Limerick Sport Eagles

Prior to the late 1990s, Limerick's presence in the Irish National League was represented by Marathon Basketball Club.[1] In 1999, Marathon's National League team became known as Burger King Limerick.[2]

In 2002, Burger King Limerick celebrated their first-ever Irish Cup title after defeating Star of the Sea in the final.[3][4][5] A year earlier, American Cleotis Brown was named Basketball Ireland Foreign Player of the Year.[6][7]

In 2004, Marathon Basketball Club was renamed Limerick Lions Basketball Club, and thus, Burger King Limerick became Limerick Lions.[8]

In 2009, Limerick Lions Basketball Club parted ways with the National League team. As a result, the University of Limerick absorbed the team and rebranded it as UL Eagles.[9]

In February 2012, UL Eagles won their first National Cup title since 2002 after defeating UCC Demons in the final.[10][11] Eagles went on to win a historic National League title in March 2012,[12] and backed that up in 2013 by defending their title.[13] In February 2015, long-time servant of the team, Welshman Matt Hall, announced his retirement after 15 years of playing in Limerick.[14]

After finishing last in the Super League table in 2016–17, UL Eagles were demoted to the Basketball Ireland Men's Division One National League for the 2017–18 season.[15][16][17] However, in September 2017, the team withdrew from the National League entirely.[18] The team returned as the UL Sport Eagles in the National League Division One in the 2018–19 season.[19] They continued in Division One as UL Sport Eagles in the 2019–20 season.[20]

In 2020, the team was renamed Limerick Sport Eagles.[21] The 2020–21 Division One season did not go ahead due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22][23][24] The Limerick Sport Eagles continued in Division One in the 2021–22 season.[25] In 2022–23, the team reached the Division One final.[26]