Bridge notes: Mayo father and son partnership wins pairs tournament at national championships

The inaugural national championships, for pairs and teams confined to players holding fewer than 100 national master points (regional and area masters), were contested at the weekend in Templeogue, Dublin.

Co Mayo father and son partnership, Niall and Ian Kilroy, won the pairs tournament in spectacular style when they came from the lower half of the field at the interval to take the title with an impressive final-session score. John Reilly and Mary Hickey, and Éamon Martin jnr and Pam Harrington finished second and third respectively having been third and fourth at halfway, while Donal O’Keeffe and John Flavin, second at halfway, were fourth. Thirty-four pairs competed.

The team title went to Co Longford when Joan Donnellan, Una Flynn, John Kiernan and Olive Kilbane asserted their superiority early and, despite a heavy loss in their last match, were convincing winners. Evgenia Gladysheva, Helen Friel, Peter Ryan and Liz Jennings came from a seemingly hopeless position at halfway and finished with four successive, big wins to secure second place but without troubling the winners.

Elizabeth and Helen O’Reilly and Seán and Bríd Galligan were third. Starting the last round, Máire O’Connor, Suzanne Hill, Willy Clingan and Helen Healy, who were in contention from the start, seemed destined to take second place but a last-match defeat saw them drop to fourth. Twenty teams competed.

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Michael and Marlene O’Connor, Margaret Forde and Liam Faherty won the Western Region team championship to qualify for the national finals in Loughrea in March.

Teams led by BJ O’Brien, Paul Porteous, Gay Keaveney and Peter Goodman will compete in trials today and tomorrow in Templeogue, following which Ireland’s side to contest the home international senior championship, in Stirling, Scotland, in May, will be selected. Joan Kenny and Teresa Rigney, members of the Porteous team, will be attempting to achieve triple representation as they have already been selected for the women’s home international series and also on the Irish women’s team for the European and World championships.

Anna Onishuk, Karel De Raeymaeker, Conor Boland and Kelan O’Connor will defend their national team title at Mount Wolseley, Tullow, Co Carlow, on Saturday and Sunday next when more than 100 teams will compete for the Homes Wilson trophy.

Foxrock Golf Club will host a bridge evening in aid of Women’s Refuge, Bray, on Friday next. Entry fee includes refreshments. Pre-entry required to Hilary McCutcheon 087-6780644.

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