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Lots of kids achieve athletic honors during their education, but how many can say they did it in two countries?
Niskayuna’s Kieran Moloney can.
The Moloney family recently decided to spend a year living in Killarney, Ireland. They moved to the country in August of 2022. By February 2023, Moloney was winning gold in shot-put at regional championships.
Here in New York, Kieran played on the Niskayuna boys travel basketball team. He noticed similarities between the skill sets needed between the two sports.
“So, I thought I’d be good at it.” Moloney said.
After winning gold at their province’s Munster Indoor Athletics Championships, Moloney advanced to a national championship, where he took home a bronze medal.
“I’m excited to improve next year, get silver or gold maybe,” Moloney said.
In the coming months will be the outdoor season for track and field–which is called ‘Athletics’ in Ireland. The techniques vary between throwing indoors or out, so Moloney will be learning that approach as well. In addition, javelin and discus — two other throwing events — are outdoors only, so he will be tackling those as well for the first time.
In addition to his track and field endeavors, Moloney has also started playing Gaelic football. He described it as a mix between basketball and soccer. Players bounce the ball on their foot as they advance up the field, akin to dribbling in basketball.
However, medals are not Moloney’s only takeaway from his time abroad. He’s also been absorbing the cultural differences between the two nations.
“You get to see more of the world, [meet] kids from different countries. You get their culture,” Moloney said.
In school, Moloney has begun learning the Gaelic language. Although English is the national language of Ireland, he recalled playing against a school where the players primarily spoke gaelic.
“I have a lot of catching up to do,” he said.
In regards to his athletic experiences, Moloney noticed another cultural difference.
“It’s a lot less tense,” he said. He noted that there are rule differences in some sports — like basketball — that make the sport feel a bit easier in Ireland.
Between winning medals, the pre-teen has been spending time with family members they don’t get to see too often. His father is Irish, so the family has relatives in Ireland, as well as London, England.
Kieran Moloney is in sixth class at Presentation Monastery National School, which is an all-boys school. Prior to moving across the pond, he was a student at Hillside Elementary. Upon his return, he will be a seventh grader at Iroquois Middle School.
Contact Reporter Ameara Ditsche at [email protected]
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