Leo O'Donoghue will always be remembered by the Neptune faithful 

WHEN basketball fanatic Leo O’Donoghue passed away a few years ago, not only did he leave a huge void in the O’Donoghue families, he also left a void in his beloved Neptune Basketball Club and, in basketball circles in general.

He was a staunch member of the Blackpool club where he followed his brothers Donal (RIP) and Jim playing in their family back yard at their home in Barry's Place and from there, onto Mick Finn’s back yard and then to the outside court in the Cathedral School.

He will always be remembered as a quite but driven man who went about his business with a smile on his face, however, he never shirked his responsibilities when it came to making the tough decisions, as he faced whatever decision that had to be made with the best interest and integrity of the club as his only concern.

He started playing with the Neptune club U18 team in 1953 when he was only 14 years old, and he played right up to when he retired in his mid thirties.

He also won two All-Ireland titles with Cork under the guidance of his brother Jim. 

He coached at all levels within the club and served the senior committee and filled other roles on different committees over the years.

When talking to his brother Jim about his brother Leo, he explained what great qualities Leo had.

”Leo was a one off when it came to the amount of work he did for Neptune BC in his lifetime and also the Athy Basketball Club,” Jim said.

“Leo was a very deceiving player, as he loved the hustle and bustle under the boards and mixed it up with the best players in his day. 

"He was also a very astute coach that had a great understanding of the game, however, it was on the administration side that he will be fondly remembered for as he always went about his business with efficiency. 

"He always had the club best interests at heart. 

"He served as chairman twice and treasurer once on the senior executive committees and sat on many other committees at the club level, however, there was no job too big or too small for him as he took on every task with the same importance.

“In his civilian life Leo worked at Barry's Timber Merchants off Water Street, before he moved to Athy in the seventies to be the manager of the Irish Board Paper Mill. 

"While he was in Athy he started a basketball club with Fr Quinn, who also founded the Iona club from Cork. 

"On his return he took up a job as head porter in the Cork City Hall and lived in a apartment over the building. 

"He severed under so many Lord Moyors, however, it was serving under his former friend and club member Jack Higgins that gave him the greatest satisfaction. 

"When he retired he then moved from the apartment in the City Hall to Little Island where he continued another passion of his bee keeping.

“His death was a shock to all that knew him at home and in basketball circles, however, he will never be forgotten or nor he never should be as he built a lasting legacy in Neptune,” Jim added.

Leo, along with Pat Lucey, and Willie Long did some tremendous work on the Stadium committee as this was the last committee he served on.

"They got a new floor, got all new drop-down baskets, got the toilets sorted, and got the dressing rooms and both entrances retiled." 

Pat recalls some of his great memories of working with Leo.

“Leo was a complete gentleman that you couldn’t fall out with because he wouldn’t leave you,” Pat recalls.

“If we had a different opinion he would always stand his ground, however, he was always able to compromise for the betterment of the club. "You could have a stand up and heated discussion with him, however, he would come over to you the next day as if nothing happened the day before and say: “We are not falling out over basketball as sometimes we might have to agree to disagree on decisions but the club will aways comes first.

“Another great story is when we ran the National Cup a couple of years ago and we were playing Blue Demons in the semi final. 

"We put in extra seating around the Stadium, we sold out all the tickets but there were about three hundred more supporters outside. 

"He said that it was were sold out! Paul ( Spider) Kohane pleaded with him to leave them in but he refused. 

"We rushed him off to Mass and printed more tickets and left everyone in as it was such a great occasion. 

"When he came back the Stadium was packed to the rafters, he gave us some dressing down until we told him the extra money we made for the club,” Pat added.