Ballina Basketballer to be Baptised a Catholic
March 13 1996
EXCLUSIVE: BY JOHN MELVIN
American basketballer Jason Rubright, who played a key role in bringing the National Basketball Cup to Ballina, has seen the light. The towering player from Washington State is to team up with the Catholic religion. He is to be baptised and confirmed in Ballina Cathedral at the weekend.
The 24 year-old basketballer has found his faith in Ballina and has decided to become a Catholic after spending a number of years studying various religions. He will be baptised by Father Michael Reilly on Saturday evening and will be confirmed at 12.30 on Sunday by Bishop Thomas Finnegan in the first such adult ceremony in the town.
Jason, whose father Bill belonged to the Luterhan faith, and whose Mother Odethe, is a member of the Presbyterian Church, was not brought up in any faith. Both his parents will be present at the ceremonies and they spoke of their delight that Jason had decided he wants to belong to some religion.
"We never pushed him in any direction and believed it was better that he could find his own", said his father Bill.
Jason studied religion at the well known Catholic run Gonzago College as a student, but it wasn't until he came to Ballina this year to play basketball that he opted for Catholicism as his religion.
Despite the problems in the Catholic Church at the moment, Jason, who is getting married in June, believes he has chosen the right faith. He had been thinking about his faith for sometime and it wasn't until he met local priest Fr Reilly that he decided to look a bit deeper into the Catholic religion.
"Liam McHale and myself were up at the Stephenites club one night and I met Fr Michael", he said.
He added "We began chatting about religion and I told him that I was thinking about becoming a catholic", he said.
"Fr Michael said he did not see any problem with organising a baptismal ceremony so I started attending basic religion classes at the local convent where St Annuntiata was a very big help".
"I started delving in a lot deeper and I would not have decided on this unless I was fully committed to my spirituality", he said
Jason, who takes his religion very seriously, said he was very impressed by the faith of the Irish and that was a big factor in his decision.
Local man Martin McGrath, a member of the Sligo senior football team, who runs a local pub in Ballina with his brother Timmy, will be standing for Jason at the baptismal ceremony.
"I'm really excited about the whole thing and the best part is that my parents will be here for both ceremonies." Jason's fiancee, Valerie, will not be attending but his only plans for the rest of the year are returning to America and getting married in June.
Members of the Ballina basketball team will be present at both ceremonies his weekend and will be saying their farewells to Jason when he returns to Washington on Tuesday.
"I really enjoyed my stay in Ballina and I met seem really nice people and I
don't think I would have decided on my religion had I not come to Ballina in
the first place", he said.
Connaught Telegraph - News - Mar 1996
Connaught Telegraph - Sports - Mar 1996
