Ballyshannon Basketball Club's Lauren Foy to make her international debut next week

What a year it has been for Ballyshannon Basketball Club and in particular Lauren Foy. This time last year the club were celebrating their first All-Ireland at underage level. The U-16 girls won the D2 title at the All-Ireland Club Championships (AICC). 12 months on they are preparing for another AICC’s, with the U-16 girls hoping to go one better and win either the Division 1 or possibly the Premier Division. 

They have gone through the Northwest League unbeaten and with a strong panel of players they hope to maintain the high standards set by last year’s team. They will compete at the National Finals on April 15 and 16th.

Lauren Foy was part of that team last year and is U-16 again this year. Over the past 18 months she has been part of the Basketball Ireland Academy programme and in October 2022 she attended trials for the U-16 Irish team along with 60 other girls. 

Lauren Foy

The Irish team will take part in the European Youth Championships in Montenegro in August. She has made it to the last 18 and will make her Irish debut on April 5th and 6th when she plays in the Home International Tournament in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght. After that tournament the final squad of 12 will be announced and everybody at club is hoping she will become the first player from the club to play for Ireland at a European Championships.

"I am really looking forward to the Four Nations tournament. It has been a brilliant experience so far and I suppose I don't want it to end there. I've had a lot of fun and met so many new people and friends who have helped me along the way

Gerry and Louise Foy, Lauren’s parents, have always encouraged all of their children to participate in all sports and both of them are very proud of her achievement. "Naturally enough we are very proud of Lauren. She has worked hard to get this far. It has been a big commitment but a very rewarding one. It's also great for the Club especially for the younger players who can see now what can be achieved"

Paul McDevitt coached the team last year and is again at the helm this year, along with Caroline Loughlin.  “ We are delighted to be going back to the AICC’s this year. It’s a great achievement for a small club and we hope we maintain the high standards set last year. There is a new format this year,  with 25 teams playing over 60 games over the course of the weekend. Winning one of the three divisions will not be easy but we will do our best.”

The club’s U14 girls played at last weekend’s AICC and were unfortunate to lose on Sunday in the Division 1 semi final. The club’s chairperson, Louise Foy was the coach of that team and was very proud of the way her young team played. “We played 3 hard games on Saturday, narrowly losing the third game which eliminated us from the Premier Division finals on Sunday. We won the quarter final of the D1 but unfortunately lost the semi final to Firhouse from Dublin. It was a great achievement to get to that stage and all the girls did really well.”

The Alternative View: Kilcar colours to the fore in Dr Hyde Park, Roscommon

The Alternative View had to endure a long day in Roscommon as Donegal threw in the towel in a day to forget for supporters.

On behalf of the club, Louise would like to thank the sponsors of the club’s new kits that were specially designed for the All Irelands. They were supplied by O’Reilly Sports in Ballybofey. “Without the sponsors we would not have been in a position to have a second set of gear for both teams. We would like to thank Ballyshannon and Killybegs Credit Union, Donna and Declan McGowan of CPS, Kernan’s Spar and Valerie & Des Moore of Bells Isle Oysters for their generosity. 

U16 Girls Team: Cadhla Dolan, Lauren Foy, Aoife Travers, Andrea Moore, Clara Gallagher, Ciara Larkin, Katie McGowan, Emily McNamee, Kathleen Flanagan, Rebecca Downey, Sinead Flanagan, Laoise Foy, Erin McGloin.