Ahead of Sunday’s Irish women’s cup final, Mimi Clarke spoke with Emmet Ryan about her lifelong journey with Killester, the unique circumstances she encountered during their run to the 2020 win, and what to expect from their clash with Trinity Meteors
The nature of running a basketball site while working for a business paper leads to some odd crossover situations in work. While preparing to cover the Irish cup semi finals in January 2020, I was also leading my day job’s coverage of the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani by the United States. Turns out my crossover with that story was nowhere near as strange as it was for Mimi Clarke.
“It was a whirlwind. At the time I was living in Abu Dhabi and flying home for cup games. With the first round, it was a long weekend there. I got on to the team and asked if they’d be interested in having me back,” Clarke told BallinEurope.
“Then I came home for Christmas, had a league game, and had my flights booked for the semi final. Then there was conflict between America and Iran with Iran threatening to wipe out Dubai. I decided not to get on my return flight to Dubai so I stayed home.”
That decision to stay home, in the most unusual of circumstances, proved fruitful for Clarke as her Killester side ended a 15 year wait to lift the trophy.
“It was the right time, I had a gut feeling about the cup and I didn’t want to miss out on what I’d worked on for so long. It was a good decision to make and it really was a whirlwind. It was a tight knit group and such a pleasure to step right back into it,” she said.
“We’d been building for so long. Before we won in 2020, the previous time was 15 years prior. I was in the stands supporting my cousins. I’ve been part of the team since I was 15. For a long time it felt like it was never going to happen.”
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Launch of the InsureMyHouse.ie National Cup Finals 17/1/2023
Michelle Clarke (Killester) pictured at the launch of the launch of the InsureMyHouse.ie National Cup finals, which take place from Friday January 20th – Sunday January 22nd inclusive
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Basketball really is a family affair for Clarke, with little doubt that she was always going to wear the black and orange of Killester for a long time.
“It’s massive. My mam [Philly] and her seven brothers and sisters were founding members back in 1967. She was a…
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