TRI-NATION INTERNATIONAL BILLIARDS

Republic of Ireland vs. Northern Ireland vs. England

Ivy Rooms, Carlow, Republic of Ireland. 16th-17th November 2002

The 2002 Tri-Nations Billiards Tournament was staged on 16th and 17th November at the superb venue of The Ivy Rooms, Hanover, Carlow. This was the venue for the highly successful 1999 IBSF World Billiards Championships and many of the participants were looking forward once again to competing in such excellent playing conditions.

The opening ceremony brought some sad news when RIBSA Chairman Jim Leacy announced that Tournament Director Geraldine McGillivary had suffered a fall in the shower that morning and had been taken to hospital. This necessitated that England's Clive Scott be promoted to the position of Tournament Director, a task which he would undertake admirably.

The scoring method for this year's tournament had been changed slightly to two points for the winner of the timed format (1½ hours) and one point for each of the three 150 up games in the short format.

The opening session saw defending champions England take on fellow visitors Northern Ireland in timed format matches. England enjoyed a perfect start taking all six games, notable performances coming from Darren Kell who inflicted Tony Buttimer's only defeat of the weekend with an impressive display. Heavy scoring from Phil Welham including runs of 120, 93 and 73, an excellent win for Jim McCann over Irish No.1 Paddy Donnelly and a debut victory for John Hartley.

The 2nd session was an all-Irish tussle under the timed format and resulted in a 8 points to 4 success for the Republic, despite an excellent performance from Tony Buttimer who atoned for his reverse with Darren Kell against newly crowned Whitworth Master Eugene Hughes.

Tony was always in control of the games making breaks of 150, 91 and 55 in an impressive 530-276 scoreline. Paddy Donnelly also compiled a century break in the North's only other victory in the session.

The concluding session of the opening day saw England earn another 12 points in the short format games with the Republic. The tie of the round going the way of the Republic when Eugene Hughes accounted for Darren Kell by a 3-0 scoreline. John Hartley continued his fine debut with a 3-0 result over Victor O'Gorman including runs of 71 and 55 unfinished in the final set. Maximum points were also obtained for England by David Rees against Aidan Murray.

The first day's play brought about the overnight scoreline of England 24, Republic of Ireland 14, Northern Ireland 4. It now remained to be seen how the evening festivities at the Dolmen Hotel would affect performance the following day!

The opening session of Day 2 and Tony Buttimer was certainly showing no ill effects of the night before with runs of 89 unfinished and 92 in his emphatic 3-0 defeat of David Burgess. David was heard to comment after the game "the way Tony played, I was lucky to get nil!" However overall in the session, maximum points were obtained for England by Paul Dunning, David Rees, John Hartley and Darren Kell resulting in a session victory for the holders by 13 points to 5.

The All-Ireland short format session resulted in a 12-6 triumph for the Republic, including a 2-1 win by Eugene Hughes in the tie of the session over Paddy Donnelly—Eugene notching a break of 124 unfinished in the very first set. The session also included a solid performance by Timmy Murphy for the Republic with breaks of 97 and 57 in his 3-0 victory over Joe Buttimer.

The Republic went into the final session of the weekend knowing they would need to whitewash England in order to deprive them of retaining the cup—a tall order indeed. As it transpired they recorded only one win when Eugene Hughes included the highest break of the weekend 167, along with runs of 80, 53 and 50 in an excellent display against Jim McCann. David Rees' victory ensured that he along with John Hartley had achieved maximum points over the weekend.

At the closing ceremony, the three managers, Brendan Devlin, Oliver McGuigan and Derick Townend paid tribute to Jim Leacy and his wife Marian for the hospitality they had afforded everyone over the weekend, along with their staff. Marian was also congratulated on the excellent programme she had compiled for the event. The trophy was presented to England Team Manager Derick Townend along with mementoes to all players and EABA Referees David Smith, Peter Cooper, Harry Wah, Haydn Williams, Bob Slee and Eric Gratton, along with their Irish counterparts Arthur Greer, Conor Doyle, Larry Codd, Neill Shanahan and Ger Murray.

DAY 1

Northern Ireland v England (90 minutes)

Republic of Ireland v Northern Ireland (90 minutes)

Republic of Ireland v England (3 x 150-up)

Eugene Hughes 150(82), 150(52), 150 Darren Kell 32, 100, 143(53); Victor O'Gorman 50, 101, 128(51) John Hartley 150, 150, 150(71, 55unf); Dick Brennan 150, 47, 90 Paul Dunning 148, 150(69), 150; Aidan Murray 29, 93, 130 David Rees 150(60), 150, 150; Timmy Murphy 65, 150, 39 Jim McCann 150(60), 81, 150(62); Joe Delaney 132, 150, 109 Phil Welham 150, 143, 150(51);

DAY 2

Northern Ireland v England (3 x 150-up)

John McIntyre 65, 46, 63 Paul Dunning 150(55), 150, 150(51); Tony Buttimer 150(89unf), 150(92), 150 Dave Burgess 78, 113(62), 119(50); Sammy Currie 33, 106, 106 David Rees 150(87), 150, 150; Jimmy V; McLauchlin 124, 98, 122 John Hartley 150(67); 150(53unf), 150; Roy Lattimer 42, 88, 108 Darren Kell 150(73unf), 150, 150; Paddy Donnelly 150(62,48), 150(79), 11 Steve Crosland 46. 45, 150(74).

Northern Ireland v Republic of Ireland (3 x 150-up)

J. V. McLauchlin 33, 150, 91 Dick Brennan 150, 137, 150(59) John McIntyre 56, 49, 150 Rodney Goggins 150, 150(78), 123 Tony Buttimer 150(52), 55, 150(79) Aidan Murray 149(80), 150, 83 Paddy Donnelly 24, 117, 150 Eugene Hughes 150(124unf), 150(52), 53 Joe Buttimer 77, 60, 85 Timmy Murphy 150(97), 150(57), 150 Sammy Currie 83, 150(54), 147 Phil Martin 150, 142, 150.

Republic of Ireland v England (90 minutes)