| Congratulations to the Interprovincial Champions of 2024! |
As always, the 2024 Interprovincial Championships were keenly fought and played in excellent spirit. After a demanding weekend, the honours across the three tournaments were shared by three provinces!
Our congratulations go to all the winning teams and, indeed, to all the players for making the competition the enjoyable festival of bridge that it has always provided.
Our champions in each class are shown below, and the full results can be found here.
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Open Champions: Leinster
 Standing: Peter Pigot, Matthew O'Farrell, Conor Boland, Gordon Lessells (IBU), Padhraig O'Briain, Micheal O'Briain, Siobhan Part, Terry Walsh.
Seated: BJ O'Brien, Peter Goodman, Moya Murphy (President, Dublin South Region), Teresa Rigney, David Dunne, Paul Delaney.
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Regional/Area Master Champions and winners of the Fearghal O'Boyle Trophy: Munster
 Standing: Geoff Roberts, Brian Madden, Joe Carroll, Gordon Lessells (IBU), Gerry McCague, Sean Mulvaney and Neil Breheny.
Seated: Margaret Cunningham, Verna Brownlow, Margaret Holmes, Eugene Gath, Ronnie O'Shaughnessy and Rosaleen Glasheen. |
Intermediate Champions: Ulster
 Standing: Geraldine McNamee, John Forsythe, George Harper, Lesley Ager, Liz Thomas, Gordon Lessells (IBU), Melissa Brady, Mary Maguire, Michael Coffey (NPC)
Seated: Judy Young, Mary Flynn, Michael McNamee, Anna Shalvey, Kathleen McCabe.
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| Irish teams at the World Bridge Games |
It has been an exciting ten days for the Irish teams at the World Bridge Games! Representing us were:
OPEN: Mark Moran, John Carroll, Tom Hanlon, Conor Boland, Adam Mesbur, Nick FitzGibbon, NPC Grainne Barton
WOMEN: Joan Kenny, Jeannie Fitzgerald, Louise Mitchell, Lucy Phelan, Anne Fitzpatrick, Mary Kelly-Rogers, NPC Paul Porteous
MIXED: Sandra Newell, Claudiu Dima, Michelle Moloney, Marcin Rudzinski, Mairead Haugh, Justin Corfield, NPC John Phelan
Congratulations in particular to our Open team, which has made it through the knock-out phase (concluding with a strong win over the leading US team in their group!). In a nail-biting finish against a tough Polish team, their late charge was not quite enough to pull ahead and they were pipped 83-80 IMPs.
Thanks to all who watched and supported the teams throughout the tournament and those who contributed to the fund-raising activity - and in particular to the many players who sent messages of support throughout the Games.
>>> Link to Results <<<
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| IBU welcomes 2024/25 President Heather Hill |
At the IBU Annual Meeting in CityNorth Hotel, Gormanstown, Co. Meath on Monday, 19th August 2024, Heather Hill of NIBU was installed as IBU President.
Heather is pictured here after receiving the chain of office from the outgoing President, Peter O'Meara.
Everyone at IBU wishes President Heather every good fortune for the year, and we thank Peter O'Meara for his dedication and commitment over the last year.
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| European Teams Championships - Results |
The European Championships in Herning, Denmark, have now concluded, and unfortunately none of our four teams featured in their competitions. Best placed was the Open Team, which recovered from a sluggish start to end up mid-table. It was a tough week (or week-plus in the case of the Open Team) of competition, with a very high standard in all four events, and requiring the highest levels of concentration. We had several debutants and players inexperienced at this level, who will all have benefitted from the championship. Full results here.
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| Good Luck to the Irish Teams in the European Championships! |
The best of luck to the four teams representing Ireland at the 56th European Championships, in Herning, Denmark. The Open competition starts on Monday 24 June, and the Women’s, Seniors’, and Mixed competitions on Friday 28 June. Our teams are:
- Open: John Carroll, Mark Moran, Tom Hanlon, Conor Boland, Adam Mesbur, Nick FitzGibbon, NPC Gráinne Barton
- Women: Joan Kenny, Jeannie Fitzgerald, Louise Mitchell, Lucy Phelan, Teresa Rigney, Siobhan Part, NPC Paul Porteous
- Senior: Hastings Campbell, Sam Hall, Ian Lindsay, Ian Hamilton, Terry Walsh, BJ O’Brien, NPC Harold Curran
- Mixed: Sandra Newell, Claudiu Dima, Michelle Moloney, Marcin Rudzinski, Anna Onishuk, Karel De Raeymaeker, NPC Diarmuid Reddan
You’ll be able to keep track of the results here, and we would expect all teams to feature on the Vugraph facility at some stage during the championships. Please give all our teams your full support for what will be a very demanding week of top-level bridge (eleven days for the Open team). Further updates may appear on the CBAI website during the tournament.
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| IBU Egan Trophy |
While our attention will shortly shift to the European Championships in Herning, Denmark, the final event of the IBU calendar - the Egan Trophy (national invitational club teams) - was contested at La Mon Hotel on 25th/26th May.
With a strong field of 10 teams and a round-robin format, a good contest was expected; and our congratulations go to the worthy winners - John Carroll, Conor Boland, Adam Mesbur and Nick Fitzgibbon. No photos on this occasion, but readers will not have to spend long looking through the IBU website to find images of these four players!
Thanks to IBU Secretary Harold Curran and IBU Treasurer Anne Fitzpatrick for organising the event and to Alan Hill as the ever-efficient director. Full results can be found on fob >here<.
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| IBU Club Pairs 2024 |
Well done to the committed pairs who played in the IBU Club Pairs on Saturday, 11th May 2024 - forgoing a beautiful sunny day for two challenging sessions at the bridge table! As always, competition was strong with leader-boards changing constantly throughout the day: so the champions can feel truly proud of their achievements.
Congratulations to the winners of the Master Pairs, pictured with Martin Brady, CBAI Vice-President and IBU Council member.
- Deirdre Tuckey and Seamus Costello
- Anne Keating and Frances Kelly
- Kevin O'Dea and Liam Maher
  
and to the Intermediate Pairs winners:
- Emer O'Flaherty and Russell Down
- Joan Peppard and Tom Roche
- Paul Clinch and John Coulter
  
We are, as always, grateful to Fearghal O'Boyle and Mairead Basquille for an immaculately-run tournament, and to the Templeogue Bridge Centre for accommodating the competition at a particularly busy time of year.
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| IBU Senior Congress 2024 |
Many thanks for all who joined us at the annual IBU Senior Congress in the Cavan Crystal Hotel from Tuesday to Thursday 16th-18th April. With the busy playing room packed to capacity on Wednesday evening, it was fantastic to see the enthusiasm of the players and the good spirit in which all the competitions were played! Special thanks to those who travelled distances to join us, including a group playing at a congress for the first time - and hopefully the first of many!
We have new names among the winners of the main events this year - though none are strangers to the winners circle in the wider world. Some of our prizewinners are pictured above; special congratulations go to our main competition winners, pictured below with IBU President Peter O'Meara:
- Gala Pairs winners - Phil Geoghegan and James Newman
- Congress Pairs winners (Pat McDevitt Trophy) - Kevin O'Dea and Liam Maher
- Congress Teams winners - Dolores Gilliland, Peter Stewart, Kevin O'Dea and Liam Maher
  
It was a particular pleasure to have Pat McDevitt with us to present the trophy to the Congress Pairs winners, and well done to Kevin and Liam on their double triumph.
Our thanks as always to Fearghal, Mairead and Peter for a fabulously organised tournament and also to Aileen Timoney for her hard work on the ground ensuring everything was perfect at the venue. Full results can be found here.
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| Moylan Cup 2024 |
The Moylan Cup (All-Ireland National Pairs Championship was held over the weekend in the Malahide Bridge Centre, with a full contingent of 40 pairs competing. The prize winners, pictured with IBU Vice-President Heather Hill, were:
- 1. Thomas MacCormac & Jade Barrett
- 2. Tom Hanlon & John Carroll
- 3. Anna Onishuk & Karel De Raeymaeker
  
- 4. Siobhan Part & Teresa Rigney
- Session 1 Liam Gaynor & David Redmond
- Session 2 Terry Walsh & Peter Goodman
- Session 3 Bill O’Hanlon & Tony Ward
Well done to all concerned, thanks to Malahide for hosting, and to Eamon Galligan for directing. Board-by-board results can be viewed on the CBAI website..
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| Burke and O'Connor Intercounty Championships 2024 |
Well done to all of the 30 teams that participated in the Intercounty teams championships this weekend at the Cavan Crystal Hotel. Both contests, which were run on a round-robin basis, were keenly contested throughout and the results remained in doubt until the final round was complete.
Congratulations to the winners of the Burke Intercounty Open Teams from Dublin of David Dunne, Martin Brady, Paul Delaney and Tomas Roche. A second Dublin team of Matthew O'Farrell, Luca Crone, Teresa Rigney and BJ O'Brien squeaked home in second ahead of the Donegal team of Denis Ellis, Connell McLoone and Sandra and John McGinley.
The O'Connor Intercounty Intermediate Teams was also a tight affair with the top two teams exchanging the lead regularly. Ultimately victory went to the Meath team of Dara Voyles, Nicola O'Dowd, Sandra Peden and Linda Walsh from the Dublin squad of Vicky Pigot, Paul Clinch, Mia Delaney and Jeremy James. All those present were also delighted to see a home team from Cavan in the prizes, with Kathleen Gibbons, Mary Mulvey, Frances Daly and Simon John Ridley coming in third place.
Our thanks as always goes to our directors, Fearghal O'Boyle and Huey Daly, for an efficient and smoothly-run tournament; to Aileen Timoney for all her work organising the event and the bridge clubs in Cavan for their support throughout. We look forward to our next visit for the Seniors Congress from 16th-18th April.
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| Continuing the EBL's Online Training Program for women |
This European Bridge League online training program gives female players the option to step up their game, increase their Bridge self-confidence and allow them to participate in higher level competitions in Ireland and in the international Bridge arena. It's free of charge.
The first session of 2024 will take place on Wednesday, 13th of March. In this session we will have the pleasure of hosting Giorgia Botta, an Italian professional Bridge player and teacher. More information on this seminar and on Women's Bridge can be found here: http://womenbridge.org. Please note that the registration to the training program is done via Women's Coordinator Joan Kenny, who can be contacted using This Link.
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| Congratulations to Interprovincial Winners 2023! |
The annual IBU Interprovincial tournament was held on 18th-19th November 2023 at the Cavan Crystal hotel. Three competitions were held at Open, Area Master and Intermediate levels. In each competition, each province enters three teams (12 players), who play against the three teams from each of the other provinces - 9 matches in all - to determine the winning province by total VPs.
In the Open Competition, Munster led the field from the starting gun to the finish line - so congratulations on such a decisive result to their team of Gordon Lessells, Bob & Maureen Pattinson, Diarmuid Reddan (PC), Ranald Milne, Pat Quinn, Derek O'Gorman, Cian Holland, Tom McCarthy, Kelan O'Connor, John and Lucy Phelan.
The Area Master competition for the Fearghal O'Boyle trophy was more even, with Munster and Leinster tightly matched initially; however Leinster snatched a decisive lead late on Saturday which they never relinquished: well done to their team: Tony Ward, Bill O'Hanlon, Gerry Ryan, Elaine Fitzpatrick, Niamh Harty, Jimmy Byrne, Eamon Martin, Pam Harrington, Mary & Eoin Hodkinson, Rachel Connellan and Rosalind O Brien, pictured receiving the trophy from Fearghal O'Boyle.
The Intermediate competition was most closely fought with Leinster, Munster and Connacht exchanging the top spot throughout Saturday, ending up with Connacht holding a narrow overnight lead. However, a strong performance on Sunday winning 8 of their 9 matches pulled Leinster through to top the field: great determination by the team of Kevin McKevitt, Angela O Neill, Helen Dredge, Anne Hogan, Kevin Kennedy, Willie Redmond, Pat Costello, Tom Reilly, Catherine Carabine, Deirdre Lonergan, Kerri Nolan and Aisling O'Grady.
Congratulations to all who had the honour of being selected to represent their province. Our thanks as always go to the fantastic TD team of Fearghal O'Boyle, Mairead Basquille and Brian Lawlor for a seamlessly run tournament. A special thanks to Aileen Timoney for her tireless work with the hotel and with local clubs to ensure the success of the event. Full results can be found >here<.
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| Congratulations to the Irish Champions - 5th in the 2023 EBL Champions Cup! |
Congratulations to the Irish Champions team competing in Dubrovnik in the European Champions Cup from 9th - 11th November 2023, finishing 5th overall in this prestigious event. Alongside NPC Grainne Barton, we were represented by Tom Hanlon, Conor Boland, John Carroll, Mark Moran, Adam Mesbur and Tommy Garvey.
Competing in the second group for 5th-8th place, our team first beat Croatia to reach the finals, where they played the Polish champions. Our Irish champions had built a hugely impressive 93-13 lead after 16 of 32 boards, at which point the Polish team conceded defeat.
A fantastic performance and great result from the team. You can find more details at this link.
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| Irish Win in BGB Junior Pairs |
Congratulations to Luca Crone & Matthew O’Farrell, who were victorious in the BGB (Bridge Great Britain) Junior Online Pairs, held on RealBridge on Saturday 23 September. Their score of 57.21% was just enough to pip Rufus Behr & Jamie Day (Scotland) for the Paul Porteous Trophy (for the Under-26 category). Well done also to Sheila Walsh & Isabel Burke who finished fourth and were the best ladies' pair.
The winners of the Liz McGowan Trophy (for the Under-21 category) were Harriet Cork & Raffy Sinclair (England). Our thanks to Fearghal O’Boyle for very kindly donating his time to TD the competition, and to Shireen Mohandes and the RealBridge team for their support in promoting the event. Full results here.
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| Irish team at World Championships in Marrakech |
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An experienced and well-regarded squad represented Ireland at the World Championships (for the “Bermuda Bowl”), held in Marrakech, Morocco, from 20 August to 2 September 2023. Mark Moran, Adam Mesbur, John Carroll, Tommy Garvey, coach Nick FitzGibbon, Hugh McGann, Tom Hanlon (L-R) pictured with NPC Gráinne Barton had been preparing diligently for this event for some time. The competition was extremely tough, with several teams made up entirely of full-time bridge professionals, and the schedule is intense – an eight-day round-robin of three matches per day to qualify as one of the top eight teams for a knockout phase … and all in sweltering conditions of 40 degree heat! Matches took place daily at 10:00, 13:15, and 15:50 (Morocco is in the same time-zone as Ireland).
As the round-robin phase of the championships ended, Ireland won both their final matches to finish in thirteenth place with a record of ten wins, one draw, and twelve defeats. It was always a big challenge to make the playoffs, in a field crowded with teams of full-time bridge professionals, and mid-table is a very respectable finish for the Irish team. We congratulate the team on qualifying for the Bermuda Bowl (for only the second time in our history) and thank them for the hard work they put in, and the interest and excitement that they have provided for us over the eight days of the tournament.
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| Welcome to IBU President 2023/24 Peter O'Meara |
At the Annual Meeting of the Irish Bridge Union held on Monday, 14th August in CityNorth Hotel, Gormanstown, County Meath, Council welcomed President Peter O'Meara (left), being congratulated by outgoing President Harold Curran.
We wish best of fortune to President Peter and offer our thanks and best wishes to Harold for his effort and commitment throughout his term.
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| Success for Youth and Junior players |
Congratulations to two of our Junior team, Luca Crone & Matthew O’Farrell, who finished sixth in the President’s Cup at the recent European Transnational Youth Championships in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. Good wishes also to the Irish Under-21 team taking part in the 18th World Youth Teams Championships at the same venue currently. We received a late invitation to enter a team, and the squad (Aileen Armstrong, Eve Connell, Klara Flanagan, David Hoyne, Phedra Kingston, with NCP John Phelan) is young (five of them are 17, and still in school), and inexperienced, and it’s fair to say that they are finding the competition tough thus far. But Phedra, who has just turned 17, made her presence felt with an excellent piece of declarer play to bring home a tricky slam contract, which was duly recorded by her captain in the Daily Championship Bulletin (page 14).
Pictured below are Isabel Burke & Luca Crone and Phedra Kingston & David Hoyne in action in the preliminary mixed pairs.
 
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| Egan Trophy |
The Egan Trophy is contested annually between 10 invited teams from CBAI and NIBU, and was played at La Mon House on 27th and 28th May.
Our congratulations to the pictured winning team of Nick Fitzgibbon, John Carroll, Tommy Garvey, Adam Mesbur, and Mark Moran (missing from picture). Paul Delaney and Tomas Roche, Martin Brady and David Dunne came in second place with Lucy Phelan & Louise Mitchell along with Ann O'Connell & Valarie Burke-Moran finishing third.
NIBU hosted the event and our special thanks go to Anne Fitzpatrick, our organiser, and to Alan Hill for acting as TD.
Full results can be found >here<.
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| IBU Club Pairs Championships – Online on BBO, 13 May 2023 |
The IBU Club Pairs was held online on BBO on Saturday 13 May at 11:00, with separate competitions for Master and Intermediate grades.
Our Master winners in a tight contest were Thomas MacCormac playing with Geoffrey S. Jade Barrett, narrowly beating both Wayne Somerville & Luca Crone in second and Joan Kenny & Enda Glynn in third. Full Masters results can be found >here<.
Congratulations to our Intermediate winners Paul Dunne and Mags Kelly of Castleknock. In a tight contest for second, Anthony Coogan & Joan McDonald emerged just ahead of Olive Mulcahy & James McNamara. The Intermediate results can be found >here<.
Our thanks to all who took part in the two competitions; with special thanks to our TD, Fearghal O'Boyle.
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| IBU Seniors Congress 2023 - Cavan, 18th to 20th April |
Following last year's revival of the Seniors Congress, it was very encouraging to see continued growth in the numbers returning to in-person play at the IBU Seniors Congress 2023 at the Cavan Crystal Hotel from 18th to 20th April. Our thanks and congratulations to all who participated in a thoroughly enjoyable event. Particular congratulations to winners!
Gala Open Pairs – Helen Hall and Michael McFaul (Belfast)
Novice Pairs – Susan Grogan and Kathleen Lavin (Cavan)
Congress Pairs – Gay Keaveney and Peter Goodman (Galway and Dublin) (session 1 boards)
Congress Teams – Pat McDevitt, Gay Keaveney, Peter Goodman and Enda Glynn
Congratulations also to our Open Pairs winners:
Wednesday
1.30 p.m. Open Pairs – Melissa Brady and Paddy McDermott (Cavan)
7.00 p.m. Open Pairs – Paddy McDermott and Seamus Bennett (NS), Ann Gaffney and Pat Plunket (EW) (Cavan)
Thursday
11.00 a.m. Open Pairs – Helene McCambridge and Mary P. Flynn (Belfast)
3.00 p.m. Open Pairs – Paddy McDermott and Peter Byrne (Cavan and Drogheda)
Huge thanks as always to our excellent TDs, Fearghal O’Boyle and Peter Byrne, who made sure the entire event ran like clockwork. We are particularly grateful to Aileen Timoney, who put in a lot of unseen work organising the event with the venue; and also to Cavan County Council who, along with the CBAI North Eastern region, sponsored the three day event.
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| Moylan 2023 |
The IBU All-Ireland National Pairs Championship for the Moylan Cup took place in Malahide Regional Bridge Centre over the weekend of 15/16 April, with a full-house of 40 pairs competing. Our thanks to all who accepted the invitation to take part, to Malahide for hosting, and to Tournament Director Eamon Galligan for ensuring everything went off smoothly.
The prizewinners were:
- 1st Joan Kenny & Jeannie Fitzgerald;
- 2nd Tom Hanlon & John Carroll;
- 3rd BJ O’Brien & Peter Goodman;
- 4th Pat Quinn & Donal Garvey.
Session Prizes:
- Peter Pigot & Derek O’Gorman;
- Carol-Ann Cummins & John Noonan;
- Diarmuid Reddan & John Phelan.
CBAI President-Elect, Gordon Lessells, has penned the following brief history of the weekend’s competition, from the County Clare perspective. He notes that the Moylan Cup will be returning to the county, courtesy of Jeannie, who is from Ennis (her partner Joan is from County Galway). The cup was presented in 1943 by Dr. Peter Moylan, an Ennis doctor and one of the founders of the Ennis Bridge Club, who was President of the CBAI in the preceding year. Originally it was awarded to the winners of a trials competition. In 1956 the Irish Bridge Union, an all-Ireland confederation, was formed and since 1957 the Moylan Cup has been presented to the winners of the IBU’s All-Ireland Pairs Championship. In 1962 and 1963, the Moylan Cup was won by Gordon Holmes, a Limerick solicitor, and Michael O’Connell from Cork. The Moylan Cup was won eight times between 1974 and 1997 by Eoin MacNeill, who was also playing in this year’s event. This year’s runner-up Tom Hanlon has won the Moylan Cup ten times, the first time in 1990; he also has at least three second-place finishes.
The first female pair to win the Moylan Cup were Ruth Giddings and Barbara Seligman in 1965. Ann Montwill and Aileen O’Keeffe won the Moylan Cup twice in 1975 and 1981. Jeannie and Joan are the first all-female winners since then. Next weekend Jeannie and Joan will be playing on the CBAI Ladies team in the Lady Milne Trophy which takes place in Perth, Scotland. A further Ennis connection among the prizewinners at the weekend was provided by Pat Quinn, who came fourth with Donal Garvey.
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| Burke and O’Connor Trophies 2023 |
The IBU Inter-County Open and Intermediate Teams Championships, for the Burke and O’Connor Trophies respectively, were held in the Cavan Crystal Hotel over the weekend of 11/12 March 2023.
The prizewinners were:
Burke Trophy (Open)
1st Place: Dublin South – Peter Goodman, Aoife MacHale, Teresa Rigney, BJ O’Brien;
2nd Place: Derry – Hastings Campbell, Ian Hamilton, Zrinka Kokot, Pat McDaid;
3rd Place: Donegal – Denis Ellis, John McGinley, Connell McLoone, Margaret Farren
O’Connor Trophy (Intermediate)
1st Place: Donegal – Barry & Michael McMenamin, Carmel Gallinagh, Tony Carr;
2nd Place: Cavan – Josephine Brady, Kathleen Gibbons, Maria Geelan, Frances Daly;
3rd Place Meath – Nicola O’Dowd, Niamh Feeney, Linda Walsh, Sandra Peden
Our thanks to Tournament Director Diarmuid Reddan for ensuring the competitions ran smoothly. You will find the session and overall results here.
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| IBU Interprovincial Championships 2022 |
The IBU Interprovincial Championships were held over the weekend of 19/20 November 2022 in the Templeogue Bridge Centre, back live for the first time since 2019.
In the Open Section, a very strong Leinster team (Tom Hanlon, John Carroll, Peter Goodman, Nick FitzGibbon, Adam Mesbur, Terry Walsh, BJ O'Brien, Karel De Raeymaeker, Conor Boland, Marcin Rudzinski, Wojciech Gorcyzca, Tomás Roche, and PC Paul Delaney) had a very convincing trap-to-line victory.
The same province also had a comfortable win in the Area Master Section (Adrienne Purdy, Martin Purdy, Eimir Beirne, Eamon Martin Jnr, Sue Power, Colette Stokes, Elizabeth O'Reilly, Helen O'Reilly, Sean Galligan, Brid Galligan, Marie James, and Fiona O'Gorman with NPC Mary Breen).
The Intermediate Section was more closely contested, with Ulster (Geraldine McNamee, Michael McNamee, Christine Stewart, Judy Young, Eric Butterwick, Bill McCormick, Robert Caves, Diana Patterson, George Harper, John Forsythe, Veronica Fay, Felicity O'Brien) emerging victorious.
Well done to all the winners, and thanks to our TD crew of Fearghal O'Boyle, Mairead Basquille, and Martin Brady. You'll find the full results here.
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