Darts in Ireland

NEWS MARCH-APRIL 2011

One Round Remaining in Players’ Championship

The Clonmel Park Hotel in Tipperary is the venue for the final round of matches in the 2011 Ireland Players’ Championships on Sunday, May 8th.

The battle is on for points to qualify for the Grand Finals which will be held at the Springhill Court Hotel in Kilkenny at the end of June.

Gemma Kearon and Sharon O’Brien

Sharon O’Brien returned to top form in Abbeyleix to capture Round Five of the Ladies’ Championship with a 4 – 2 victory over Gemma Kearon in the final. The beaten semi-finalists were Teresa Maher and Linda Harte.

David McGeer and Ryan Maher

Ryan Maher made it four wins out of four appearances with a 3 – 1 win over David McGeer in the final of Round Five of the Ireland Youths’ Championship. In the semi-finals Ryan defeated Dean Finn 3 – 1 while David had a similar victory over Kyle
Ramsell.

John O’Shea

Reigning champion John O’Shea is on course to retain his title after another brilliant display at the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel.
In the semi-finals he defeated Campbell Jackson 6 – 2 and had a 6 – 4 victory over Daryl Gurney in the final.

Denis McCarthy was beaten 6 – 1 by Gurney in the other semi.

The ‘Big Fella’ Wins in Wexford

Martin Murphy and Jason Cullen

Martin ‘Big Fella’ Murphy won the David Kehoe Memorial Singles at the Millennium Bar in Davidstown, County Wexford. Martin defeated Jason Cullen 5 – 1 in the final.

In the semi-finals Martin defeated Kieran Kehoe and Jason defeated Stephen Byrne. Stephen Byrne had the highest check-out of 156 in the competition.

Ann Redmond and Sharon Doyle

The Ladies’ Singles was won by Sharon Doyle who defeated Ann Redmond 4 – 3. The beaten semi-finalists were Christine Byrne and Gemma Kearon.

Stephen Byrne Stays on Top of Rankings

Ray Lynch (Abbey Court Hotel) congratulating Stephen Byrne

Stephen Byrne extended his lead at the top of the Ireland Rankings List with an outstanding 6 – 2 victory over Campbell Jackson in the final of Round Four of the Ireland Players’ Championship at the Abbey Court Hotel in Nenagh.

The beaten semi-finalists were David Murphy and Mick Egan.

The Ladies’ decider was a repeat of the final of Round Three in Cork with Denise Cassidy defeating Sharon Buckley.

Kay O’Carroll retains her number one position but she is now only two points clear of Teresa Maherand Aisling Feiriteur in joint second place.


Ryan Maher and Ian Flannery	Sharon Buckley and Denise Cassidy

Ryan Maher enjoys a ten point lead at the top of the Youths’ Rankings List after defeating Ian Flannery 3 – 1 in the final of the Youths’ competition in Nenagh.

The beaten semi-finalists were Edmond Kelliher and Conor Lowry.

Click here for Round Four results.

Round Five of the 2011 Ireland Players Championship will be held at the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel in Laois on Sunday, March 27th and the closing date for men’s entries is Wednesday, March 23rd.

The final round of matches will be held on Sunday, May 8th., at the Clonmel Park Hotel in Tipperary.

Players are reminded that they must compete in at least three rounds of the Championship to be eligible to qualify for the Grand Finals next June.

Players who have not competed in at least one of the previous four rounds will not be allowed to compete In Round Five in Abbeyleix.

Champions to the Fore !


John O’Shea	Denise Cassidy	Ryan Maher and Dean Finn

The reigning Ireland Players’ Champions, John O’Shea, Denise Cassidy and Ryan Maher, heralded their intentions of retaining their titles when they won their respective events at Round Three at the Silver Springs Moran Hotel in Cork.

John O’Shea {Cork} defeated Ian Dobson {Limerick} 6 – 4 in the Men’s final, Denise Cassidy {Fermanagh} defeated Sharon Buckley {Cork} 4 – 1 in the Ladies’ decider and Dublin’s Ryan Maher had a 3 – 0 victory over Dean Finn {Waterford} to win the Youths’ competition.

The final round of matches in the 2011 Championships will be held at the Clonmel Park Hotel in Tipperary on Sunday, May 8^th., and with places in the Grand Finals up for grabs a large turnout is expected on the day.

The closing date for men’s entries is Wednesday, May 4^th., and entries for the ladies’ and youths’

Events will be accepted at the venue on the day.

Click here for Round Three results


Denis McCarthy	Stephen Lennon and Steven Mooney

Leeside Festival a Great Success

The Leeside Darts Festival was held at Silver Springs Moran Hotel in Cork on February 26/27th. with players from all parts of the country competing.

The Festival commenced on the Saturday evening with Men’s and Ladies’ Doubles competitions. Local players, Sharon Buckley and Aisling Feiriteur won the Ladies’ event while Ian Dobson and Darrell Hodgson were victorious in the Men’s event.

On Sunday Denis McCarthy from Kilkenny captured the first prize of €1,200 with a 5 – 0 victory over John Nyhan {Cork} in the final of the Men’s Open Singles and Denise Cassidy {Fermanagh} completed a weekend double with a 4 – 1 victory over Sharon O’Brien {Kildare} in the final of the Ladies’ Singles.

The Youths’ title went to Stephen Lennon who defeated Steven Mooney 3 – 0 in the final.

Inter-Counties Challenge in Tramore

The annual Tramore Inter-Counties Challenge competitions will be held at O’Shea’s Hotel, Tramore, Co. Waterford, on Saturday, April 9^th., in conjunction with the annual Tramore Spring Festival.

There will be separate Men’s {7-a-side} and Ladies’ {5-a-side} competitions and the closing date for entries is April 1^st.

The Festival will commence on Friday night with Men’s and Ladies’ Doubles competitions and there will be Open Singles competitions on the Sunday with the feature event being the Damien Connolly Memorial Men’s Singles

Abbey and Harp Win League Titles

Brendon Dolan {Mahers Sports} presenting the Division {2} Trophy to Mick Hennessy {Captain Harp 2}

On Monday, February 28^th., the Deanrock Darts Arena was the venue for the Grand Finals of the Mahers Sports/ Unicorn 5-a-side Leagues, organised by the Cork Darts Players’ Association. In Division {1} the title-holders, Evergreen Bar, made an early exit when they went down 1 – 3 to the Rock Bar in the semi-finals.

Mark Willis was the only winner for the losers but his 11 dart finish in one of the legs could not encourage his team-mates to raise their game.

The Abbey Tavern had to come from behind to defeat the Beer Garden {1} in the other semi-final to set-up a Gillabbey Street derby with the Rock.

This was a typical high tension derby match which went all the way before Gary Condron clinched the title for the Abbey Tavern with a 3 – 2 victory over Con Delaney.

The Harp {2} were convincing winners of Division {2} with 3 – 0 victories over the Tory Top {2} and the Ovens Bar. The other beaten semi-finalists were the Ferry Arms.

Dublin are Youths’ Champions

Dublin Youths’ Team with Team Manager Dave Tansey

Dublin won the 2011 Irish Youths’ Inter-Counties Championship in Ennis with a 3 – 1 win over Tipperary in the final. In the semi-finals Dublin defeated Mayo 3 – 2 while Tipperary had a similar victory over Clare.