As the 1980's came along, basketball in Ireland was changing, and All Stars changed as well. As the sport grew in popularity, teams began to receive sponsorship from business and changed their names. In 1983, no less than 8 of the 10 teams in Ireland's new National Basketball League (NBL) had corporate sponsorship. All Stars changed their name to Team GWI during this period.

Additionally, in an effort to create more excitement, it was decided that each team could add two "non-local" players to their roster who usually got paid to play in Ireland. Most of these players came from the United States, and local players became less critical as the "Americans" dominated on the court.

The picture at the right shows the All Stars (Team GWI) of the 1983-84 season. A decade after winning the All Ireland title (photo above) six members of that team were still involved with the team, although Joe Palmer and Carl Duggan had retired from playing.         

This area will be a work in progress as I collect information and memorabilia from the history of the All Stars. Over it's forty-plus year history, the team and its players have been the most successful franchise in the West of Ireland. Click here to see samples of newspaper articles and other materials from the team's history.