Brunell Basketball Club part company with long-term sponsor and partner Tomas Singleton 

WHEN it was announced last week that the longest sponsor in Irish Basketball Tomas Singleton was no longer involved with the Brunell Basketball club it sent shockwaves through the sport.

For 15 years, Mr Singleton, under the banner of Singleton’s SuperValu Brunell was main sponsor of the northside club but following a meeting with two club officials it was decided that his offered contribution for the new season didn’t meet the figure required by and requested by the club.

Tomas Singleton, known for his generosity with a number of sports in the northside community reflected back on his time with the club.

“First of all I would like to thank Angeline Myers and Ann Foley, who introduced me to the club and of course founding member Andrew Drumm for the respect shown to me over many years," Singleton said.

“It was a great journey and as I said on many occasions I hope that I will be remembered for all the right reasons in helping the young people of our community develop into great adults by playing basketball.” 

Sponsoring at the top tier of Irish basketball can be demanding but in the words of Tomas he enjoyed every minute of it.

“It was great as I met some great people and I hope the next company that come on board for Brunell will have the club at heart just as I had for the past 15 years.” 

Included in the sponsorship is helping with accommodation for the club professionals and fund national cup teams in Dublin with hotel and bus expenses.

On top of this, Tomas provided gear for three teams on an annual basis and now that’s it all over for him there is huge sadness.

“It would be fair to say that Brunell were like a family to me but if they feel my sponsorship contribution wasn’t enough there is little I can do about it.

“When Covid hit this country I did not shirk in providing funds to the club as I felt they needed help in a difficult period for all sports.

“I do sincerely wish them well as there is some great kids playing with the club and hopefully the new sponsor will experience some silverware at the top tier of Irish basketball that I failed to witness.

“For me, and my family, it wasn’t all about winning silverware as I know from my hobby of race horses there can only be one winner in every race.

"This is not the end of my sponsorship.  I will continue to look after all the other clubs who rely on me for help and support.  I look forward to developing my relationships with them further."

Shortly after the meeting Brunell issued a statement on social media thanking Tomas for his kind sponsorship.

The statement read: “Brunell Ladies Basketball club would like to thank Tomas Singleton and his family for the fantastic sponsorship over the past 15 years.

“It is with regret that we inform you that Singleton's SuperValu will not be sponsoring our Super League team for the coming season.

“We wish everyone at Singleton’s SuperValu all the best going forward and we look forward to working with Tomas in the future.

“Once again a big thank you to Tomas for everything.” 

When contacted later the club secretary Jason Thornton endorsed the club statement.

Thornton said: “We are really sorry that Tomas will not be our sponsor next year and we cannot thank him enough for his generosity over a decade and a half.” 

It was also announced that Castleisland based Liam Culloty will be head coach of the Super League team next season and the club are presently recruiting their professionals for the coming campaign.