All you need to know about the 7th annual Kilkenny Masters this weekend

This weekend sees the 7^th annual Kilkenny Masters Basketball Tournament taking place in three venues around the city. 

The 36 teams participating in this prestigious event are travelling from Cork, Kerry, Mayo, Dublin, Offaly, Meath, Cavan, Kildare, Limerick, Laois, Wexford, Waterford and of course Kilkenny.  And the 3 teams over from England hail from Yorkshire, Bristol & Birmingham.

There will be over 400 players and officials taking part during the three days of sporting action.  It goes to show the importance of well-being and health & fitness for adults who wish to continue playing sport into their forties and fifties.

The action gets under way in O’Loughlin Gaels this Friday evening (28th February) from 7.20pm, with the Kilkenny Ladies 40’s team of Marble City Mayfairs taking on the mighty Notre Dame of Dublin to compete for the Seamus Walsh Cup.  And straight after are the Kilkenny Men’s 40’s team up against Ballina Celtics.  The Lar Murphy Memorial Cup is at stake for the eventual winners in this category.

The bulk of the games take place on Saturday, spread across O’Loughlin Gaels, Loreto & St. Kieran’s halls from 9am to 5pm.  One game on noteworthy is on at 10am in St Kieran’s, where the Kilkenny Men’s 50’s team begin the defence of their Cup win last time out.  The finals then take place in the same venues on Sunday

You can check out their website and Facebook page for more details, www.kilkennymasters.ie

Entry is free and all are encouraged to go along and see the action.

In addition, there will be a Wheelchair Exhibition game between the players of the South East Swifts basketball team in St Kieran’s hall, scheduled for 12.50pm on Sunday.  Have a look at how Pat O’Neill and his team manage to weave their way round a court on wheels!

The Kilkenny Stars Basketball Club will be providing a catering service at each venue to help fundraise for their teams and your support will be greatly appreciated. 

The Kilkenny Masters committee wish to thank all who have helped bring this tournament to fruition, especially their sponsors: Paris Texas Bar, Pembroke Hotel, CluneTech, House Of Stoves, Langtons Hotel, Hibernian Hotel, SAZERAC Ireland, Sport Ireland (Age & Opportunity), HSE, Basketball Ireland, St Canice’s Credit Union, Pat Carroll’s Bar, Hennessy Sports, TJ Reid Health & Fitness, Infocus Opticians, Top Part, DJSolutions.ie, moonbehindthehill.ie and drawinginc.ie