The Roy Curtis Tournament was established in 1965 through the efforts of the Corinthians Basketball Club in Dublin and became the longest running international basketball tournament in Europe (1965 - 1996). Originally the tournament was called the Roy Curtis Memorial Trophy Tournament in honor of a young member of the Corinthians Basketball Club whose contributions as both a player and administrator (prior to his sudden passing) were instrumental in the early success of Corinthians.As the tournament grew in prominence and started attracting foreign teams (initially from England and Scotland ), the tournament became the Roy Curtis International Tournament.
In the 60's the tourney was conducted in the Cathal Brugha Barracks gymnasium of the local FCA defense forces in Dublin. In the 1970's the Oblate Hall in Inchicore became the new home for these activities until the National Basketball Arena was built in Dublin in the 1990's.
Champions of the 1965 inaugural tournament The US Navy team from Derry.
1967 Roy Curtis Action
Saint Vincent's (Dublin) defeat Corinthians to take home the 1973 Roy Curtis Trophy
1974 Roy Curtis Championship
Boroughmuir Defeated Wilson Panthers in Finals
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1996 Roy Curtis International
Basketball Tournament
In Remembrance
A lot of research went into that Rob!
ReplyDeleteHappy days from pat o neill Cork denis was very kind to us all. Pat oneill.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating and evocative article! I’d like to track someone who played with Corinthians in the ‘70’s/early 80’s. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteGlad to help, if I can ... send an email to ibbhistory@gmail.com with the info
DeleteThis was a phenomenal read.
ReplyDeleteRoy Curtis was my uncle, my mother Angela’s brother, she was the youngest of eight.
I was born in 1982, but I still remember being at those competitions as a small kid. Around the age of ten, if you bought a programme at the entrance of the Oblate in Inchicore or the National Basketball Arena from a blonde-haired boy, that was me.
The player who stays with me most is an American called LaVerne Evans. He felt like a giant on the court. Every time he high-fived me, I felt like I’d grown a few inches myself.
Reading these articles brings it all rushing back. The cardboard Coca-Cola cups. Cigarettes stubbed out on the gym floor beneath the bleachers. That ever-present smell of Deep Heat. And the crowd, roaring in unison: “DE-FENCE.” I was only young, but those moments never left me.
I never went on to play basketball. Music became my path, and I’ve been lucky enough to perform at large-scale events that stir a similar kind of feeling, something that takes me right back to those RC tournaments that shaped my early years.
Thank you for sharing these.