On Friday 25th January a party of no less than 37 players, relatives, referees and supporters travelled across the Irish Sea and assembled in The Royal Hotel, Bangor, Co Down for the annual fixture between Northern Ireland and England. During the afternoon an official party were invited to Bangor Castle where they were welcomed and entertained by The Lord Mayor. Others, due to the inclement weather, were left with no alternative but to adjourn to the bar and sample a drop of the black stuff!
Competition started on the Saturday morning at Bangor Men's Reading Rooms with the opening ceremony and photo calls. When play commenced, Peter Shelley opened with a break of 137 on his first visit to the table. This set the tone for what was to be a fine game of Billiards—a break of 152 from John McIntyre was followed next visit with a reply of 99 from Peter who went on to secure a 500-313 win. England's Brian Harvey won the other 500 up game in this session with a 500-353 win over Trevor Shields. Tony Buttimer showed why he has climbed the Irish rankings with an excellent 2-1 victory over Darren Kell in the 150 up games. Debutante Colin Mylchreest made breaks of 58 and 102 during his 150 up games with Jim McCann—unfortunately for Colin neither earned him a point as breaks of 67 & 88 secured a 3-0 victory for Jim.
The afternoon session saw England pull clear, securing a further ten of the twelve points available in the four matches of 3x150 up. In the best of these games, England's Phil Welham defeated Tommy Murphy 2-1 with the aid of 80 unfinished in the first set, but Tommy made a beautiful 111 unfinished to secure the third set. Steve Crosland beat Paddy Donnelly 2-1 including a break of 128 in the second set. Bill Andress and Paul Dunning enjoyed 3-0 wins over Sammy Currie and Roy Lattimer respectively.
This left the overnight score at Northern Ireland 4, England 20—a grossly unfair reflection on the match as of the five centuries made during the days play, no less than three had been made by Irish players! The Saturday evening brought an official function at the hotel—the beautiful meal was followed by speeches from the respective mangers and the usual stories and wisecracks from Messrs McIntyre & Townend. Derick Townend presented Ann McIntyre with flowers in appreciation of all the work she had undertaken in connection with the weekend. Various groups then dispersed to enjoy different forms of entertainment —some enjoyed disco and karaoke while others retired to the bar where they were later joined by Tommy Murphy's brother and entertained by his guitar play and wide range of music. Hidden talents were displayed by Steve Crosland singing a folk ballad while playing the guitar—is there no end to this man's attributes?
Play recommenced on the Sunday morning with several players nursing heads from the previous night’s excesses. Paddy Donnelly enjoyed a 500-317 victory over Darren Kell while Colin Mylchreest gained some deserved recompense for his previous days disappointment with a 500-424 win over Paul Dunning, including a 92 break. The session however was shared with 3-0 wins for England by Peter Shelley over Freddie Cahoon and Brian Harvey over John McIntyre including a century and two 50+ breaks.
The final session saw a monumental battle between Tony Buttimer and Steve Crosland with Tony emerging victorious 500-488. It was though the only Irish success of the session with English victories coming for Bill Andress over Tommy Murphy, Phil Welham over Jimmy McLaughlin and Jim McCann over Roy Lattimer.
With the final match score standing at Northern Ireland 13 England 35, the Friendly Cup was presented to England Team Manager Mr Derick Townend.
| Trevor Shields | 353 | Brian Harvey 54 | 500 | ||
| John McIntyre 152 | 313 | Peter Shelley 137, 99 | 500 | ||
| Paddy Donnelly 57, 82, 51 | 500 | Darren Kell 62, 62 | 317 | ||
| Colin Mylchreest 92 | 500 | Paul Dunning 54 | 500 | ||
| Tony Buttimer | 500 | Steve Crosland 87, 51 | 488 | ||
| Tommy Murphy | 427 | Bill Andress 84 | 500 | ||
| Jimmy McLaughlin 57, 57 | 363 | Phil Welham 81, 57, 51, 50 | 500 | ||
| Roy Lattimer 56 | 320 | Jim McCann 73 | 500 |
| Tony Buttimer 83 | 150,53,150 | Darren Kell | 96,150,138 | ||
| Colin Mylchreest 102 | 126,146,99 | Jim McCann 67, 68 | 150,150,150 | ||
| Paddy Donnelly | 74,45,150 | Steve Crosland 54, 128 | 150,150,33 | ||
| Tommy Murphy 111unf | 42,100,150 | Phil Welham 80unf | 150,150,108 | ||
| Sammy Currie | 71,71, | 32 Bill | |||
| Roy Lattimer | 82,85,120 | Paul Dunning 52, 54, 76 | 150,150,150 | ||
| Freddie Cahoon | 46,31,91 | Peter Shelley 83, 81 | 150,150,150 | ||
| John McIntyre | 102,113,126 | Brian Harvey 56, 57 | 150,150,150 |