The Maree 91s – nine dream seasons Seán Conroy

The Maree 91s swept all before them for

9 seasons

It was suggested that the feats of the Under 20

Maree team which won the U20 Men’s National

Cup in January, be set out in an article for ’More

News. This is their story. There have been many

wonderful teams in this famous basketball parish

and many club, school and Community Games na-

tional titles brought back to the community by

them. This is an account of one of those teams, the

Maree 91 boys, made up of those born in 1991 or

later. In summary, they went unbeaten, winning

more than 90 games on the trot, all the way from

U12 to U20 – nine seasons – an extraordinary

achievement that suggests they may just have been

the greatest underage club team to date in Ireland.

Along the way, they thrilled us so many times, on

so many courts all over the country, including the

National Basketball Arena Tallaght, the Parochial

Hall Gurranabraher Cork, and Calasanctius Gym

Oranmore. Often awesome, never dull! But it all

began, as did so much that is great in basketball in

Oranmore-Maree, in Maree Hall.

Back in 2003, when the story of the Maree 91s’

nine-season run began, Maree Hall was the nerve

centre, the heartland of basketball. The new Cala-

sanctius College had not yet been built, and Maree

Hall accommodated all teams – school, club and

Community Games – indeed it is still the spiritual

home of Maree BC. In 2003, basketball in the par-

ish was on the cusp of a golden era. That year, Ca-

lasanctius won the All-Ireland U16A Girls and

U16B Boys School Cups. So many more school

titles were to follow, both boys and girls - the girls’

total has been staggering and record-setting. Also

in 2003, Oranmore-Maree contested all four Com-

munity Games finals in Mosney, winning three –

the U13 Boys and Girls and the U16 Boys. A fur-

ther record haul of CG titles was to come over the

ensuing years. On the club scene, Maree Basketball

Club had since the early nineties undertaken a ma-

jor revival at underage level, and in 2003 the club

won 5 of the then 6 Galway titles available - U11

Boys and Girls, U13 Boys and Girls, and U15

Girls. Maree had also begun to up the standards,

playing against teams from outside Galway, in

friendlies and tournaments. The club began to run

its own “West of Ireland Invitational” tournaments,

boys and girls, with the best teams from around the

country competing. The club was also sending

young teams to compete in big national tourna-

ments. Five National Cup titles were to come later.

But back in 2003 – at the building stage - Maree

hosted and won the West of Ireland U15 Boys Invi-

tational tournament. Maree also travelled to and

won the Cork Open U14 Boys tournament and re-

tained the Cork Open Under 12 Boys title. It was

the Maree 91s who got past Neptune, Tralee, Clon-

dalkin and Blue Demons – beating Demons 49 – 41

in the final - to bring the U12 cup back again from

Cork, and it was the beginning of their remarkable

run. Only the beginning, though.

Over the nine seasons from 2002/3 to 2010/11, the

Maree 91 team has included many players. Only

three of those born in 1991 - and now at the end of

their underage careers - were there for the whole

journey; Liam Conroy, Con Crowley and George

Rahmani. A fourth, Conor Foley, missed his last

two seasons, through injury and then through study

abroad. Colm O’Hagan and Brian Kelly, born in

1992, were also there for all nine underage seasons,

and have one more to go. The team that went to

Gurranabraher in February 2003 and won the Cork

Open U12 Cup was Liam Conroy, Con Crowley,

George Rahmani, Conor Foley, Colm O’Hagan, Ian

Lynskey, Ross Lynskey, Brian Kelly, Daniel

Beuster, Fiachra Burke and Phillip Staunton. The

team that won the U20 National Cup in January

2011 was Liam Conroy, Con Crowley, George

Rahmani, Colm O’Hagan, Brian Kelly, Ken Hans-

berry, Ciarán Harte, Tomas Mitkus, Cormac

Shields, Eavan Finn, Enda Walsh and Pádraig

Burke. Over the intervening years, there were oth-

ers who played with the Maree 91s, including

David Burke, Colin Whelan, Christopher Bannon,

Shane Geoghegan, Dónal Greene, Evan Fahy,

Colin Harty, Ronan Burke and Dan Cunningham.

The Maree 91s went back to Cork the next season –

2003/4 - and won the U13 Open fairly convinc-

ingly. They also took the U13 Galway title, beating

Claregalway 22 – 8 in the county Final. It was be-

ginning to look as though they might just be a force

nationally, and the U14 West of Ireland tournament

hosted by Maree in December 2004 would tell a

lot. Invited were Lisburn, St Vincent’s Dublin,

Killester and Claregalway. Lisburn were the lead-

ing ’91 team in Ulster, and the St Vincent’s and

Killester 91s were the two top teams in the Dublin

Under 14 league. Maree won all their round-robin

games and then beat Lisburn for a second time in

the final, taking the title 54 – 36 (Conroy 16, Crow-

ley 10, Foley 14, Rahmani 6, O’Hagan 2, Kelly 4, I

Lynskey2).

Action from Dec 2004 West of Ireland Final -

Maree players in green from left to right; Conor

Foley, Ian Lynskey, George Rahmani, Con

Crowley, Liam Conroy

The Maree 91s then went on to win the Cork Open

U14 title (Maree 40 Demons 37) and the Galway

U14 title, beating Moycullen 51 – 29. Another

benchmark came along in October 2005, in the

form of Galway’s participation in the Inter-Area

Board competition. Liam Conroy, Conor Foley,

George Rahmani, Colm O’Hagan, Ian Lynskey,

Ross Lynskey and Colin Harty were all selected,

and Galway took the title, beating Ulster 66 – 54 in

the final in Tallaght. Maree players Conroy (27,

MVP), Crowley (19), Foley (12) and Rahmani (8)

accounted for all of Galway’s scores. The reputa-

tion was growing; three seasons unbeaten and sil-

verware mounting. The Maree 91s had proven that

they were good, but better again was to come in the

2005/2006 season.

A third Cork Open title – the U14

U14 Galway champions

Galway – winners All-Ireland Inter-Areas,

Tallaght 2005

As U15s, the Maree 91s took the U15 Cork Open

(the “John Coughlan”), winning the final against

Demons on a massive 71 – 40 scoreline (Conroy

33, Crowley 15, Foley 10, Rahmani 8, Bannon 4).

Maree then hosted a West of Ireland U15 invita-

tional in Calasanctius Gym, with Templeogue,

Moycullen, Killester and Ballincollig. Maree won

all their games, beating Killester in the decider 57 –

45 (Conroy 22, Crowley 14, Foley 13, Rahmani 8).

More benchmarks came along. Following trials, the

preliminary Irish squad for the 2007 Under 16

Europeans was formed; Liam Conroy, Con Crow-

ley, Con Crowley and George Rahmani were all

selected. These four, along with Colm O’Hagan

were also selected on the West team for the Under

15 Inter-Regionals in Waterford. The West won all

five games impressively, taking the final against

the East 46 – 29 (Conroy 22, Crowley 5, Foley 4,

Rahmani 4). Maree 91s accounted for 199 of the

259 tournament points scored by the West; George

Rahmani (26), Conor Foley (47), Liam Conroy

(79), Con Crowley (45), Colm O’Hagan (2). Maree

also took the Galway title again, after a delayed

final against Moycullen. Four seasons gone, still

undefeated. When would it end?

Maree win fourth title in Cork - U15 John Coughlan Cup

The West wins U15 Inter-Regionals, Waterford

in 2006

Over the course of the 2006/07 season, the Irish

Under 16 squad was gradually whittled down, with

Liam Conroy, Con Crowley, Conor Foley and

George Rahmani surviving each cut. Meanwhile,

the Maree 91s – now U16s – again won the Galway

county title, beating Moycullen 48 - 30.

Maree 91s (with trophies) 2006;

Liam Conroy (U14 Inter-Area), Con Crowley

(Cork U15), Conor Foley (West of Ireland U15),

George Rahmani (U15 Inter-Regional), Colm

O’Hagan (Galway U15)

There was, at the time, no U16 Cork Open tourna-

ment. The ultimate benchmark for this group of

players came when all four Maree players were se-

lected on the final Ireland team of 12 that headed

off to the Europeans in Skopje Macedonia in July

2007, captained by Conor Foley. Not only did they

make the Irish team, but all four started for Ireland.

It was unforgettable, and a source of great pride, to

see four boys, all of whom had been in the same

primary school class in Scoil Iósaf Naofa Oran-

more, take to the floor together in the green of Ire-

land. The four scored 224 of Ireland’s 472 points

over the course of 8 games (Conroy 115, Crowley

41, Foley 51, Rahmani 17). Meanwhile, Colm

O’Hagan was selected on the Irish U16 team for

the Europeans the following year. West of Ireland Invitational champions

Maree take another Galway title – U16

Ireland U16s at Europeans in Macedonia July

2007; Conor Foley (Captain) #8, Con Crowley

#7, Liam Conroy #6, George Rahmani #4

In October, all five featured on the Galway team

that beat Kerry 50 – 30 in the Inter-Area U16 final

in Tallaght (Liam Conroy 23, George Rahmani 10,

Conor Foley 6, Colm O’Hagan 2, Con Crowley 1).

Some season. What next?!

Tallaght 2007 - Galway win U16 Inter-Areas

Of all the Cork Open tournaments, the iconic one is

the “Billy Kelly”. For years it has been recognized

as the unofficial All-Ireland Under 17 champion-

ship event, and the magnificent cup is worthy of the

tournament’s reputation. The Maree 91s won the

2008 staging, beating Demons 80 – 68 in the final.

It was a notable win, even for this Maree team. All

five starters scored 10 or more points and Colm

O’Hagan - a year younger than Foley, Crowley,

Rahmani and Conroy – had well and truly caught

up with his four older team-mates, the age differ-

ence to be irrelevant from then on. Although Maree

had gone up 12 points in the third quarter of the

final, Demons hauled them back and, with the first

score of the fourth, went ahead ominously. Maree

faced a true test of character. They passed it. With

27 points in a blistering final quarter, they surged

ahead again, to take the Billy Kelly easing up

(Crowley 25, Conroy 18 MVP, Foley 11, Rahmani

14, O’Hagan 11). Six seasons of unbeaten success.

And ..?!

And so to the 2008/09 season. To kick it off, the

team went to Cork one more time, to the U18 Cork

open, the “Michael Heffernan”. They won it, beat-

ing Ballincollig, Tramore, Claregalway, Fr

Mathews, Tolka and then Blue Demons 38 – 32 in

the final, to record their 6th Cork win from 6 tour-

naments (Foley 4, Rahmani 4, O’Hagan 6, Conroy

14, Crowley 10).

Gurranabraher Cork, Easter 2008 - Maree take

the famous “Billy Kelly” U17 cup

Maree 91s take their 6th and last Cork Open title

– Michael Heffernan U18 Memorial

Next up was the U18 National Cup. Maree Basket-

ball Club had sensationally won both the Boys and

Girls Under 18 Cups the previous season, with

Maree 91 boys featuring prominently on the Maree

90 team. At this stage, with so much success be-

hind them, their unbeaten record etc, it was inevita-

ble that the Maree 91s would be installed as favour-

ites to retain the cup. They bore the heavy weight

of expectation well. On the way to the final in Tal-

laght, they dispatched St Paul’s Killarney, Titans,

Blue Demons, Killester and St Vincent’s of Dublin.

The final was against Templeogue, and in as good

a quarter of basketball as they’d ever played, Maree

took a 30 – 7 lead and cruised to a 70 – 43 U18 Na-

tional Cup title; Liam Conroy 27 MVP, Con Crow-

ley 12, Conor Foley 11, George Rahmani 6, Colm

O’Hagan 10, Kenneth Hansberry 2, Ciarán Harte,

David Burke, Brian Kelly 2, Colin Whelan, Dónal

Greene, Evan Fahy. Bliss! Seven winning years..

Maree – U18 National Cup winners 2008

Celebrating the U18 National Cup win – the

team that eats together, beats together!

2009 - Foley, Rahmani, O’Hagan, Crowley and

Conroy with Cups – U18 Michael Heffernan

Memorial, U18 National Cup, U17 Billy Kelly

In the 2009/10 season, the Maree 90s – with Con-

roy, Crowley, Rahmani and O’Hagan starting –

won the U20 National Cup, and so in 2010/11, the

Maree 91s were again favourites, this time to retain

the U20 trophy. First up, they beat Longford, then

Templeogue, then Neptune. So who did they meet

in the final? You guessed it – Blue Demons of

Cork. Demons had one last chance to avenge all

those defeats and to deny Maree the perfect ending.

It came down to the wire; Maree won 66 - 64. Na-

tional champions again. The team; Liam Conroy

17, Con Crowley 14 MVP, George Rahmani 3,

Colm O’Hagan 14, Ken Hansberry 8, Tomas Mit-

kus 6, Ciarán Harte, Brian Kelly, Enda Walsh 4,

Pádraig Burke, Cormac Shields, Eavan Finn.

January 29 2011 – Maree 91s win U20 National

Cup in last game of 9-year unbeaten run

Nine perfect seasons, ninety-something wins in a

row. For Liam Conroy, Con Crowley and George

Rahmani, the 2011 Under 20 final was their last

ever underage game – ní bheidh a leithéid ann arís.

Nine-season ever-presents Colm O’Hagan and

Brian Kelly have one more season, as do Ken

Hansberry and Ciarán Harte, while Enda Walsh

and Pádraig Burke (who both played for Ireland in

the 2010 Under 16 Europeans), along with Tomas

Mitkus, Eavan Finn and Cormac Shields have an-

other three.

Although the writer is the coach most associated

with the Maree 91s, many coaches, managers and

others have had close involvement in their develop-

ment and success; Mary O’Hagan and Richie Finn

of course, but also John Finn, Pat Hansberry, Joe

Shields, Peter Sharkey, Eileen Graham, Una Finn,

Joe Burke, Jack Conroy, Sohail Rahmani and more.

That’s the story of the underage career of the

Maree 91s, from under 12 to under 20. Well done

to the now “overage” George Rahmani, Conor

Foley, Con Crowley and Liam Conroy – and thanks

to their ever-supportive parents Sohail and Mitra,

Oliver and Maureen (thanks for the now famous

HP gear, Maureen!), Verona and Jim, and my own

Anita. Good luck to the Maree 92s led by Colm

O’Hagan, Ken Hansberry, Brian Kelly and Ciarán

Harte, and to the Maree 93s and beyond. As my

father, God rest him, used to say – “and that’s it all

now, in a nutshell”.

2008 - 4 Maree 91s minding 1 Maree 53 at

Connacht Tribune Awards