THE CRUCIBLE SNOOKER CLUB wiped away the disappointment of losing the Cork Snooker League final by winning the prestigious Orme Shield last weekend ( March 26th/27th 2011) in their first outright team victory which was well overdue.

The last major Cork snooker event of the year was played at Youghal CYMS last weekend where the famous Orme Shield was played out for the first time in over a decade.

Youghal CYMS the holders of the Orme Shield which they won in the 147 Club in Blackpool have held the famous trophy on their wall ever since, due to the fact that it hadn’t been played for since.

The re-introduction of the tournament coincides with the new found appetite for the game in Cork City and County on the year the Cork Snooker League resumed, so the standard was high, the facilities and the atmosphere superb it was a feast of great snooker in this three person team event.

The action started last Saturday morning where Douglas 1 beat Youghal 4, the AOH 1 side beat their club mates the AOH 2, Youghal 1 beat Douglas 3, Shooters 1 beat Crucible 3, Youghal 3 beat Youghal 5 and Crucible 1 beat Youghal 2, Shooters 2 and Douglas 2 got walkovers from Crucible 2 and Fermoy into the quarter finals.

The quarter finals were played Saturday morning and victories for AOH 1, Youghal 1, Shooters 1 and the Crucible 1, meant that the top four sides in Cork would meet in the semi finals.

Youghal CYMS played the AOH at 1pm last Sunday and it was a game that went on for quite a bit, eventually the home side came out on top, with wins for Adrian Landers and Derek Aherne over Timmy Murphy and Llyod Myers respectively, with Brendan Cooney of Youghal and Shane O’Mahony locked at one frame each.

The Crucible saw off Shooters in the other semi final extracting some revenge for the league defeat to the Blackpool based club in the Cork Snooker League final a few weeks ago, setting up a mouth watering final.

The final was to prove to be a classic as the Crucibles David Cassidy sunk the black ball to defeat Adrian Landers 3-2, Ryan Cronin won his match 3-1 against Youghal’s Derek Aherne and Greg Casey was 2- 1 up against Brendan Cooney.

Greg Casey told Evening Echo Sport “This is a huge win for us and it’s the first team event we have won and believe you me not many sides could come to Youghal CYMS and beat them in their own club, because they are a very good and experienced team and we are thrilled to win the Orme Shield. The facilities here in Youghal are first class, the tables were excellent and it’s not even like leaving home, because you are treated so well and looked after brilliantly. It’s great to see snooker back in Cork and the re-introduction of the Cork Snooker League, because it has everyone playing competitive snooker all the time which is great for the game and when you add in Killarney along with the Cork Close, snooker is buzzing in Cork and it will only get better”

Casey along with David Cassidy will be travelling to Malta this coming Friday to compete in the first ever ‘European under 21 Snooker Championships’ and with players like Vincent Muldoon from Galway and Jason Devaney from Ballina in Co. Mayo the Republic of Ireland snooker team looks very healthy indeed.

The senior and masters international teams flew out from Dublin Airport at 7am this morning to Malta as their competitions in the European Championships begin tomorrow morning.

The compliments were flying around the rooms of the Youghal CYMS last weekend and rightly so as everything was in perfect order throughout and there is no better venue for a tournament like the Orme Shield than Youghal CYMS, it has a special atmosphere that just reeks of snooker and all of which is good in the game.

Youghal CYMS President Brendan Cooney said “It was a great weekend and I want to thank everyone that came and played or watched over the two days, I would like to thank the Cork Billiards and Snooker Association to let us in Youghal CYMS host the event and I want to pay a special thanks to the referee’s over the weekend and of course I want to congratulate the Crucible Snooker Club on their victory, they are a super bunch of lads and well done to them”.

In Billiards news there is talk that there will be a Cork Billiards tournament organised soon. Billiards is a fantastic game, especially for snooker players,it’s a game of extreme skill and crucial positional play, so it will be good to see the plain and spot on the green baize in Cork again soon.

 

Orme Shield Results

Saturday the 26th of March

Round 1

Douglas 1  bt Youghal CYMS 4

AOH 1   bt AOH 2

Youghal CYMS 1 bt Douglas 3

Shooters 1  bt Crucible 3

Youghal CYMS 3 bt Youghal CYMS 5

Crucible 1  bt Youghal CYMS 2

Shooters 2 and Douglas 2 were awarded walkovers.

Quarter Final

AOH 1   bt Douglas 1

Youghal CYMS 1 bt Shooters 2

Shooters 1  bt Douglas 2

Crucible 1  bt Youghal CYMS 3

Sunday the 27th of March

Semi Final

Youghal CYMS 1 bt AOH 1

Crucible 1  bt Shooters 1

Final

The Crucible   bt Youghal CYMS 1

SHOOTERS Snooker Club are the 2011 Cork Snooker League champions after a stunning performance at the AOH last Thursday night (10th March 2011) where they defeated the Crucible Snooker Club, by thirteen frames to six frames in the best of 25 frames league final.

At one stage the team from Blackpool were an astonishing seven frames ahead after just nine frames played and with the experienced players like Anthony O’Connor and Gary O’Sullivan in top form, it was easy to see where the cup was heading after just one hour of play.

There was a huge attendance present for the final on Morrison’s Island at the famous AOH Club and the tables were in magnificent condition due to the excellent work of Finbarr O’Connor and the atmosphere was really superb too, which all added to the occasion.

One spectator present said “It reminds me of the late 70’s and the early 80’s when snooker was huge in Cork and you couldn’t get in the doors of many of the clubs on finals night, it is great to see that atmosphere back again”.

The final couldn’t have started any better for Shooters with Gary O’Sullivan establishing an early two frame lead against Greg Casey.

O’Sullivan has played very well all year for Shooters and looks a certainty for the Cork Inter-County Snooker Team who will play in National Inter-County Championships this April.

Alongside O’Sullivan was Anthony O’Donoghue who had a re-match of the Cork Close Final taking on the Crucibles David Cassidy who he beat on that occasion in his home club Shooters earlier this year and again the former 147 man was on top leading by two frames to nil after just 35 minutes of play.

Ryan Cronin of the Crucible got an early frame for the favourites, but the lead was short lived as Shooters Gary Bracken rattled off three frames in succession to lead 3-1 on what is definitely the AOH’s toughest table.

Things got tougher for the Crucible when O’Donoghue and O’Sullivan clinched another frame each and the target of 13 frames for victory was getting closer and closer for the Blackpool outfit.

Everyone was expecting the usual Crucible fight back, but all credit to Shooters they battled for every point and didn’t give an inch.

Ryan Cronin, Casey and Cassidy then all clinched a frame each for the Crucible and Shooters nerve was tested, but when O’Donoghue and O’Sullivan closed out their matches with winning frames the writing was on the wall for the Bandon Road men.

 

David Forde of Shooters was locked at one frame all with Daniel O’Regan, leaving the Crucible the almost impossible task of having to win all their remaining frames to claim victory and when on table two Tommy Greaney of Shooters who played against Tony Moore of the Crucible doubled the blue into the corner pocket to secure the all important winning thirteenth frame, he had the final say in this year’s league,.

Ironically for the Crucible, Shooters served the Crucible a rare league defeat on the opening day of the Cork Snooker League, back on the 7th of October 2010 and then last night again they had it over their City rivals on the last competitive game of the season.

Shooters owner John Paul Crowley told the Evening Echo “It is great to see Cork Snooker back after such a long absence and I think that little bit more experience our lads had paid off tonight. After 30 years of being involved in snooker myself I think it was the best night of snooker for quite some time and the standard in Cork is getting higher every week and when you look at the Crucible they are a fantastic side, full of young International talent and to beat them was a great achievement for my team. Tonight reminded me of the great nights that the late Liam O’Connor put on in Cork and with so many young people now playing the game again it is great for the future of Cork Snooker and I am thrilled and proud that our club has won the league in our first year”.

Shooters now hold the two top titles in Cork Snooker with the league title secured and Anthony O’Connor’s ‘Cork Close’ success before Christmas. Now the Blackpool side look like they will be entering a second side into next year’s league along with the ‘Cue Club’ from Killarney who want to be part of the re-emergence of Snooker in the City and County of Cork.

Cork Snooker League Secretary Tim Murphy told the Evening Echo “I must give tremendous thanks to all the players in our league this season and as far as I am concerned, in my 58 years involved in the game this was one of the best final’s I have ever seen. I want to thank the AOH who made their club available to us and compliment the condition of the tables”.

The next event on the Cork Snooker calendar is the very highly respected ‘Orme Shield’ three person team event, which will be held over two days at Youghal CYMS on the 26th and the 27th of March. The closing date for the number of team nominations is the 15th of March and no teams will be accepted after this date.

The entry fee for the Orme Shield is just €20 paid on entry and teams of three, plus one substitute must be named by the 23rd of March.

Next week on Cork Snooker we catch up with Cork’s two Irish Internationals heading for Malta and the International Team Manager and International referee from Cork Don O’Donoghue.

The Inaugural Noel Dempsey Memorial Snooker Tournament 2010 took place at the Youghal Catholic Young Men’s Society, St. Mary’s Branch premises at Market Sq. Youghal last Friday night 23^th April. The snooker tournament was to honour one of the society’s most respected members, Noel Dempsey.
Report: Kieran McCarthy | Photo: Christopher Hennessy Jnr.  www.youghalonline.com/Sports

The large number of players for this tournament reflected the high esteem that the members of the society still have for the late Noel Dempsey. The tournament itself was run as smooth as the tables were ironed and great credit must go to the President of the society, Mr. Brendan Cooney, in organising the event, as well as the caretakers for preparing the tables which were spotless. The scorekeeper, Hon. Vice President, Mr. Frank Irwin, who was also a personal friend of Noel’s, made sure everything was kept to order and did a fine job.

The beautiful prize was a bronze cast of a fishing boat, a currach with three fisherman, which was presented to the society by Noel’s sister Maura as a perpetual trophy to honour Noel as she knew the society was a major part of his life.

The winner of the tournament, Michael Hussey, said he was “Delighted and proud to win the inaugural tournament and felt like the great Steve Davis on his recent comeback at the World Snooker Championships!” His opponents to reach the final were Martin Hennessy, followed by Tommy Smith and Paul Hennessy with all frames going to a black ball finish. This led to an exciting final with fellow Sars man John Flaherty which also led to an exciting black ball finish in favour of the worthy winner.

Speaking at the presentation of prizes, the President of the society, Mr. Brendan Cooney, thanked all who took part and spoke at length of the legacy that Noel had on the society and to himself personally and to his friends here tonight, especially Frank Irwin who was a close friend of Noel.

Mr. Cooney said that “Noel Dempsey was a member of The Youghal Catholic Young Men’s Society, St. Mary’s Branch for over 50 years. He served as an officer and committee member and at the time of his passing he was Honorary Vice President of the society. He represented the Youghal CYMS in the snooker and billiards arenas of Munster and was one of the finest exponents of these games the society has had over the years and he was proud and privileged to have know him.”

He then congratulated and presented the trophy to the winner, Michael Hussey and runner-up John Flaherty and thanked all who took part in the inaugural tournament.

World snooker champion John Higgins to play in Youghal this Saturday 13th February 2010

Tickets for World Champion John Higgins are now on sale in the club or contact any committee member, tickets €20 euro and only a limited number of tickets are available.
Doors open at 6.45pm  Play begins at 7.30pm  9 frames to be played in total
DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!

Youghal CYMS Snooker Club have pulled –or should it be  ‘potted?’- a coup by luring World Champion John Higgins to their Market Square headquarters this Saturday 13th Feb. 2010. The champ will play nine exhibition games against a local selection, plus one doubles game with three junior players, on March 13th. By Christy Parker

It will be the first time a reigning world champion will have graced the venue although the man known as “The Kid” or alternatively “The Wizard of Wishaw,” will be chalking his cue in the wake of some illustrious predecessors. The previous seven years of the club’s annual exhibition nights have seen Ken Doherty (four times), Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis and Jimmy White pot the colours. However, to attract a reigning world champion in any sport merits the highest of praise. Unsurprisingly, “there is a brilliant buzz about the place at the prospect of him being here,” reports PRO Ray Phelan.

The 35 year-old Scot and Celtic fanatic turned pro in 1992 and in the 1994/95 season became the first teenager to win three ranking events in a season, earning £283,970 in the process. In 1997/98 he won his first of three World Championships, during which he became the first player to make three consecutive century breaks in a World Championship match. He subsequently won the 1998 UK Championship, the 1999 Benson & Hedges Masters and the 1999 Charity Challenge, amongst other notable titles.

His career record is 30 wins in 55 finals and he has compiled over 400 competitive centuries to date, including five 147 breaks.

In the 2005 Grand Prix final versus Ronnie O’Sullivan, ‘The Kid’ became the first player to compile four consecutive century breaks in a major tournament. Two years later he won his second World Championship and also regained the number one ranking that he first held in 1998. He won another World trophy in 2009.

Currently rated the world’s No. 4, Higgins is one of only five players to win both the World Championship and the UK Championship in the same year. Only he, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry have held the World, UK and Masters titles simultaneously.

Facing the star in Youghal will be Brendan Cooney, Adrian Landers, Derek Ahern, Ger Kelly, Aaron Tobin, William Kelly, Trevor Flaherty and Brendan Cooney’s son Christopher. The single game doubles will involve junior players Killian McCarthy, Aiden O’Neill and Lee Walshe, one of whom will assist the champ

Ticket are now on sale @ €20 from the CYMS or committee members. Starts 7.30 sharp.

Tickets for World Champion John Higgins are now on sale in the club or contact any committee member, tickets €20 euro and only a limited number of tickets are available.

Doors open at 6.45pm  Play begins at 7.30pm  9 frames to be played in total
Youghal CYMS Snooker Club
Presents
Reigning World Snooker Champion John Higgins
Date: Saturday March 13th at 7.30pm

Congratulations to Eamon Walsh and his son Lee from Woodview Court, Youghal, who correctly answered Jimmy’s nickname ‘Whirlwind’ in the competition for two tickets to see the snooker star Jimmy White play at Youghal CYMS this Sunday night March 15th at 7pm.

Jimmy will be playing the best of the CYMS players both senior and junior in what is going to be a fantastic display of magic on the green baize. Previous snooker legends to grace the landmark CYMS premises at Market Sq. Youghal were World Snooker Champions Ken Doherty, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry so this is another great achievement by the hardworking committee of the Youghal CYMS in bring world class sporting stars to the town. Further information and tickets (price €20) please phone 0863386321

Win 2 free tickets to see Snooker Star Jimmy White playing live at the Youghal CYMS this Sunday 15th March. Jimmy will be playing exhibition matches against the cream of the Youghal CYMS Senior and Junior snooker players starting at 7pm.

The event will be recorded and a DVD of the snooker exhibition will be available of this fantastic show the following week. All you have to do is name Jimmy’s NICKNAME?  E-mail your answer to news@youghalonline.com The competition is free and there are no charges. Either of Jimmy’s two nicknames will be accepted. The winning tickets may be collected at the door on the night so please leave a contact number. The competition closes at 4pm Saturday 14th March ’09 so get your entries in fast! The winner will be announced at the Youghal CYMS premises, Market Sq, Youghal this Sat. at 5pm. The lucky winner will be posted on this site immediately afterwards.  Best of luck to all the entries!
Jimmy White. Nicknamed the “Whirlwind” (and occasionally the “People’s Champion”), White is a multiple World Snooker Championship finalist. He has been a professional since 1980, the year in which he won the World Amateur title. Read more