best feather beds, the hair mattresses, and a bathing box on wheels where you could change inside it when out in the sea.” Over time, Killester moved from agriculture to markets and then became an area for the elite to have a holiday home. “It was an agricultural area and over time that became market gardening. There was a famous Kirby family who had a big market, a big establishment in Killester,” Ms McManus said. “They were growing fruit and veg for Dublin, that goes on right into the 20th century. It’s where the working people would have been, a lot of them were working in agriculture. “Then you had these bigger houses, sort of villas, for people who wanted a retreat from city life. In adverts in the 19th century, they’re talking about being close to the sea and being quieter, because that’s a more desirable thing for them. “A dairy company had a depot in Killester, delivering milk to all of these new families. They had horse-drawn milk floats. “Killester had one of the last of these right into the 1970s, and the men who delivered the milk talked about how they preferred the horses because they knew the route and they didn’t have to do as much thinking. “Then the railway comes through and disrupts life a little bit. There were playing fields here in the area in the 20th century. “People will know Parnell Park today, but there were other sporting grounds taken over when the corporation decided to build more housing and roads. “Now there’s a whole new population there that is coming into force. There’s a lot of young people in the area, a changing demographic,” she added. The book launch will take place at 7.30pm on Tuesday, April 29, in the Killester Donnycarney FC Sports and Social club, Hadden Park. Killester native, Marty Whelan, will be host for the evening CamogieA short story from Dublin and Kilkenny – ‘We appreciate the tradition of the game but skorts are not fit for purpose’It’s the short story that has everyone talking. Energywise Ireland Neptune's Chancellor Hunter is tackled by Maree's John Burke during the Men's Super League at The Neptune stadium. Picture: Eddie O'Hare Vincent's have almost secured their Super League futures thanks to a huge win over Ballincollig Isiah Gaiter continued his recent good form with 23 points but it was a balanced effort from the Dubliners that got it done A win over either Tralee or UCD will guarantee safety or equally Templeogue losing one more game — they play Eanna and Ballincollig Things looked bad for Vincent's just a month ago when they were killed by Templeogue but they’ve responded brilliantly winning three of their five games since then Ballincollig will be disappointed in the loss They are sliding down the table and with Adrian O’Sullivan hurt Someone needs to tell their American Quashawn Lane that as he has virtually disappeared over recent weeks Kilkenny players wear shorts before the Leinster semi-final meeting with Kilkenny Discover the great outdoors on Ireland's best walking trails The prospect of a Domino’s Super League double remains very much alive for Killester this season after both their men and women’s teams booked further passage through to their respective finals on Saturday night While the Killester men downed defending champions Griffith College Éanna 101-90 in Clontarf the club’s women returned home from Leixlip celebrating a 92-85 success over FloMAX Liffey Celtics in their last-four fixture That victory sets the 2024 winners up for a date with Utility Trust St Paul’s in this season’s decider after the Killarney side edged a 67-64 triumph over Trinity Meteors in their penultimate-round encounter in Coláiste Eanna. UCC Demons secured a date with Garvey’s Tralee Warriors in the last four of Domino’s Men’s Super League after they ran out 110-91 winners over Energywise Ireland Neptune in Sunday’s quarter-final replay at Mardyke Arena Killester booked themselves a place in the 2024/25 Domino’s Men’s Super League final at the expense of defending champions Griffith College Éanna after they won out 101-90 in Saturday night’s last-four clash in Clontarf Looking to avenge the heartbreak of their loss to Éanna in last year’s Super League title decider the Pat Duffy National Cup winners prevailed this time around as Isiah Dasher and Baptiste Chazelas both carded double doubles with a combined for 42 points and 20 rebounds while Kason Harrell added a further 22 to the scoreboard for the hosts James Gormley put up 18 on the night for Éanna with Mark Reynolds and Stefan Desnica weighing in with a further 15 apiece defending the nine-point cushion they had carved out by the interval “It was a really great night for basketball” remarked Jonny Grennell “Both teams played really well and the atmosphere was absolutely electric “Éanna are champions for a reason and they really forced us to reach a level that we haven’t reached since the cup final “We were lucky enough to finish on the right side of it this time and we now have another job in the final against whoever that may be where I’m sure we’re going to have to play even better again” he insisted Their opponents in this year’s final will not be determined until later this week as Number One seeds UCC Demons and Energywise Ireland Neptune must do battle again in a quarter-final replay at Mardyke Arena on Sunday evening for the right to take on take on Garvey’s Tralee Warriors in the other semi-final UCC Demons set up a date with Garvey’s Tralee Warriors in the last four of the Domino’s Men’s Super League playoffs after they ran out 110-91 winners over Cork rivals Energywise Ireland Neptune in Sunday’s quarter-final replay at Mardyke Arena A scoring error in their initial encounter the previous week meant that the two sides had to go head-to-head again and it was Demons who finally secured further passage despite Chancellor Hunter amassing a game-high 43 points for the visitors the Number One seeds secured a convincing win that was fuelled largely by the combined 75 points served up by Patrick Robinson The prospect of a Domino’s Super League double remains very much alive for Killester as their women’s team successfully negotiated a tough challenge from FloMAX Liffey Celtics emerging 92-85 winners in Leixlip Amenities Centre on Saturday night to set up a date with Utility Trust St Paul’s in this season’s showpiece Samantha Haiby went off for the defending champions in this enthralling semi-final recording a triple double as she amassed a game-high 32 points There were also significant contributions of 16 points apiece from Ieva Bagdanaviciene and Hannah Thornton as the Dublin side exacted some measure of revenge over their Kildare rivals who had unhinged them in this season’s Paudie O’Connor National Cup Final back in January Sorcha Tiernan did her utmost to keep Celtics’ challenge lit on Saturday but even that impressive haul could not help keep the homeside’s quest for a double on the rails “I thought that was a titanic battle” said Killester head coach Mark Grennell after Saturday’s victory “Liffey played a great game and never went away We felt we had to win the rebounding battle tonight and I believe we did that well “We knew we would have to be special to go in there and beat them and thankfully everyone stepped up to the mark but this was one for the collective tonight Everyone played their role” he stressed Now standing in the way of back-to-back Super League titles for Mark Grennell’s side Paul’s outfit growing massively in confidence with every hurdle they successfully negotiate The Domino's Women's Super League final is 🔒'd in!Killester will meet Utility Trust St. Paul's at the National Basketball Arena 🛣️#DominosWSL pic.twitter.com/xl1iugkC7J The Killarney side may have just managed to clinch the last available spot in the playoffs on the closing day of the regular season but they have certainly made the most of the opportunity following up on last week’s three-point victory away to Number One seeds SETU Waterford Wildcats with an equally tight 67-64 success against Trinity Meteors in Saturday night’s semi-final in Coláiste Éanna Down by seven points with just over two minutes played in the fourth Paul’s worked their way back for the win thanks to some timely buckets down the stretch by Lorraine Scanlon that took her game tally to 10 Both players combined with Mathilde Diop to win a total of 35 boards in what was key to seeing them take down a Trinity side that was seriously bolstered by the 42-point total that Grace Prenter and Emma Merriweather put up for them “It’s all about the players who never gave up” insisted James Fleming The hurt of past losses have probably driven us on and our Irish players are as good as what’s around “It’s a historic day for Killarney basketball The great Caoimhin ‘Shaq’ O’Donoghue was definitely looking down on us” he said In Domino’s Men’s Division One ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers prevailed 97-94 in a titanic battle with Moy Tolka Rovers in St Mary’s Hall on Saturday night to book themselves a place in this season’s final They will face off against President’s National Cup holders Limerick Celtics after the South Conference winners held firm to see off Ulster University 73-65 in their respective semi-final in Crescent College on Sunday afternoon They will face off against either Limerick Celtics or Ulster University who meet in the other semi-final in Crescent College on Sunday afternoon The match-up for the 2024/25 Domino’s Women’s Division One final has been confirmed after Number One seeds McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles came through a tough challenge from Cleveland Rockets winning out 79-69 in Virginia Sports Centre on Saturday evening to set up a title clash with Limerick Celtics who won through in overtime 85-80 in their derby against Limerick Sport Huskies in St Domino’s Men’s Super League (playoff semi-final) Killester 101-90 Griffith College Éanna Domino’s Women’s Super League (playoff semi-finals) Domino’s Men’s Division One (playoff semi-finals) ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers 97-94 Moy Tolka Rovers Domino’s Women’s Division One (playoff semi-finals) McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles 79-69 Cleveland Rockets Limerick Sport Huskies 80-85 Limerick Celtics Quashawn Lane scores for Irish Guidedogs Ballincollig @MTU against Killester Ballincollig produced a season-best to defeat table-toppers Killester in a thrilling Men’s Super League clash at the MTU Arena on Saturday The performance of the Ballincollig professionals on the scoring front was excellent as professionals Quashawn Lane (26) Jake Wolfe (24) and Joshua Tomaic (13) contributed 63 points of their tally Jake Wolfe nailed two of his three throws in the opening minute and when Ciaran O’Sullivan and Wolfe added three-pointers the home side surged into a six-point lead in the third minute The play was upbeat and with Killester missing their ace talisman Paul Dick they were struggling to find baskets in the early exchanges Dick injured his ankle in the cup final against UCC Demons and sadly it seems he will miss the rest of the season Credit to Ballincollig they continued to shoot the ball with precision and deservedly had surged into a 19-10 in the seventh minute The Ballincollig pressure continued in the closing minutes and with their defence as rigid as ever they deservedly commanded a nine-point lead 24-15 entering the second quarter Killester responded with consecutive baskets but Quashawn Lane produced a stunning three-pointer The scoring dried for both sides in the opening four minutes with a Ciaran Roe lay-up reducing the deficit to four The introduction of Isaac Westbrooks helped Killester with a classy shot outside the arc and they took the lead for the first time in the 16th minute when Isiah Dasher finished a lay-up in style In the closing minutes consecutive three-pointers from Andy McGeever surged Killester in an eight-point lead and Ballincollig called a time-out with 27.5 seconds remaining to the interval with possession No basket was banked though as Killester went in at the break commanding a 48-40 lead Ciaran O’Sullivan gave the home side the perfect start with a neat jumper and when Tomaic nailed one of his free throws after an unsportsmanlike foul was called on McGeever the lead was down to five points The skills of Killester’s American Kason Harrell resurfaced as nailed consecutive baskets to open up an 11-point gap Killester after looking to be taking control were stunned as Ballincollig responded in style and after Wolfe tipped in and got the bonus there was just three points between the teams Jake Wolfe in action for Irish Guidedogs Ballincollig @MTU on Saturday Picture: Larry CumminsThe home team kept coming at Killester and when Lane drained a brace of free throws Ballincollig led by the minimum 64-63 entering the fourth quarter Adrian O’Sullivan floated a beauty on the restart as Killester looked to be on the ropes The shooting of McGeever kept Killester in the game as they regained a 73-70 lead in the 33rd minute There was intense tension coming down the stretch and when a Lane nailed a jumper with four minutes remaining Ballincollig led 78-76 A Ciaran O’Sullivan three-pointer rallied the Ballincollig troops as they finished in style to record a famous victory Larby, Marie (Middle Third, Killester) – February 12 2025, at her home after a short hard battle with cancer, surrounded by her loving family and her dog Tillie, beloved daughter of the late Joseph and Kathleen; lovingly remembered and sadly missed by her sister Brenda, brother-in-law Dan, nephew Senan, niece Joanne, cousin Sheila, extended family, kind neighbours, her many friends and former colleagues at IBEC. Reposing at the Fanagan Kirwan Funeral Home, Fairview Strand on Friday evening (Feb 14) with family in attendance from 5 o’clock until 7 o’clock. Requiem Mass on Saturday morning at (Feb 15) at 10 o’clock in St. Brigid’s Church, Killester. Funeral thereafter to Glasnevin Crematorium. Donations welcome to St. Francis Hospice, Raheny and Dogs Trust. If you would like to make a donation to the chosen charity please click on the button below. Killester's Paul Dick at the launch of the National Cup at the National Basketball Arena. Photo: Dan Sheridan/Inpho Killester stand on the verge of winning both the men and women’s cups for the first time in the club’s history at National Basketball Arena this weekend. Defending champions Demons stand in their way of a sixth men’s title tonight, and victory would give Paul Dick his very first medal in the competition. Although the 33-year-old guard grew up in Belfast, his connection with the Dublin club runs deep as his mum Breda and her siblings were founding members. Family success with the club has been hard to ignore. Dick’s cousins continued the tradition of winning cups, including the current men’s head coach Jonathan Grennell in 2001, 2008 and 2010. Another cousin Michelle Clarke bids for a title in tomorrow’s final following her 2020 and 2023 successes, while her brother Robbie Clarke and Grennell won a cup, league and championship treble in 2010. “The mums and the aunties talk about all the trophies they won but we never actually witnessed any of it,” he says. “But Johnny and Robbie like, they won trebles. They have all the trophies in the case already so hopefully we can add in a few more.” The remarkable 2010 treble has perhaps been the most difficult to ignore. “They never shut about it so it’s hard to forget, yeah. But if I won a treble, I’d be talking about it for a long time as well.” The Belfast man previously played for Tralee Warriors, winning a Champions Trophy in 2018 and a Super League title in 2019 before winning another on the court the following year. Although the latter was subsequently taken off Tralee after the Kerry side were docked points over a player registration issue. “The 2020 one got taken off us for silly reasons, but that was the Covid year and all the funny stuff happening. We won back-to-back leagues in 2019 and 2020 is my version of the story anyway. The cup is the only one that I don’t have, I’d love to add that to the collection.” Would that shut the rest of the family up? “Yeah, shut Johnny up and win one without Kieran Donaghy,” he says wryly. “If you win one with Kieran Donaghy, you always feel like you’re piggy backing on him like. It would be nice to get one without him as well!” After stints playing professionally in Spain and Germany, Donaghy offered a move to Tralee Warriors in 2017 and an apprenticeship with Mark Rael Electrical in Kerry. His wife Marianna Troy, who is daughter to legendary American player Kelvin Troy, was the reason he would then follow her to her native Dublin, where he re-joined Killester two and a half seasons ago. He brought his new skills with him and has started his own business, Dickie’s Electrical. The business allows him organise his time around basketball, while it poses challenges having endured his fair share of foot injuries. “You’re on your feet for anywhere between six, seven or eight hours a day, then you go home and get a bit of dinner, and then you’re at the training. “If you do have a wee niggle or something like that it’s just intensified and it makes you a grump as well, because you’re just moving around all day. But I can’t complain like, I’ve lovely wee situation.” Things are going well on the court. Dick was key to Ireland’s recent World Cup-qualifying wins last November. But it was his 20.8 point average that helped his club to a 13-game winning streak, the top of the league table and today’s decider. He will hope continue that form today against Demons, who hope to extend their record to a ninth win in the competition. While league leaders Liffey Celtics stand in the way of women’s team tomorrow and the completion of a cup double, Killester’s star electrician hopes to light a spark today. Killester players celebrate with the Pat Duffy Cup after their side's victory in the Basketball Ireland Men's National Cup final at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin. Photo by Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile Killester won their sixth Pat Duffy National Cup title and first since 2019, defeating defending champions UCC Demons 92-75 in the final at the National Basketball Arena on Saturday. Isiah Dasher picked up the MVP following a 31 point performance, but there were crucial contributions across the board, among them Kason Harrell with 16 points, Baptiste Chazelas with 12 points and 12 rebounds and Paul Dick, who shot 10 points and picked up nine rebounds. This game was a close contest throughout, James Hannigan got the opening score from the three point line for UCC Demons and David Lehane’s spin and jump shot had them 7-2 up three minutes in. It was 7-7 each after Dick picked out Harrell in the corner, who slotted his three. A fast break and layup from Dick and it was 16-9 to Killester with 3’10 to go, prompting a UCC Demons timout. Demons came out of the timeout with a pair of corner threes, by Kyle Hosford and Blake Murphy, either side of Andy McGeever’s three for Killester, to trail 19-15. In the closing stages of the quarter Issac Westbrooks, who turns 40 next month, landed a three, followed by a Harrell layup which saw Killester finish with a 26-18 first quarter lead. A Tillman dunk and layup got UCC Demons off to the start they wanted to the second quarter to close the deficit, only for Harrell to drain a three pointer. Midway through the quarter a layup under the basket by Dick made it 38-29. Within a minute that deficit was cut to two, Kyle Hosford and Elijah Tillman baskets either side of James Hannigan’s three saw the Cork outfit trail 38-36. Killester opened up a six point lead, 45-39, with a minute to go following Chazelas’ score. A pair of David Lehane baskets left it at 45-41 at the break. The teams were tied once more at 51-51 each after a pair of Patrick Robinson free throws two and a half minutes in. By the midpoint a Tobias Christensen layup put UCC Demons in front, 56-54. A Dasher fastbreak and layup with three minutes to go nudged Killester back ahead, 58-56, Dasher had 20 points at that stage. Blake Murphy had the last score of the quarter with a three, as Demons narrowed the deficit to just one, 63-62. A Robinson layup had Demons 66-63 up 90 seconds into the fourth quarter, but moments later Andy McGeever downed his third from the three point line to bring it level once more. Killester lost Paul Dick with 6’43 due to injury. But Killester extended their advantage to nine points, 79-70, after a three from Dasher midway through the quarter to bring his tally to 27 points. Dasher added four more after that and a Harrell two-point jump shot saw Killester move into a commanding 85-72 lead with 3’17” to go. Killester’s defence held UCC Demons at bay and a Westbrooks three with 36 seconds to go wrapped up a 92-75 victory. MVP Isiah Dasher said: “We worked really hard every day in practice and these guys really deserve it. The older guys, Ciarán (Roe), Paul (Dick), this is Paul’s first one, Kason (Harrell) too - these guys deserve it. I’m happy I got the game ball but without them there’s no chance.” Killester will now be seeking a unique double, with their women’s team competing in the Paudie O’Connor National Cup final against FloMAX Liffey Celtics on Sunday at 5.30pm. Quarter Scores: Q1: 26-18, Q2: 19-23 Q3: 18-21, Q4: 29-13 Game Scores: Q1: 26-18, Q2: 45-41, Q3: 63-62, Q4: 92-75 Killester: Isaac Westbrooks (7), Andy McGeever (9), Patrick Sullivan (DNP), Isiah Dasher (31), Farouq Raheem (0), Ciaran Roe (7), Kaiwen Yang (DNP), Ethan McKean (DNP) Baptiste Chazelas (12), Paul Dick (10), Kason Harrell (16), Eoghain Kiernan (0). UCC Demons: Scott Hannigan (0), Blake Murphy (6), Tobias Christensen (5), Kyle Hosford (9), James Hannigan (17), David Lehane (9), Eimantas Spudulis (DNP), Patrick Robinson (16), Carleton Cuff (DNP), Cian Looney (DNP), Daryl Cuff (DNP), Elijah Tillman (13). UCC Demons coach Daniel O'Mahony and players after the defeat to Killester in the Pat Duffy national cup final at the National Basketball Arena, Tallaght. Picture: Eddie O'Hare So where did it all go wrong for the reigning champions “I think there was a lapse of concentration and although we were rolling in the third quarter Killester made a few substitutions and nailed back-to-back three-pointers it gave them a huge boost,” O’Mahony said Coach O’Mahony believes his teams preparations included a game plan that worked for long periods of the game “When you look it was probably Paul Dick’s lowest-scoring game of the season and with Kason Harrell also had a low average of scoring we were doing okay in defence UCC Demons' supporters in full voice against Killester at the National Basketball Arena Picture: Eddie O'Hare“Defensively I thought we did well what we needed to do but there is this a myth out there that Killester are small but they are a very aggressive side that get away with some calls in defence,” added O’Mahony Make no mistake Demons had plenty of chances to win but coach O’Mahony a man not to criticise players believes sometimes that happens on big occasions “We had a number of good looks but missed them and that was unusual for us as we are usually good in finishing The Demons boss praised the contribution of the MVP Isiah Dasher for his display Dasher is a great player that took over the game in the final quarter and he eventually got his side over the line." UCC Demons supporter Jake Walsh shows his support Picture: Eddie O'HareThe average scoring of Demons' Americans was well below what they have been producing all season with their three professionals only contributing 34 points in this final “Look nobody goes out to play poor in a final and with Pat Robinson coming off a Player of the Month averaging 29 points a game and Elijah and Toby not firing it was always going to be a tough task for us Killester had a game plan to shut our professionals down and it worked but Elijah at the start of the game was hoping that the referees would blow some fouls on Killester but in this game coach O’Mahony was upbeat as he reflected on the championship win 12 months ago Coach O’Mahony took time to praise his players for their effort UCC Demons players James Hannigan and David Lehane after the defeat to Killester in the Pat Duffy national cup final at the National Basketball Arena Picture: Eddie O'Hare“Looking losing any final is tough to take and my players are gutted but look they gave their all and but I have a resilient group of players that will bounce back.” WINNERS: Killester's Isiah Dasher and Coach Jonathan Grennell celebrate. Pic: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane there was only one job left for coach Jonny Grennell He gathered his team in front of the stand for a picture with their founder Fr Mick Casey ROYAL APPOINTMENT: Callum Walsh celebrates winning with President of 360 Promotions Tom Loeffler and trainer Freddie Roach Kason Harrell in action for Killester against Éanna in their cup semi-final. Photo: Ryan Byrne/INPHO Killester are eyeing a cup double after both their men’s and women’s teams booked their place in their respective deciders after semi-final victories in Neptune Stadium. The men’s side will face defending champions Demons while the women’s set-up face Liffey Celtics following the penultimate round in Cork. Paul Dick was one of three Killester players to pick up 21 points on Saturday night along with Kason Harrell and Isiah Dasher in their 93-74 win over Éanna. The northsiders asserted themselves in the third quarter having held a narrow 48-45 half-time advantage, but Dick warned Demons will prove a different challenge. “Demons are always dangerous, they’re hustlers and they fight to the death, so we’ll see how it falls on the day,” he said. They face Demons next Saturday night in the National Basketball Arena after the Cork men dispatched Sligo All-Stars on a 91-77 scoreline. Danish forward Tobias Christensen’s 22 points allowed them withstand Sligo’s fightback and the win helped justify Kyle Hosford’s decision to come out of retirement early this season. “You will always think about coming out of retirement when you stop, but to come back here and back to the final is unbelievable,” Hosford said. “We started off well, sometimes that’s a hindrance, you get too complacent, take your foot off the pedal, even though you say you won’t you sometimes do and teams are always going to make a run. Sligo did that, so we had to regroup ourselves and we did." Killester women’s captain Michelle Clarke hopes her side “never repeat” their semi-final performance again as they were forced to rally to a nail-biting 70-69 win over St Paul’s. “I hope we never repeat that performance again, but I just think it shows the grit and determination and the experience we have in those big games. We needed to get over the line and happily we did it, by the skin of our teeth,” said Clarke. St Paul’s American import player Alexandra Wittinger scored 24 points and helped the Kerry side into a 45-39 half-time advantage but Killester would mount a comeback in the third quarter and lead by 56-55 ahead of the last period. The lead would change hands several times in the final quarter, before two Samantha Haiby free throws with a minute to go were to prove to be the winning points. Earlier, league leaders Liffey Celtics made sure of their place in the women’s decider when beating 78-53 Waterford Wildcats in a one-sided affair. Captain Áine O’Connor led by example with 20 points, with fellow Irish internationals Sorcha Tiernan picking up 14 points and eight rebounds for the victors. HEAT OF BATTLE: UCC Demons' David Lehane is challenged by Templeogue's Daniel Cassidy and Jacolbey Owens, during their Men's Super League clash. the Domino’s Men’s Super League is finely poised going into the final stretch It’s a double gameweek for most clubs expect Garvey’s Tralee Warriors and Ej Sligo All-Stars who played on Wednesday Warriors ran out narrow winners in the Kerry derby at Flexachem KCYMS on Wednesday Next up for Warriors is a trip to Energywise Ireland Neptune on Friday concluding with a home fixture against Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU FloMAX Liffey Celtics captain Áine O'Connor Photo: Sean Brilly The National Basketball Arena was the scene of Celtics’ heartbreaking loss to their Dublin rivals in last season’s Super League title play-off, but O’Connor is hopeful it will provide the backdrop to a more successful outcome for both her and her team mates this time around. Indeed, Killester have had their number in each of their last three encounters this past year, with two narrow home wins in regular season action book-ending their emphatic 90-62 triumph over the Kildare outfit in the league decider back in March. O’Connor, however, believes her side has the quality to arrest that disappointing head-to-head record on Sunday, but it will require a huge team effort, similar to the one they produced in their hugely impressive 25-point victory over SETU Waterford Wildcats in last Saturday’s cup semi-final, in which five of their players finished in double digits, including O’Connor on a game-high 20 points. “I feel the team who wins on Sunday will be the team who has five to eight players who can come on and contribute at both ends of the floor” predicted O’Connor. “I don’t think it’s going to be a game that sees one player taking over and coming away with 30 points and having to do everything. “For us, it’s about taking care of the ball on offence mainly. We’ve been known to, sometimes, switch off, so it’s about not being complacent at all and then defensively, everyone chipping in. “That’s been our strength this year. Hopefully this weekend we might have all 11 players, but if we have nine or ten, then everyone who gets on the court has to do their part” she told The Kildare Nationalist. While O’Connor is in no doubt that this Celtics team harbours the necessary desire and determination to avenge last season’s heartbreak at the hands of Killester and lift the National Cup for the first time since 2019, she is anticipating another titanic tussle. Indeed, Karl Kilbride’s side were pipped by Killester in their previous encounter only last month when the defending Super League champions edged a two-point overtime win in a game, O’Connor insists should have been put to bed a lot earlier by her side. “We really felt we left that game behind us in December” sighed the Celtics skipper. “We should have had the game won in normal time and we should have finished it in overtime and yet Killester still managed to come away with the win. “They’re got some very experienced players, they’ve played in big finals, they’ve won cups over the last few years and they won the Super League last year, so they have that experience of closing out tight games. “That’s what got them over the line in their semi-final against St. Paul’s at the weekend- their belief, their experience, so we know they’ll come ready on Sunday” insisted O’Connor, who is one of two survivors from Celtics’ last National Cup-winning squad, along with fellow Ireland international, Sorcha Tiernan. Killester, who last got their hands on the National Cup in 2023, are certainly not short on players who can serve up big totals, among them being Samantha Haiby who has made a huge impact for the Clontarf outfit this season, averaging 24.3 points and 12 rebounds in her last three games. Michelle Clarke, Ieva Bagdanaviciene and Hannah Thornton can also inflict some serious damage, but Killester will be going up against a Liffey Celtics team that boasts the best defensive record in the Super League this season - the primary reason why the Lexlip outfit are currently three points clear at the top of the table. Rachel Huijsdens and O’Connor are a huge presence under the defensive boards for Celtics, while Allie Navarette has been rapidly getting up to speed with her team mates since returning to the Kildare side only last month. She and fellow American, Eboni Williams have been presenting no end of problems for opposition over recent weeks, while Sorcha Tiernan and Kate O’Flaherty continue to pose a serious threat from beyond the arc. Add to that, an array of emerging talent in the likes of Kelly Bracken, Hazel Finn and Katie O’Sullivan, and Celtics appear to have a serious chance of making this a season to remember. Certainly, O’Connor has full belief in the potential of the players around her to bring a successful conclusion to their National Cup campaign on Sunday, telling the Nationalist “I’d back us position for position the whole way down. “Killester have strength inside, they’ve good shooting guards and they’ve got young fast players as well, which is something that we have too. “I feel the advantage that we’ve had against a lot of teams this year is that we have the ability to play inside and we’ve some really good shooters out on the perimeter, but Killester have that too. “We have the strength right across the team and we have people in each position who are quite strong, so I’d fancy our chances this weekend, but I know it’s not going to be a walk in the park either” she stressed. Kildare Nationalist Newsletter delivered directly to your inbox Eanna’s Stefan Desnica and Paul Dick of Killester Kason Harrell and Isiah Dasher each shot 21 points as Killester defeated Griffith College Éanna 93-74 in their Pat Duffy National Cup semi-final at Neptune on Saturday Ireland star Dick spoke afterwards about the trio's chemistry saying offence hasn't been a problem all year for Killester.  UCC Demons' supporters cheering on their side against Killester during the Men's Super League at The Mardyke Arena. Picture: Eddie O'Hare I have witnessed some great tussles and it was right up as one of the best as it had everything to give fans value for their admission fee Credit to Demons they had played in Sligo 21 hours before this clash and came away with an overtime win over the local All Stars 98-91 In this column I have previously brought player welfare as a top priority This season UCC Demons have had six double headers and five of them have been back-to-back Credit to the Sunday’s Well outfit they produced a season-best as both teams shot the ball exceptionally well but it was the atmosphere that made it a special day at the Dyke Demons now look in pole position to take the number one slot with Killester likely to stay at two and runner-up in the regular season the majority of clubs voted for play-offs to determine the winner of the Super League It must be tough for UCC Demons that they could end up winning the regular season and losing the Super League title UCC Demons' James Hannigan takes on Killester's Ciaran Roe during the Men's Super League at The Mardyke Arena Picture: Eddie O'HareSurely a team that have lost 11 games in a regular season doesn’t deserve to be in play-offs to decide the title but that’s how the vote went with the competing clubs The other two Cork sides Energywise Ireland Neptune and Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig had a mixed weekend with contrasting results Neptune will be happy in the fact they saw off Tralee Warriors on Friday and on Saturday travelled to play a St Vincent’s side who had only one American These two wins should see them take the seventh or eighth berth in the league standings There is little doubt their fans will be hoping for a quarter-final against UCC Demons at the Mardyke Arena that would give them a chance to get one over on their auld enemy Ballincollig had a very disappointing weekend losing to UCD Marian on Friday before a trip over the county bounds on Sunday saw them lose to a Tralee Warriors side 82-69 who were missing American Brandon Mahan Losing 36-35 at the break Ballincollig looked to be in a good position but were dismantled in the third quarter when all they could muster up was nine points with Warriors checking in with 22 Granted Ballincollig were missing their influential point guard Adrian O’Sullivan but surely American Quashawn Lane should have done better than the six paltry points he contributed in 23 minutes of action they only made seven of the 24 three-point shots attempted but not for first time this season Ballincollig’s Irish players had a poor day at the office as they only contributed 25 points To Advertise Call: 0879384810 or  email: ddcrean@me.com News | Sport | Entertainment | from the County's Capital Garvey’s Tralee Warriors good run of form over the Christmas break hit the skids in their first Super League clash of the new year when they went down 103-93 to the League leaders Killester at the Tralee Sports Complex on Saturday Killester were gifted a fast start in the opening quarter and a lead that the Warriors spent most of the rest of the game chasing down Apart from the hosts leading by a single point early in the third it was Killester that dictated the pace and tempo of the game to prevail by 10 in the end avenging their defeat at home to the Warriors in Round 3 and from the moment sharp shooter Kason Harrell drained a corner three with the opening play it signalled an all out attack from the Dublin side Harrell fired in another two more majors blows before Ciaran Roe and the outstanding former Warrior Paul Dick got in on the act to see the visitors lead 21-7 midway through the quarter The Warriors suddenly got to the pace of the game when Daniel Jokubaitis found the target from distance and scores from Rap Buivydas Josh Osayanrhion and Eoin Quigley helped to steady the ship and when Mark Stephens got a good look at the target to drill a three pointer it cut the Killester lead back to 26-23 at quarter time The second quarter saw the sides go score for score from the moment Isaac Westbrooks opened his account for Killester A hat trick of inside efforts from Mark Stephens was countered by three more from Isiah Dasher to keep the visitors one score ahead but Stephens then chose his moment to kick start a three point shootout with his second major quickly followed by another from Brandon Mahan Killester struck back through Andrew McGeever with a three from the corner and by the end of the quarter he would follow that with another two majors However Warriors radar from range was also in full working order and Jokubaitis Greg Adon and Mahan lined up to fire down three cracking efforts from beyond the arc to hold the Killester lead to 53-51 at half time The third quarter is often the ‘moving quarter’ where one team looks to spread the game and it proved to be Killester that took this initiative when they blitzed the Warriors with a 17-5 volley to take control of the contest Harrell and Dasher quickly built a 70-56 lead that only Buivydas and Stephens were able to reply to The Warriors did bridge the gap with two more threes from Stephens and Jokubaitis with his fourth major but McGeever also hit his fourth from distance to keep 10 between the sides The Warriors discipline began to creak under the weight of the Killester challenge and a couple of technical fouls were duly punished before the Killester’s Baptiste Chazelas struck for identical efforts from close range to see the Dublin side lead 82-70 at the end of the third The Warriors needed a quick start in the fourth to begin the rescue mission but after Greg Adon and Stephens were on the mark Killester again took the reins of the game and Harrell Dick and Chazelas shared 13 points between them to put the contest to bed as the visitors went 22 points up at 96-74 The Warriors did rally late with Mahan and Jokubaitis combining for 14 points to cut the Killester lead to 98-89 as the clock ticked down There was still time for Greg Adon to pick up his second technical foul and Jokubaitis exhaust his five fouls and despite Buivydas and Mahan firing in the final seconds Ciaran Roe and Kason Harrell gladly obliged from the free throw line to seal their 103-93 win in the end Garvey’s Tralee Warriors: Mark Stephens 28 • Next up for the Warriors after a break for both the National Cup weekends as well as a rostered weekend off is a double header of fixtures on the road when they take on St Vincent’s in Glasnevin on Saturday 1st February before travelling on to play Belfast Star the following day and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Let's connect on any of these social networks! Welcome to TraleeToday.ie, your daily source of news from the county capital. We bring you coverage of news, sport, entertainment and the other fun stuff in life, keeping you informed whether you’re in Oakpark or Oklahoma. We now consistently receive over 750,000 page views a month from over 70,000 unique users with over 32,000 Facebook followers for our page. PLAYOFFS: Brunell's Kelly Sexton makes an attacking break during the Women's Super League game against The Address UCC Glanmire. Pic: David Creedon The higher seeds have home advantage in both the first round and semi-final before we get a televised final in the National Basketball Arena March Madness in basketball is synonymous with upsets and drama and we have a couple of dramatic weeks in store as we look to crown our champions Lynn Jones of Utility Trust St. Paul's in action against Sam Haiby of Killester during the Domino's Women's Super League final at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin. Photo by Sportsfile BASKETBALL IRELAND WOMEN'S SUPER LEAGUE FINAL St Paul’s Super League season faltered at the final hurdle as the Killarney club failed in their effort to capture the Super League title in Sunday’s final at the National Basketball Arena, with defending champions Killester instead winning back-to-back Women’s Super League titles, following a 20-point victory over St. Paul’s. Utility Trust St. Paul’s made a solid start and were up by five points, 9-4, four minutes in after Mathilde Diop’s basket. For Killester, Destiny Strother and Michelle Clarke were the driving force in the opening quarter, with seven points apiece, as they led 21-16 by the end of it. Utility Trust St. Paul’s started the second quarter with a five-point run to bring the game level at 21-21, after Gracen Kerr slotted one of her two free throws. Killester responded with a nine point run, finished off by a Clarke three, to see the Dublin club 30-21 up midway through the quarter. A Clarke layup in traffic made it 32-25 to Killester with three minutes to go in the second quarter. Hannah Thornton and Denise Dunlea exchanged baskets in the final minute, before Lorraine Scanlon converted on the rebound at the end of the quarter for Utility Trust St. Paul’s, to reduce the deficit to 38-33 at half-time. Killester really turned the game in their favour at the start of the third quarter thanks to a 10-point run, while defensively they were containing the threat of the likes of Kerr and Callie Cavanaugh Back-to-back threes from Destiny Strother and a Samantha Haiby fastbreak and layup had Killester 56-35 up with three minutes to go. Cavanaugh finally snapped the run, but Utility Trust St. Paul’s scored just four points in the third quarter overall. A layup and a corner two from Sara Fernandez Lopez in the final minute saw Killester into a 62-37 lead. Utility Trust St. Paul’s to their credit started the fourth quarter with back-to-back three-pointers from Kerr. Killester responded in kind - Strother and Haiby converting from the three point line, Mark Grennell’s side were 68-44 up two minutes in. Cavanaugh and Kerr kept the scoreboard ticking over for St. Paul’s as they tried to close the gap, but the gap was too large to bridge. Strother picked up the game MVP following her 20-point performance. The Utility Trust St. Paul's squad before the Domino's Women's Super League final against Killester at the National Basketball Arena. Photo by Sportsfile Killester captain Michelle Clarke said: “We haven’t had our best season to date, I think our talent is still there this year, but we didn’t always match it with our work ethic. I think we righted a wrong that we didn’t get right in January [in the Paudie O’Connor National Cup final]. Delighted to come out with the result that we did and hopefully we can look forward to our men’s side raising the trophy today.” She added, “When you play a Kerry team there’s one thing guaranteed, and that’s that they have a ‘never-say-die’ attitude and we needed to match that today and I thought we did for enough time to come away with a nice win.” Utility Trust St. Paul’s: Callie Cavanaugh (18), Gracen Kerr (16), Mathilde Diop (10), Leah McMahon (8), Lorraine Scanlon (5), Denise Dunlea (4), Rheanne O’Shea (2), Abby Doherty, Lynn Jones, Clodagh Clancy, Siofra O’Shea, Kate Healy. Killester: Samantha Haiby (25), Destiny Strother (20), Michelle Clarke (14), Ieva Bagdanaviciene (10), Hannah Thornton (7), Sara Fernandez Lopez (4), Sarah Courtney (2), Leilani Turner (1), Ali Connolly, Robyn Malone, Maeve O’Seaghdha, SoccerTralee’s St Brendan’s Park make it third time lucky against Listowel Celtic to win U-17 North League titleKDL CHARLEVILLE CHEESE U-17 NORTH LEAGUE FINAL Ãine Mc Kenna in action for The Address UCC Glanmire vs Killester in the Women's Superleague at Mardyke Arena. Pic Larry Cummins Áine Mc Kenna in action for The Address UCC Glanmire vs Killester in the Women’s Superleague at Mardyke Arena. Pic Larry Cummins The Address UCC Glanmire eventually saw off Women’s Super League leaders Killester after overtime in an epic clash at the Mardyke Arena on Sunday Glanmire looked to have the game in the bag but a comedy of errors in the closing minute saw Killester level the game at the death Plenty of heroes for the winners led by the American pairing of Callie Cavanaugh and Del’Janae Williams (22) with captain Aine McKenna finishing with 19 Michelle Clarke gave the visitors the prefect start when she banked a shot just 12 seconds into the game but Glanmire responded with a Callie Cavanaugh basket American Cavanaugh followed with another basket for the home team but Killester who were relying on shooting outside the arc replied with Denise Strother three pointer Callie Cavanagh in action for The Address UCC Glanmire vs Killester in the Women's Superleague at Mardyke Arena Pic Larry CumminsStrother continued to pose Glanmire problems with her outside shooting but it was the home team that commanded a one-point lead in the sixth minute 17-16 The second Killetser American Samantha Hailby also looked useful in the offence court but Aine McKenna was outstanding and consecutive baskets in the eight minute that gave her side a two-point lead Both sides had opportunities in the closing two minutes but didn’t avail of them as Glanmire took a 20-18 lead into the second quarter Clarke levelled the game on the restart but with Glanmire choosing silly shooting options and not defending in a proper manner the visitors led by the minimum in the 13th minute with Mark Scannell rightfully calling a time out to steady the ship It didn’t improve on the restart as Killester surged into a seven-point lead but consecutive three pointers from Annaliese Murphy and McKenna got them back in the mix To be fair Glanmire began playing far better defence and with McKenna continuing to wreak havoc with Killester’s defence they suddenly gained a six-point lead In the very last possession American Cavanaugh got a buzzer beater bank shot that gave them a deserved eight-point lead at the break 45-37 Turnovers cost glanmire on the restart with Killester responding with consecutive baskets McKenna who had a 17-point tally at the break took it to 19 with a stunning move to the hoop in the 23rd minute Defence was now going to have a major say in this game as it was evident at times that when Glanmire threatened to take control they dropped their intensity in that department Haiby continued to hurt Glanmire as she continued to nail shots when getting clear looks and midway through the quarter the Glanmire lead was reduced to four points The Killester onslaught continued and they levelled the game with three minutes remaining in this quarter with their American pairing continuing to score at will In Glanmire’s final possession they produced a good move with Miriam Loughrey executing a lay-up as they took a three-point lead 61-58 into the final quarter Loughrey is a great battler and she began the fourth quarter with a basket from an offensive rebound and followed up with a three pointer Miriam Loughrey lines up a free throw for The Address UCC Glanmire vs Killester in the Women's Superleague at Mardyke Arena Pic Larry CumminsSome of the basketball played in the closing minutes was from the top drawer and with six minutes remaining Glanmire had a seven- point lead It got worse for Glanmire as they gave up a nine-point lead in the closing 25 seconds with Mimi Clarke levelling the game with a buzzer beater three pointer In overtime both sides battled to the wire but Glanmire eventually got their just reward for a battling display Scorers for The Address UCC Glanmire: C Cavanaugh 28 and teammates celebrate after winning the Men's Super League final at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght The Killester team celebrate after the Women's Super League final Barry LennonSun 13 Apr 2025 at 21:39Demons’ edged Killester 94-92 in the Super League men’s final and denied the opponents a double after the Dublin club had sealed the women’s title just hours earlier at the National Basketball Arena Patrick Robinson shot 35 points to earn the MVP award today and get revenge for the Cork men following their National Cup decider defeat to Killester in January The New Jersey native’s efforts powered the club to a ninth league title following a tense affair in Tallaght The 25-year-old guard said this victory made his decision to join Demons this season “the greatest move of my life” after a win which was made all the sweeter by avenging their recent cup defeat I mean sometimes you need a tough loss to make people respect the grind and get back to work” said Robinson We thought about it for a few month and came back here and it was a different story.” Killester’s captain Ciarán Roe got his side off to a flyer with three three-pointers in the first quarter The Cork side’s Blake Murphy was hit with an unsportsmanlike foul following a heated altercation Robinson began to feed off that added spice and scored 11 points of his tally in the first period as Demons trailed Killester 26-24 heading into the second period It remained a tight in the second half and there was worrying moment for Demons when their six-foot-eight centre Elijah Tillman limped off following an awkward fall He returned to action however and his US compatriot Robinson had the winning of it with a last-gasp two-pointer with 24 seconds remaining Killester successfully defended their women’s title with a 83-63 Super League final win over St Paul’s of Killarney in Tallaght American guard Samantha Haiby led the scorers with 22 points but there was also significant contributions from MVP Destiny Strother (20) and captain Michelle Clarke (17) victory made up for January’s final defeat to Liffey Celtics who denied the Dublin club a men’s and women’s double in the cup We righted a wrong that we left behind in January We have the talent but we just need to match it with a work effort and we did that today,” she said “I think it’s a family club that supports one another Our women’s team was supporting our men and they support us.” Mathilde Diop caused early problems near the basket for Killester with the Senegalese international scoring six points in the first quarter for the Kerry women Clarke began to assert control by shooting 14 points by half-time to see her side enjoy a 38-33 advantage at the break St Paul’s supporters outnumbered their Dublin counterparts at tip off but they would gradually grow more silent the gulf between the two sides only grew Siofra O’Shea would come on in the third quarter following her Ladies Division 1 triumph with Kerry in Croke Park on Saturday Barrow Rovers managed to contain an experienced Killester outfit down the stretch at MTU Arena on Saturday to secure a 63-50 victory that sees them into the 2024/25 NICC Men’s National Cup decider A good spread of scoring that saw four players finish in double digits helped see them past their Dublin rivals who were without of couple of key personnel for this fixture it was Killester who enjoyed the brighter start carding the game’s opening seven points starting with a sublime three from Niall Hegarty that was quickly followed by two buckets from Cathal Rogers before Silva Gonzalo got Barrow up and running with a timely deuce That score signed that start of a Rovers surge that propelled them in front by two as Javier Hernandez Francesco Gesess and Javier Cardona all found the mark It set that stage for a great battle that saw the two sides go toe-to-toe for much of this game with Killester regaining the initiative before the close of the first quarter as Robbie Clarke struck from beyond the arc and Steven McGrath took one from three on the free-throw line to leave them 18-15 in front It remained tight all the way through the second quarter with the two sides finding themselves deadlocked on three occasions throughout that period Clarke added a further five points to take his first-half tally to 10 while Chepyzhov Dmitrii and Cardona converted a pair of delightful three-point efforts for Barrow to see them take the narrowest of leads (31-30) into the half-time break Two buckets from Gonzalo and a free throw by Hernandez early in the third saw Barrow increase that narrow lead to six before Killester halved that deficit by way of a nice ‘downtown’ from Cathal Rogers Barrow were passing up opportunities from the free-throw line both Gesess and Javier Hernandez coming away empty-handed but Rovers still remained out in front as the same two players proved more successful from the floor Barrow’s Mantas Skipinas and Killester’s Hegarty exchanged three-pointers before Jack Rawdon took two from the free-throw line to see Killester reduce their arrears to three (43-40) heading into the final quarter the imposing presence of Pl Sangamenshwaran in both the interior defence and in the opposition’s key was proving a telling factor for Barrow as he choked off a number of Killester assaults and also put up a basket which along with scores from Darshan Umapthi and Gonzalo Sangamenshwaran continued to prove a real headache for Killester serving up another two baskets before Al Casey delivered down the other end of the court Casey continued on to nab another two buckets before Steven McGrath struck for a three to reduce the gap to eight Killester needed a very special finish if they were to pull this one out the fire Indeed Barrow remained very composed down the homestraight protecting the ball well and adding to their tally from the line through Umapthi Disappointed St Pauls players, including Lynn Jones in the foreground, after their one-point National Cup semi-final loss to Killester at Neptune Stadium, Cork on Saturday evening Defeat can be a bitter pill, and losing by the bare minimum makes it worse, and that was the painful reality for St Pauls in their National Cup semi-final on Saturday evening as they went down and out against Killester by one point. The big crowd in Neptune Stadium may have paid for their seats but they spent the majority of this blockbuster perched on the edge of them as not for the first time this season Utility Trust St Pauls went toe to toe with a heavyweight opponent and gave as good as they got. The result of this thrilling semi-final was still in doubt as the clock ticked down to its final seconds but James Fleming's side just came up short, but despite the defeat they can still look themselves in the mirror and know that they gave it everything they had. Killester are the reigning league champions, with a host of Irish Internationals in their ranks, and they were the first to admit that it took all that they had to edge past the Killarney side. Killester’s talismanic figure, Michelle Clarke, said as much afterwards when she acknowledged that her side needed every morsel of grit, determination and experience to get them over the line. It really was that close. St Pauls were outstanding especially in the first half where their game plan was perfectly executed. Alex Wittinger and Gracen Kerr were scoring freely, Mathilde Diop was finding her range while defensively they worked hard on shutting down the influence of Samantha Haiby. One could argue that they probably deserved more than a six point lead at half time and with a bit of temerity questioning a few of the refereeing decisions that saw the foul count at 8-2 at the end of the first quarter. Killester roared back into the game in the third quarter and St Paul's grip on the game was never as strong thereafter. One would have to factor in the absence of Rheanne O’Shea and Leah McMahon also as when you take these teams on you need every tool in your armoury. Gracen Kerr goes on a drive to the basket for St Pauls against Killester Straight from the tip off Kerr skipped in for a basket but Destiny Strother replied with a three-pointer. St Pauls were diligent on defence and that helped them run into a 13-8 lead. Kerr and Diop were the architects of that advantage with accurate outside shooting and it was left to Ieva Bagdanaviciene to light the Killester fire. St Paul's intensity though was starting to get pockmarked by fouls, perhaps with some in the debatable category. Lorraine Scanlon and Paris McCarthy ran into early trouble but the introduction of Lynn Jones, Siofra O’Shea and Denise Dunlea didn't weaken the cause. Dunlea hit five points and Wittinger was heating up and at the end of a high quality first quarter it was St Pauls in front, at 27-25. Wittinger struck early in the second followed by a Kerr three as Haiby was trying to pull the Killester strings. Hannah Thornton was starting to be a handful for the Pauls defence but the offence was really clicking into gear. Diop and Wittinger hit threes and Killester called a timeout trailing by 40-33. Paris McCarthy picked up her third foul but Lorraine Scanlon offset that blow with great work inside. With a 44-35 lead the game was about to enter a critical stage, either side of half time. Firstly Haiby finished the half with a three and exchanged free throws with Dunlea to close the gap to six. But even crucially Killester emerged from the dressing room a different team and hit twelve points without reply. Strother, Haiby, Michelle Clarke and Bagdanaviciene were rampant and it necessitated a St Pauls timeout to clear the heads. It had the required effect as Wittinger and Kerr steadied the ship and even though Thornton netted again the recovery saw St Pauls 56-55 ahead , heading into the final period. Lorraine Scanlon in action against Killester in the National Cup semi-final in Neptune Stadium, Cork St Pauls were now on team fouls but a combination of solid defending and errant Killester free throw shooting lessened the effect. Kerr was most unlucky when her three point shot bounced out but when Diop wriggled in to put her side 69-68 ahead one wondered was it going to be their night. Haiby was fouled as Killester searched for redemption. She was nerveless from the charity stripe to give her side the lead. St Pauls tried in vain for a winner, their best moment when McCarthy weaved into the paint with seconds on the clock, only to see her effort blocked. With that went St Pauls hopes of a first National Cup final appearance but they certainly died with their boots on!! St Pauls: Alex Wittinger 24, Gracen Kerr 20, Mathilde Diop 13, Denise Dunlea 6, Lorraine Scanlon 6, Paris McCarthy, Lynn Jones, Siofra O’Shea, Meabh Barry Killester: Samantha Haiby 20, Hannah Thornton 13, Ieva Bagdanaviciene 12, Destiny Strother 11 The FloMAX Liffey Celtics team and staff celebrate with the Paudie O'Connor Cup Photo:©INPHO/Ben Brady FloMAX Liffey Celtics are the 2024/25 Paudie O'Connor National Cup champions following a superb 65-53 victory over Killester in Sunday evening's decider in the National Basketball Arena. The Leixlip side could not have picked a better time to arrest a three-game head-to-head losing streak against their Dublin rivals, as huge second and third quarter displays propelled them to an impressive triumph. While Killester managed to dig out a narrow one point lead (14-13) by the close of the first quarter, Karl Kilbride’s side began to stamp their authority on proceedings in the second, outgunning their opponents by 11 in that period to take a ten-point cushion (35-25) into the break. Their third-quarter display was even more devastating as Allie Navarette and Sorcha Tiernan combined for 14 points, while Kelly Bracken, captain, Áine O’Connor and game MVP Hazel Finn also drained big shots from beyond the arc to push their lead out to a huge 25-points (63-38) heading into the fourth. Basketball Ireland CEO John Feehan presents the MVP Award to Hazel Finn of FloMAX Liffey Celtics Photo: ©INPHO/Ben BradyYet Liffey, having coughed up a 17-point advantage in their narrow overtime loss to Killester in the league only last month, knew they could ill-afford to allow their rivals gain any sort of moment. And, while they had only an Eboni Williams bucket to show for their offensive efforts in the fourth, it was their intensity in defence that denied Killester a way back in. Rachel Huijsdens, Williams, Navarette, O’Connor and Finn all put in a huge shift under the boards as the Kildare side made it over the line to bridge a six-year gap since they last raised this prize. Top Scorers: Allie Navarette (15), Hazel Finn (13), Sorcha Tiernan (11), Rachel Huijsdens (10). Destiny Strother, Michelle Clarke, Samantha Haiby, Leilani Turner, Sarah Courtney, Bree Shelley, Ali Connolly, Robyn Malone, Ieva Bagdanaviciene, Hannah Thornton, Maeve O Seaghdha, Sara Lopez. Top Scorers: Samantha Haiby (15), Michelle Clarke (13), Hannah Thornton (12). Reposing at the Fanagan Kirwan Funeral Home, Fairview Strand, on Wednesday evening (2nd April) with family in attendance from 5 o’clock until 7 o’clock. Requiem Mass on Thursday morning (3rd April) at 11 o’clock in Church of Our Lady of Consolation, Donnycarney. Funeral thereafter to Dardistown Crematorium. Kason Harrell, Killester and UCC Demons’ Elijah Tillman at the media day ahead of the Domino's Men's Super League final. Pic: Dan Sheridan/Inpho this is the matchup both Demons and Killester wanted Everyone knows that Demons vs Neptune is the biggest rivalry in Irish basketball but in terms of consistent competition for trophies Demons vs Killester has been the top rivalry for the past quarter-century 52% of the league titles have been won by one of the two clubs UCC DEMONS EDGED Killester 94-92 in a thrilling Men’s Super League final at the National Basketball Arena this evening. Patrick Robinson was the star of the show, racking up 35 points, nine rebounds and five assists in a brilliant all-round performance. The game was in balance right up to the final seconds, with Robinson’s basket and a James Hannigan free throw proving to be the difference in a game of fine margins between the top two from the regular season. This game — a repeat of the Pat Duffy National Cup final — was always going to be tight and there was just two points between the sides by the end of the quarter, 26-24. It was level at 49-49 apiece going into half-tim. The Demons moved into the ascendancy thereafter before Killester responded to leave it finely poised, 75-72, at the end of the third quarter. The Dubliners took the lead, and UCC Demons lost the influential Kyle Hosford for the closing stages, but responded for 89-89 with three minutes to go, setting up a dramatic endgame. Robinson hit a two with 23.9 seconds remaining, which sent the Demons 93-91 in front. Kason Harrell had two free throws to bring it level, but could only convert one. Hannigan then drew a foul, again only one was downed from the free throw line and it was 94-92 with 6.2 seconds to go. Killester still had possession, however there was to be no further late twist to an outstanding final. “Just after an unbelievable season, I think we deserved this,” said UCC Demons captain David Lehan. “Knockout basketball, you have to get your rewards and I thought we did that today. We stuck together, I’m so proud of this team. Fair play to Killester, they were unbelievable as well, but today we just got lucky and got over the line. “There’s nothing between these two teams, they beat us in the Cup, we beat them today. It’s a battle of who’s better on the day, and to be honest there wasn’t much of a difference, but we did just enough to get over the edge.” Lehane also praised game MVP Patrick Robinson. “Pat is incredible, he’s been doing that all season. Today he had a point to prove, and he proved it fairly obviously.” Earlier in Tallaght, Killester made it back-to-back Women’s Super League titles with an 83-63 win over Utility Trust St. Paul’s in today’s final. It was just a five-point game at the halfway stage before Killester really turned the game in their favour at the start of the third quarter thanks to a 10-point run, while defensively they were containing the threat of the likes of Gracen Kerr and Callie Cavanaugh. Back-to-back threes from Destiny Strother and a Samantha Haiby layup had Killester 56-35 up with three minutes to go. Utility Trust St. Paul’s scored just four points in the third quarter overall but, to their credit, started the fourth with back-to-back three’s from Kerr. Killester responded in kind and Strother also picked up the game MVP following her 20-point performance. “We haven’t had our best season to date, I think our talent is still there this year, but we didn’t always match it with our work ethic. I think we righted a wrong that we didn’t get right in January (in the Paudie O’Connor National Cup final),” Killester captain Michelle Clarke said. “When you play a Kerry team there’s one thing guaranteed, and that’s that they have a ‘never-say-die’ attitude and we needed to match that today and I thought we did for enough time to come away with a nice win.” To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user Create an email alert based on the current article NO DOUBT: UCC Demons players James Hannigan,Scott Hannigan and Kyle Hosford celebrate the win over Energywise Ireland Neptune during the Men's Super League quarter final replay at the Mardyke Arena. Pic: Eddie O'Hare By the time we play the league finals in two weeks’ time we will have had six finals 13 months This includes two League Finals and a Cup Final in both the men’s and women’s competitions Killester will have been represented in all six Last year the women won the League decider Now they chase the unique men’s and women’s double again in the League Finals and they will enter both games as favourites There aren’t enough superlatives to highlight how incredible an achievement this is for the only club in the Super League with both men’s and women’s teams BIG WIN: Andrew Coscoran of Ireland in action UCC DEMONS EDGED Killester 94-92 in a thrilling Men’s Super League final at the National Basketball Arena this evening nine rebounds and five assists in a brilliant all-round performance with Robinson’s basket and a James Hannigan free throw proving to be the difference in a game of fine margins between the top two from the regular season This game — a repeat of the Pat Duffy National Cup final — was always going to be tight and there was just two points between the sides by the end of the quarter It was level at 49-49 apiece going into half-tim The Demons moved into the ascendancy thereafter before Killester responded to leave it finely poised and UCC Demons lost the influential Kyle Hosford for the closing stages but responded for 89-89 with three minutes to go Kason Harrell had two free throws to bring it level I think we deserved this,” said UCC Demons captain David Lehan but today we just got lucky and got over the line and to be honest there wasn’t much of a difference but we did just enough to get over the edge.” Killester made it back-to-back Women’s Super League titles with an 83-63 win over Utility Trust St It was just a five-point game at the halfway stage before Killester really turned the game in their favour at the start of the third quarter thanks to a 10-point run while defensively they were containing the threat of the likes of Gracen Kerr and Callie Cavanaugh Back-to-back threes from Destiny Strother and a Samantha Haiby layup had Killester 56-35 up with three minutes to go Paul’s scored just four points in the third quarter overall but started the fourth with back-to-back three’s from Kerr Killester responded in kind and Strother also picked up the game MVP following her 20-point performance I think we righted a wrong that we didn’t get right in January (in the Paudie O’Connor National Cup final),” Killester captain Michelle Clarke said