All About Cork: Douglas native leads Ireland to world basketball bronze medal

Douglas native Amanda O’Regan was both delighted and honoured as she captained Ireland to a bronze medal at the recent Over-40s World Maxibasketball Championships in Ticino, Switzerland.

The PE and maths teacher at Coláiste Treasa, Kanturk, is no stranger to success as she captained Cork to All-Ireland camogie glory in 2009, when she was playing with Douglas.

While she was playing camogie Amanda also played basketball and is currently still playing with Fr Mathews.

In a social media post after the tournament she stated: “12 players, nine days, seven games, six wins and one precious hard-earned medal coming home.” There were other Cork players on the panel as well, including Jacqui Hurley of RTÉ fame; Nuala Carey from Bantry, and Neasa O’Keeffe from Clonakilty.

Over the course of the tournament they started with a group 55-34 win over Chile. Their second group game was against Brazil and they came through that with a good 88-28 victory.

Their final group game was against Colombia and again another win, 102-15, saw them qualify for the knockout stages.

In their Top 16 game they took on the UK, in what Amanda described as a ‘grudge’ one, coming through by 58-40.

“That game was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests,” said Amanda, “it was really only in the last few minutes that we pulled away to win, but it was a really tough game.” This win put the Irish side into the quarter-final where they took in Estonia, a side Amanda said they were familiar with.

“We played them twice in the European Championships last year and beaten them so we were determined to keep that winning run going this time,” added Amanda.

After another close affair they came through by 43-34 to face Italy in the semi-final.

“We knew this was always going to be a tough ask as they have a current professional player in their ranks, as well as several former professional ones. They were the better team when we played them but I think if we faced them again we would give them a far better one.” That meant that Ireland were now in the playoff for the bronze medal where they faced Mexico and after another tie they came out on top to take the bronze medals.

“It was a great feeling to win the bronze medal and one that I will never forget. We have a great bunch of players and it was an honour to captain them for the tournament. It was a week I will treasure and as well as playing we had some great laughs along the way as well,” concluded Amanda.

Retirement club head to Dungarvan for annual outing

Ballinlough Men’s Retirement Club enjoyed an annual outing every year and its most recent excursion was to The Causeway Bowl’s Club Dungarvan, whose members were very welcoming and generous hosts.

The members enjoyed a friendly game of out-door bowls in brilliant sunshine as they made the most of the lovely weather..

A meal in the nearby Park Hotel brought to conclusion a very enjoyable outing.

The outing was organised by Simon Kennefick, in association with Donal McGovern of The Causeway Bowls and Tennis Club and Garda Lorraine O’Donovan, a dab-hand at the bowls, provided the transport and was very helpful to the members during the day.

Ballinlough Men’s Retirement Club meets every Wednesday afternoon, from 2pm to 4pm (resuming on September 3 after summer break) at Ballinlough Community Centre.

The members enjoy an afternoon of Short Mat Bowls (bowls supplied by the club) in an atmosphere of fun and camaraderie.

New members are welcome; our membership comes from the general Cork City area. Contact number is 085 1615360.

Elevate partner with Cork footballer Rachel Sheehan

Elevate Credit Union, headquartered at Douglas Village, with branches in Grange, Passage and Glanmire, have announced a new brand ambassador.

In a statement they said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Rachel Sheehan of Passage West GAA and Cork LGFA as the newest Elevate Credit Union Brand Ambassador.

“Rachel has had an outstanding journey through the Cork underage system, and we’re excited to support her gong forward.

“Stay tuned as we’ll be sharing a video series that gives you a closer look at Rachel, both on and off the pitch. Keep an eye on our socials.

“Whether you’re in Douglas, Glanmire, Passage West, or Grange, Elevate Credit Union is there with you — supporting your financial needs every step of the way.

“Can’t make it to one of our branches? No worries! You can still access all our services from the comfort of your home: Call our team at (021) 4894555; download the Elevate Credit Union App or visit us anytime at www.elevatecu.ie.”

This announcement came as credit unions have been ranked as the most reputable organisation in Ireland, topping the Ireland Reputation Index 2025 for the third consecutive year.

The annual study, based on the perceptions of more than 5,000 members of the public, measures the level of trust, respect, admiration and esteem the public has for 100 of the largest, most familiar and most important organisations in Ireland, alongside 100 reputation, brand, purpose and ESG indicators.

With a reputation score of 82.4, credit unions were one of just two organisations to score in the ‘excellent’ range. Credit unions ranked first in three out of seven key drivers of reputation - Citizenship, Conduct and Workplace - as well as taking first place when the public were asked if they would give them the benefit of the doubt in a crisis, welcome them to their community and recommend their company.

Fish kill probe continues

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) investigation into a significant fish kill at Douglas is ongoing. Early indications suggest at least 1,500 fish have died. The pollution incident occurred on Ballybrack stream, a small tributary of the Douglas River flowing near Douglas village.

The dead fish are primarily brown trout, and European eels.

Fish mortalities were observed over a 1.5km stretch of the stream. Initial indications point to the possible entry of a chemical into the watercourse. IFI reminds the public to ensure that household chemicals are used, stored, and disposed of in a responsible manner.

Low water flow or increased temperatures are not believed to have been a factor.

An IFI Senior Fisheries Environmental Officer has been on site since July 10, to investigate the incident, which is believed to have occurred on July 9.

IFI will continue to actively probe the cause of this harmful ecological event. The agency was notified of the pollution by a member of the public through its 24-hour confidential hotline service. IFI continues to urge the public to report instances of fish kills or water pollution to its 24/7 number, 0818 347424.

Have Douglas news to share? Contact rory.noonan@theecho.ie