Athlone launch of Tim McCarthy's memoir this week

Kiltoom resident Tim McCarthy is a busy man this week.

His memoir, Boomshakalaka: Winning Against the Odds, is the subject of three launches: the first took place in Dublin last night (Tuesday), followed by events in Cork tonight and Athlone tomorrow evening (Thursday). His local launch takes place in Athlone Bookshop at 6pm.

Born in a working-class area on the northside of Cork city, McCarthy and his family have lived in Athlone for 26 years.

Tim left school at 15 and became one of Ireland’s greatest-ever basketball players.

He represented Ireland on 103 occasions, including 58 as captain, and later coached Ireland’s senior men’s team. He was inducted into Basketball Ireland’s Hall of Fame in 2023.

He held top executive positions in the banking, insurance, and financial services sectors with household names such as Ulster Bank, One Direct, An Post, BUPA Ireland and Hello.ie.

Later, he reinvented himself as a commentator on RTÉ, bringing his unique energy and signature catchphrases like ‘boomshakalaka, ‘downtown’ and ‘coast to coast’ into living rooms across the country.

His infectious enthusiasm captivated global audiences, with The New York Times profiling him during the 2024 Paris Olympics, stating ‘Every four years he gives Ireland a reason to watch basketball’.

In the book, published by Red Stripe Press, McCarthy shares the highs and lows of a life built on love, passion, perseverance and courage.

The book goes deep into his life, in addition to his media and sporting achievements, as it tells the story of family, community, resilience, love and how his insecurities drove him to achieve success in life and business despite the many hurdles he had to overcome.

It shares McCarthy’s ongoing fight against prostate cancer and how his mindset has helped him through it.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent, Tim explained that he initially thought of writing a book after his first cancer diagnosis in 2018.

However, his initial impetus faded: “As I got writing I suddenly realised this is not who I am, this is just part of my life. There is more to my life than my cancer journey.”

It was not until six years later that the drive to write the book returned.

After the 2024 Paris Olympics, at which he made a huge impact as a basketball commentator for RTÉ, a number of people told him that he should write a book, and the project began again in earnest - this time as a full memoir.

Tim says the book is not a cancer story, or a sports autobiography, or a business or media book,

“This is the story of a young boy who grew up in a working-class environment in challenging economic circumstances at the time who despite all the difficulties didn’t let any of them define him or stop what he wanted to do.”

“I feel this is a human-interest story,” he explains.

Tim is proud that he took on the task of compiling the book himself, without a ghost-writer, or the input of AI.

“It’s very difficult to write a book about yourself,” he admitted, particularly when it came to assessing his own sporting prowess. For that reason, he leans on assessments of his basketball career by journalists and analysts of the time.

“I really hope that when people read it, they get something out of it,” he said.

He is very grateful for the assistance of editor Eileen O’Brien for her input and improvements to the book.

* The Athlone launch takes place on Thursday, October 22, at 6pm in Athlone Bookshop, Lloyd’s Lane.

The book will be launched by Tadhg Carey, editor of Westmeath Independent.