Remembering Athlone"s Olympic basketballing six

Basketball, Athlone and the Olympics .. you"d think there"d be few connections. You"d be wrong. In the 1948 London Olympics, six Athlone-based basketballers represented Ireland in the hugely competitive basketball tournament. The six, all based at Custume Barracks, were reminders of the heyday of basketball in Athlone; an era when the town held sway in the game nationally. Earlier that year, the Western Command basketball team had retained its All-Army Basketball Championships beating Eastern Command by a margin of seven points in the final. This was the sixth All-Army title won by the Athlone team in just seven years and in 1947, the Custume Club, representing Connaught, added the All-Ireland title to that record. In fact, from 1941 to 1951, the Western Command won ten of the eleven army championships. And in 1947 alone, the Custume Club created a record, winning the All Army championship, the Westmeath championship, the inter-county championship, the All-Ireland championship, the All-Ireland inter provincial championship, and the All Ireland and international blitz championships. And it was that wonderful record which helped secure the strong Athlone representation at the 1948 Olympics. Basketball was first introduced to the army in early in 1923 and it was the defence forces which proved a breeding ground for the sport in Ireland. In fact, of the 14-man squad chosen for the 1948 Olympics in London, twelve were army personnel The panel was comprised of six Athlone-based army personnel, two players from Dublin-based civilian clubs and the remainder from the Army"s Eastern Command. The Athlone players included brothers Paddy and Dermot Sheriff, who have both passed away. Descendants of both Sheriff brothers continue to reside in Athlone. And three generations of both Sheriff families have been involved in basketball in Athlone. The Sheriffs were members of the School of Music - which appeared to be an unusual incubator for basketball talent. Two other bandsmen, Tommy Keenan, and Jimmy McGee, were also part of the Olympics squad. Tommy Keenan, another Athlone-based competitor, was prominent in gaelic football circles locally. Keenan was on the Athlone side which lost the Westmeath county final in 1948 to the Mental Hospital, by 0-5 to 0-1. A Dubliner, Private Keenan was serving in Custume Barracks at the time. He subsequently moved back to Dublin, where he since died. Jimmy McGee, at the time was based in Dublin, but later moved to Athlone to head up the Band of the Western Command. The fourth Athlone competitor was Bill Jackson, a Roscommon native, who played inter-county football. The late Sgt Jackson was father of prominent Athlone-born soccer player, Jimmy. Members of the Jackson family still reside in Athlone. Lieutenant Frank O"Connor was also a well-known gaelic footballer locally. He lived in Athlone for many years and his family also remain in the town. The sixth Athlone competitor was Danny Reddin, another army member, who was also a high-profile soccer player locally. His family too remain in Athlone. According to the Westmeath Independent of July 17th, 1948: 'Corporal O"Connor didn"t travel for the Dublin Olympic trials otherwise he would have been a certainty for the Irish team.' Turlough O"Connor, father of Athlone soccer legends, Turlough, Michael and Padraig, and female basketball star, Kathleen McCarth, was one ###of the country"s most prominent basketballers at the time but chose not to travel to the Olympics. The trials were held in Portobello and it was there the team trained in advance of the Games. The kit, green vests and khaki pants, was provided by the army. Among the other squad members was Harry Boland, nephew of the famous Irish independence fighter. The adventures of Athlone"s Olympic basketballers caught the public attention locally. The Westmeath Independent in wishing them well said: 'With crack teams from all over the world competing, the standard of play in the Olympic Games will be exceptionally high, but whatever the fate of the Irish team, the men of Custume can be relied upon to spare nothing in an effort to hoist the tricolour and uphold a proud tradition.' And adapting the Ballad of Athlone, the Westmeath Independent finished: 'Oh! who for Erin will strike a stroke ... Six warriors forth from their comrades broke.'