A native of New Ross, County Wexford, Corporal Tommy Malone of Eastern Command was stationed at Collins Barracks when he was one of 12 servicemen selected to compete on the Irish basketball team at the 1948 Olympics. In addition to the Eastern Command basketball team, he also played for teams in Dublin and Leinster. Malone also possessed prowess in the sport of football (soccer), playing for various Dublin teams in the 1940s, on the Army team, and in the Football League of Ireland for Bohemians FC and Longford Town in the 1950s. After retiring from playing, he was later involved with Cashel Celtic, near his family residence on Cashel Road, Dublin. He worked with the Irish government as a hospital attendant until his death from cancer in 1968 at the age of 49.