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Welcome to Neptune Bridge Club
Neptune Bridge Club Website
Neptune Bridge Club Website

Welcome to the Neptune Bridge Club Bridgewebs website.  We play at the De La Salle Pastoral Centre, Church Grounds, St Patrick's Road, Wicklow, every Thursday, with a 7.30 p.m. start so please be seated by 7.20 p.m.

New members are always welcome, please contact Club Secretary,

Mary Flynn at 087 6465106. 

Visitors with partners are welcome.  

Club Prizes 2024

Neptune Bridge Club played for Club prizes on Feb 22nd with prizegiving on March 1st at the 3-club combined dinner.  Prizegiving night was a great success.  Noeleen Redmond was MC on the night and opened by remembering members who had passed away during the year, Kathleen Coogan, Rose Barlow, Michael Gleeson and Evelyn Lalor, RIP.  Management and Staff of Wicklow Golf Club excelled themselves on the night with a magnificent 4 course meal and we were all spoiled with the exceptional level of service from staff.  After dinner, we proceed to the presentation of prizes and Noeleen called on Abbey BC first, followed by Neptune BC and then Wicklow BC.  Peter McWalter, Chairman, Neptune BC presented our Club prizes, with the assistance of our very capable Secretary, Mary Flynn.  Peter started with the 8th place winner and went on to announce a very popular winner, Joan Madden.  Results are:  Joan Madden 1st, 2nd Bernadette Rountree, 3rd Michael O'Gorman, 4th Margaret Kelly, 5th Angela Nolan, Joing 6th Noeleen Redmond & Phyl Lalor and 8th Robert Doyle.  

After prizegiving we played a short but enjoyable game of bridge and the winners were:  Joan Madden & Noeleen Redmond N/S and Keith Clarke and Phyl Lalor E/W who all were presented with a bottle of wine.  The night finished shortly after 11 pm and everyone went home, tired but happy.  Everyone agreed that the night was really enjoyable and overall, a great success.

 

 

CBAI Eastern Region B Teams Success Story

Sincere congratulations to past and present members of The Neptune Bridge Club who had a great success coming 2nd in the B Team section at the CBAI Regional Teams Competition in Dun Laoghaire Bridge Club on Sunday. 

Pictured above are Patrick Russell, Seamus Kennedy (President Eastern Region), Miriam Watchorn and Robert Doyle.  Well done everyone!  

Neptune Trophy Winners

Tonight, we played for the Neptune Trophy which is a beautiful silver salver introduced by two founder members, Mary Finlayson and Pauline Nolan.  This has been an annual competition since its inception until 2019 and then there was a 2 year break, due to Covid.  All the members were delighted to resume this tradition tonight after such a long break.  We played an 8 table Mitchell with an arrow switch and while the cards proved quite tricky, there emerged one pair of winners with an impressive score of 63%, Anne Monahan and Ann Looby.  Peter McWalter, club Chairman presented the ladies with the Neptune Trophy, together with  a bottle of wine each and asked them to make a speech.  Anne Monahan spoke very eloquently on behalf of both herself and her partner, Ann Looby, thanking her partner and the members of the club for contributing to their success.  She also said that as a relatively new member to the Neptune Bridge Club, she really enjoys playing bridge at this club because of the very warm welcome she has received since joining.  The night was a great success and thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Terry Byrne and Lyla Doyle came second followed by Michael O'Gorman and Tony Diviney in third.

The sad news of Helen Gorman's death

It is with great sadness that we were advised of the peaceful passing of our much loved member, Helen Gorman, after a short illness.  Helen passed away peacefully on Friday 18th November 2022 at Blackrock Clinic, Dublin.  We will miss her, her good humour, despite her illness and her ability to get a 'top' right up until her sudden death.

Helen was a special lady who touched the lives of many people and she will be sadly missed by her beloved husband Tom, her children Brian, Elaine, David and John, her grandchildren and her many, many bridge friends.  May she rest in peace.  Funeral arrangements on RIP.ie/Wicklow

Welcome Back to Neptune Bridge Club

Our president Phyl Lalor is delighted to welcome all members back to the Neptune Bridge Club after such a long time managinging our way through Covid 19. All members are asked to follow CBAI guidlines outlined below with regard to playing bridge in a safe and secure manner. 

At Neptune Bridge Club, we will implement the following rules:

  1. Covid Vaccination Certificate must be shown on arrival at the hall.
  2. Masks must be worn throughout the night.
  3. Players should sanitise their hands on arrival and regularly throughout the night using the sanitisers provided.
  4. Equipment should not be shared among players.  While sharing cards is unavoidable, each player will be given a sanitised bidding box to use throughout the night. 
  5. Only the Tournament Director and North will touch the boards and the bridgemate handsets.  North will enter the score, show it to East or West for verification and then North will accept the score.

 

Update from CBAI re Getting Back to Bridge
Corona Virus Update
 
Getting back to the bridge table
Getting back to the bridge table

The following is an extract from CBAI CEO, Paul Porteous's email of 22nd June 2020 to club secretaries outlining the CBAI's negotiations with the Deptment of Health to get our clubs up and running and playing bridge again, in a safe environment.

RETURN TO “LIVE” BRIDGE

I am happy to relate that a return to live bridge, albeit with significantly changed circumstances, is not as far away as we might have thought. The Government has accelerated the opening of activities across the economy and has relaxed many of the previously essential restrictions.

A submission has been made to the Department of Health to seek permission for a phased return to “normal” bridge. We have been very fortunate to have the help of Dr Joe Barry, a recent and enthusiastic recruit to bridge, and a Professor in Public Health in TCD, in the preparation of our submission, and would like to thank him for his time and energy.

Our plan includes adherence to current physical distancing regulations, the indoor meeting numbers restrictions, the introduction of table screens, and personal safety precautions to safeguard our players.

Above you will see a photograph of what a Table Screen will look like. At this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItVQGJHmKYI&feature=youtu.be on You Tube from Australia, you can see what a club looks like when fitted out – I wish we had the weather for those facilities!

Full details will be circulated as soon as we receive the Green Light, which hopefully will be sooner rather than later, and a return for all our club players may be possible.

There will be understandable reluctance on the part of some of our members to place themselves in any real or perceived danger; this is a decision for individuals to make for themselves and no element of coercion should be allowed. All in due time!

Our situation here in Ireland is mirrored across the world, where many countries have already returned to “live” bridge, some with little change, but many introducing the kinds of precautions we envisage.

President's Prize Winners

Our president, Anne Looby, held a joint Presidents' Dinner with our friends at Abbey Bridge Club at Wicklow Golf Club last Friday, January 31st. It proved to be a really enjoyable night. President Anne presented her prizes before the meal and Peter McWalter, President of Abbey Bridge Club presented his after. Everyone agreed the food was so good and sent compliments to the chef.

The winner of the President's Prize, a Smart Television was one of our longest serving members and a very popular winner, Stasia Hagan. Stasia was both surprised and thrilled to win President Anne's prize and made a very lovely speech of acceptance. Other prize winners were:

2nd: Gaye McGettigan

3rd: Catherine Black

4th: Edward Kilcoyne

5th: Birdie Andrews

6th: Mary Conway

7th: Rose Behan

Past President's Prize: Noeleen Redmond 

Novice Prize: Claire Rountree

Rita McNamara R.I.P.

Rita McNamara, a past president and long-serving member of our club sadly passed away on August 24th 2019. Rita was held in very high esteem throughout the Bridge community in Ireland.  She was a former President of the Eastern Region of the CBAI and held the position of President of the CBAI in 2003/2004.  Rita will be sadly missed by all her bridge colleagues, her wide circle of friends and her family.  Neptune Bridge Club Members extended their sympathies to Rita's husband Jim, her children Claire, Morgan and Michael and their families and friends.  Rita's month's mind will be held on Sunday, October 6th at St Patrick's Church Wicklow at 11.30 a.m.  May she rest in peace.

Neptune Bridge Club Re-opens

Neptune bridge club reopened on Thursday September 5th.  Our president, Ann Looby welcomed all members and wished them another enjoyable year of bridge.  All players are asked to be seated by 7.20 p.m. to commence play at 7.30 p.m.  New members are welcome.  Please contact our club secretary Mary Flynn on  6465106

President's Prize 2018/2019 Catherine Black

Our president, Catherine Black, held her president's prize on Thursday, January 24th.  Unfortunately, Catherine was ill and could not attend.  We played an 11 table movement with pre-dealt boards of some of the most unusual hands.  Bernadette Rountree kindly agreed to be our TD for the night and, as expected, she ran the competition effortlessly.  A big thank you was extended to Bernadette.  The night was a great success and everyone looked forward to the president's dinner which was scheduled for Friday, February 1st. Again, this year, we held a joint dinner with our bridge pals in The Abbey BC in Wicklow Golf Club.

Catherine's President's prize of Silver Photo Frames were displayed, together with cash prizes.  Everyone complimented Catherine on her choice of prizes.  The president of the Abbey Bridge club presented his prizes before dinner and members of the Abbey club were delighted with the winner.  Dinner was served and again, the golf club's chef did a fantastic job and a very tasty meal was enjoyed by everyone.  President Catherine then presented her prizes, advising that, in addition to her President's Prize, there would be a prize for the best scoring Novice.  There was a great cheer when our president announced her very popular winner, Lyla Doyle and Claire Rountree was the winner of the Novice prize.  President Catherine thanked the golf club for the exceptional dinner, Bernadette Rountree for directing the competion and her members for playing in her President's Prize.

Other winners were:  Margaret Kelly came a very close 2nd, Seamus Kennedy 3rd, Gertie Hallihan 4th,  and Mary Flynn 5th.

After dinner and prize giving, the combined clubs sat back and enjoyed a very sociable game of bridge.  It was agreed that a great night was had by all. 

Club Reopens Thursday September 6th 2018
President's Prize 2017/2018

President, Eleanor O'Flaherty with her brother, Brendan Flynn, winner of the President's Prize 2017/2018

 

On January 18th, our President, Eleanor O'Flaherty, presented a beautiful floor lamp as her president's prize.  It was much admired by all our members.  On the night, an 11 table, individual competition was held and Bernadette Rountree was our Tournament Director.  With thanks to Bernadette, the movement went off beautifully and without a hitch, despite a few very tricky hands.  Then, the following Friday, January 26th, a joint Presidents' Dinner was held with our friends in the Abbey Bridge Club.  A fantastic night was had by all and everyone complimented the chef in Wicklow Golf Club.  The format of the night was agreed between the two presidents and our President, Eleanor, announced her winners before the meal.  Starting from second place down, Eleanor was delighted to announce 2nd Terri Byrne, 3rd Birdie Andrews, 4th Jane Bradshaw, 5th Phyl Lalor, 6th Aeda Walsh with the past president's prize going to Pat Kerr.  After a lot of speculation among the membership as to who the overall winner would be, President Eleanor took great joy in announcing the winner of her President's Prize was, none other than her brother, Brendan Flynn.  Brendan's delight was expressed in his speech.

After dinner, the Abbey Bridge Club's winners were announced and then, the combined members of both clubs enjoyed a fun game of bridge.  It was agreed that a great night was had by everyone and the consensus is that the combined dinner of the Neptune and the Abbey bridge clubs is proving a great success.

Linda Saunders RIP

Our past president and friend Linda Saunders sadly passed away today, January 1st 2018. As a mark of respect, Eleanor O'Flaherty, President, has advised that there will be no bridge this Thursday, January 4th. Eleanor has also extended our deepest sympathies to Linda's family.

Welcome to our Novices

On our first night back on September 7th our Lady President, Eleanor O'Flaherty welcomed everyone and gave a special warm welcome to our new members, all of whom are novices, having recently completed their first course of lessons with our colleague and past member, Bernadette Rountree.  The club will now run two sections, a Novice section and a section for Masters, A's and B's.  Eleanor wished everyone a very enjoyable year of bridge.

Lady President, Eleanor together with our tournament director, Noeleen Redmond, attended the CBAI one day course for TD's covering the changes to the laws governing bridge.  Eleanor gave a brief overview to our members of these changes.

President's Dinner

Our president, Maria Kerr, held her President's dinner, jointly with Gertie Hallihan, president of our neighbouring club,The Abbey Bridge Club on Friday, January 27th. Once again, the staff at the Grand Hotel, Wicklow surpassed themselves with beautifully laid out tables and a fabulous meal which was enjoyed by everyone. Then, onto the main event, the announcing of the winners of both clubs' presidents' prizes. Very popular winners were Michael O'Gorman taking 1st prize of Maria's beautiful luggage in the Neptune club and Joan D'Arcy taking 1st prize of Gertie's fabulous painting in the Abbey Club. A full list of winners has been posted in the results section of each of the clubs here on Bridgewebs.

After prize giving, we all enjoyed a fun game of bridge which was kindly run by Peter McWalter and, again, results are posted in the results section here. Overall, the joint dinner proved a very successful event and a very enjoyable evening was had by everyone.

 

Teams of 4 Event

Club President Maria Kerr welcomed all the visitors, thanked John Royds for directing and wished everyone luck. Twenty pairs arrived to play in this very enjoyable open competition.  It was effortlessly directed by John Royds who, having decided on the most suitable movement, let each pair know which other pair they had been drawn with to make up the full team and the fun began.  John posted end-of-round results after each round and there was great excitement as teams vied to stay ahead.  Joan D'Arcy's team appeared to be sure of second place throughout the competition but were pipped at the post at the very last round by Linda Saunders' team who had a superb last-round score and secured second place, quite a distance behind the all-evening leaders, Cyril Goode's team who won by a very strong margin and took home first prize.  Everyone agreed it was a most enjoyable night and congratulated the winners.

Maria Kerr, President's Prize January 19th 2017

Our President, Maria Kerr, held her President's Prize on Thursday, January 19th 2017.  Forty players participated in a 10 table, 27 board competition.  The hands were very interesting and some were very tricky to bid, however everyone managed to get all 27 boards played. This year, for our annual President's Dinner, Neptune Bridge Club has joined forces with our neighbouring club, Abbey Bridge Club and the two presidents, Maria Kerr and Gertie Hallihan will host a joint Presidents' Dinner on Friday January 27th in the Grand Hotel, Wicklow. We'll have to wait until then to find out who the lucky winners are. 

Team of 4 Open Competition Thursday March 2nd 2017 at 7.15p.m.

Everyone is welcome to play in the Neptune Bridge Club's Open Teams of 4 on Thursday, March 2nd 2017.  All you need to do is to turn up with a partner and we'll pair you with another couple.   A great night's fun is promised - play bridge from a slightly different perspective.

Most of us are familiar with Bridge being played by "teams of 2"; that is, two people on one team versus two people on another team. But there is a way of playing Bridge with four people on one team. Obviously they will not be playing against each other. Then how is this done? One Team-of-4 will have to play against another team of 4. That is done by having half of one team (2 people) play against half of another team (2 people).  Come along on the night and all will be explained! 

 

Results
Christmas Prizes
Director: Noeleen Redmond
Scorer: Neptune Bridge Club
Director: Noeleen Redmond
Scorer: Neptune Bridge Club
Director: Noeleen Redmond
Scorer: Neptune Bridge Club