The national women’s pairs championship (Jackson Cup), played in Clane, Co Kildare, on Saturday, developed into a battle between Northern Ireland internationals Mary Kelly-Rogers and Anne Fitzpatrick and Mairéad Haugh and Róisín De Jong before Kelly-Rogers and Fitzpatrick got on top only in the concluding rounds. Sandra Newell, Carol-Ann Cummins; Lucy Phelan, Louise Mitchell; Brenda Moran, Fionnuala Gill and Ann O’Connell, Valarie Burke-Moran all were prominent throughout without threatening the leaders and filled third to sixth places respectively.
The women’s team title (McMenamin Bowl) was decided on Sunday and retained by the holders Joan Kenny, Jeannie Fitzgerald, Teresa Rigney and Siobhán Part who had something to spare over Valerie Hand, Elva Gannon, Miriam McConville, and Marguerite English who snatched second with a good final round. Mary Lindopp, Gráinne Dunne, Ita Fahy, Marian Davenport were third; Phelan, Mitchell, O’Connell, Burke-Moran fourth; Bernie Lodewijks, Antoinette McGee, Bríd Kemple, Paula Heaphy fifth and Breda Kelly, Veronica O’Shaughnessy, Linda O’Riordan, Kay Clement sixth.
A remarkable 70.65 per cent first session gave Peter Goodman and overseas visitor Dan McIntosh a virtually unassailable lead in the men’s pairs (Revington Cup) which they won comfortably.
Tom Hanlon, Conor Boland and Liam Gaynor, David Redmond second and third respectively at half-way retained these positions to the end but never got close to the winners. Ian and Niall Kilroy were fourth, John Phelan, Diarmuid Reddan fifth and BJ O’Brien, Terry Walsh sixth.
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A Polish, Irish, Romanian quartet of Wojciech Gorczyca, Ronan McMaugh, Marcin Rudzinski and Claudiu Dima went through the men’s team competition (Geraldine trophy) undefeated, including victories over their nearest rivals, and won convincingly. Goodman, McIntosh, Mícheál and Pádraig Ó Briain were second; Hanlon, Boland, Mark Moran, John Carroll, third; Phelan, Reddan, Paul Porteous, Fred Barry, fourth; O’Brien, Walsh; Martin Jones, Gay Keaveney fifth; Kilroy and Kilroy; Bill O’Hanlon, Tony Ward sixth.
Trials to select Ireland’s open and women’s teams to contest the European championships in Denmark in June will take place from Friday to Sunday in Templeogue, Dublin.
Cork Congress will open at the Maryborough Hotel on Friday evening with mixed and novice pairs competitions followed by two-session pairs events on Saturday, starting at 1.30pm. The team tournament will begin at 11am on Sunday. Open pairs competitions will be held throughout. Entries: text Diarmuid at 086-8236618.
The open team competition for the O’Kennedy Cup will be played at Dún Laoghaire bridge club on Sunday.
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