Seven Longford basketball stars selected for prestigious academy

Centre: Sammy Gabris. Inset left: Lucy Mulleady with Ciara and Niamh Devlin. Inset bottom left: Mary Harris. Inset right: Emily Kane. Inset bottom right: Cian Geoghegan. | Supplied

placeholder image — Centre: Sammy Gabris. Inset left: Lucy Mulleady with Ciara and Niamh Devlin. Inset bottom left: Mary Harris. Inset right: Emily Kane. Inset bottom right: Cian Geoghegan. | Supplied

Seven Longford athletes made the nationwide selection list for the prestigious Basketball Ireland U14 Academy.

Seven talented young Longford athletes have been selected for the Basketball Ireland U14 Academy - Midland Region for the 2026/27 season.

Five girls, Lucy Mulleady, Emily Kane, Ciara Devlin, Niamh Devlin, and Mary Harris, and two boys, Cian Geoghegan and Sammy Gabris, are all members of the Longford Phoenix Basketball Club and the only players from Longford to be selected for this prestigious development programme.

The successful candidates, which were announced on the Basketball Ireland website, were selected from all over Ireland with the final decision being made following two talent-identification sessions held earlier this month.

The Basketball Ireland Regional and Provincial Academy structure provides a development pathway for young players with the ambition and potential to perform at the highest levels of basketball in Ireland.

The academy sessions will take place in the University of Limerick with the girls’ first first session taking place on Saturday October 3, and the boys’ session scheduled for the following day on Sunday October 4.