The FIBA U16 EuroBasket Division B wrapped up in North Macedonia this weekend, and there was an Eagle on the Ireland bench. Jason Barry, assistant coach with the Eagles, held the same role on the Ireland U16 men's staff, working under head coach Emer Howard alongside fellow assistant Paul Carr.
Ireland finished 11th of 22 nations, with four wins from seven games across ten days in Gevgelija and Skopje. In the group they beat Portugal 68–61 and Slovakia 96–67, and lost to the Netherlands and Montenegro.
The classification rounds brought the widest winning margin of Ireland's tournament, 83–58 against hosts North Macedonia. A defeat to Finland followed, before Ireland closed the campaign by beating Austria in the 11th-place game.
Barry joined Niall McDermott's Eagles staff in 2025-26 and was on the bench through the whole double-winning season, the National Cup, the Division One title and promotion. Everyone at the club is proud to see him take that work onto an international bench in the green of Ireland.
He is the second Eagles assistant coach on Ireland duty this summer, after Trevor Moore with the U18s in Croatia. Add the Ireland Over-60s that head coach Niall McDermott took to fourth at the first FIBA Masters Open in Greece, a best-ever fifth for the U20s in Bratislava and the U18s' 17th in Croatia, and it has been a proper summer in green for the club.
The Super League is next. The Eagles open the 2026-27 season away to St Vincent's on Saturday 3 October.
Sources: Basketball Ireland; FIBA (August 2026).