Ballincollig basketball coach Ciarán O'Sullivan explains how and why he joined Fitzmaurice's Galway football management team

Ballincollig and Ireland’s senior men’s basketball assistant coach Ciaran O’Sullivan will be part of the new Galway football manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice’s backroom for the new 2027 GAA season.

Last year’s Super League coach of the year, will join, Lisa Fallon, Corofin’s Dave Morris, Tuam’s Gary O’Donnell, Maigh Cuilinn’s Gareth Bradshaw, and current Galway U20 manager Kevin Johnston on Fitzmaurice’s new setup.

“It was early October when Éamonn got in touch with me,” Ciaran said.

“We had a good conversation about what he wants to build with Galway and where he saw me fitting in.

“He knew of my commitments as head coach of Ballincollig’s Super League team and assistant coach to the Irish senior men’s team, so I wanted to be certain I could give the Galway senior footballers the time it needs.

“I worked through the logistics at home with my wife and with everyone involved, and once that was sorted the decision was straightforward. “This is a great opportunity to learn for me.

“What struck me most in my conversations with Éamonn was how clear he is on the way he wants Galway to play, and how open he is to ideas from other sports.

“He’s assembled a strong management group, and there’s a very talented group of players to work with.

“A lot of football knowledge sits in that group, and I’ll be learning from it as much as contributing to it.

“My wife Claire is from Galway, so there’s a personal side to it too.”

Because he is also part of Michael Bree’s Irish senior men’s team, and remains Ballincollig head coach, O’Sullivan’s role with Fitzmaurice and Galway will be limited to one session a week initially, but with an expectation that it will be ramped up next April before the Connacht Championship.

O’Sullivan is employed by Basketball Ireland as their head of development.

“I’ve been upfront with everyone from the start.

“Ballincollig, the Irish men’s set-up and Basketball Ireland all know about it, and so do Galway.

“Until the basketball season finishes in April, it’s one session a week, and after that the Galway role becomes much closer to full-time, ahead of the Connacht Championship.

“I’ve gone through the calendars with everyone involved and there are no clashes.

“Everyone has been supportive, and I wouldn’t have taken it on otherwise.”

So, what will the role be?

“I will be giving a basketball perspective on one-on-one defending and transition.

“In basketball, you spend a huge amount of time coaching how to defend the space, how to react in the seconds after a turnover, and how to get the team organised quickly, in both directions.

“Gaelic football is moving that way, with more emphasis on those moments in games.

“I’m not here to reinvent anything or tell footballers how to play their game.

“I’ll work to what Éamonn wants and fit in with the rest of the management team, and if the players find some of those ideas useful, that’s what I’m there for.”

O’Sullivan has worked with the Ballincollig senior footballers for the past year and also did some work with them a few years ago.

He is part of a growing cohort of leading basketball coaches whose tactical and technical nous is being pursued by leading GAA set-ups.

Former UCC Demons coach Danny O’Mahony and current coach Stuart Rodgers have worked with football clubs in Cork this year also.

“I worked with the Ballincollig senior footballers in 2018 and again in 2026, and I’ve done workshops and guest coaching sessions with GAA clubs all over the country.

“The bulk of my coaching has been in basketball, and that’s where my track record is.

“So, I’m coming in with a different background to most of the backroom team.

“I’ve spent time on the football side and had a lot of conversations with coaches over the years, and I think the overlap between the two games is real.

“I’m joining a group of people who’ve lived the game for years, and I’ll be respectful of that.”

The Ballincollig man, whose former basketball international wife Claire Rockall is from Galway, has been courted by a number of inter-county set-ups.

However, the burning question I asked O’Sullivan was this: ‘what colour jersey his two children Emma and Dylan will wear when Galway meet Cork and he smiled and this was his reply.

“Claire’s family are Galway people, and with me in the backroom team, I’d say we’ll all be in maroon and white.” O’Sullivan added.