Island hopping: how the Aran Islands got its own basketball club

"It really resonated with me," O'Meara said about the Lecanvey Lakers film, "because it had such parallels with this island and the inclement weather, not a whole lot to do during the winter to keep you busy."

This week, what was informal has become formal. Basketball Ireland announced on Tuesday that the Inishmore Celts club, with help from the Galway Sports Partnership, had been established. They are Ireland's only island basketball club. O'Meara is the chairman. 

"This whole thing has only been going on for less than three months and it's just incredible how quickly it's snowballed," he said.

"There was a basketball team here on the island maybe 25 years ago but it faded into obscurity. Just really delighted to be able to revive something like this. 

"There's definitely been a demand for it judging by how many kids have signed up for the weekly basketball game. The young players that we have, they range in age from 15 to 18 and a couple of older folks like myself, my wife and a few others, we play as well with them. They just love having the outlets, especially during the winter when it gets dark so early."

The next step is to draw down grant money which will allow them install backboards and baskets at the hall. For O'Meara, that will be a particular relief. 

"We're waiting for approval from the hall committee to erect permanent basketball hoops because essentially every time we go into play, I have to take down my current basketball hoop in my garden, put it in the back of the car, bring it down to the hall and set it up in there. The logistics are a bit mad," he explained. 

"Basketball Ireland have also offered to give one basketball to every primary school child on the island, which is great. Long-term, this isn't just going to be for teenagers. This is going to be introducing basketball to the younger generation, kids who probably have barely touched a basketball in their young lives, any kid really from five-years-old up to 12. There's big plans for the 53 young children on this island in primary school."

O'Meara is originally from Dublin and his wife Sohka from Vancouver. They moved to the Aran Islands five years ago and set up the Port Aran B&B. The Basketball Ireland grant will allow them and others to take coaching courses.

"With the right support, the sky's the limit really with what we can do," he said. 

"It's just going to continue to grow because the island is limited with sports. You have handball and Gaelic football, which are fantastic sports for kids to play here, but it's great to have other options. Hopefully in the near future, we'll be coaching these young players with a view to a long-term island basketball team. This is its genesis here."