The hotly-contested annual showdown among estate agents and property industry players took place in Donnybrook Lawn Tennis Club last week. Now in its 28th season, the annual Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI)/Irish Times tennis tournament is one of the most keenly anticipated sporting occasions on the property calendar.
In the warm early autumn sunshine this year's event proved sweeter than most as The Irish Times didn't allow its co-sponsorship of the event to dull its competitive edge, and it emerged triumphant in the final over staunch opposition from Hooke & MacDonald.
Clearly a return to form from injury by The Irish Times's secret on-court weapon Lincoln Nelson helped deliver it to the winner's enclosure for the first time in several years. Lincoln's torpedo serve is by now the stuff of legend and surfaces annually as a bitter talking point among the many aficionados of the event.
In its second year running at the Donnybrook venue under the expert eye of the club’s professional tennis coach, Jimmy McDonagh, the group stage saw off some strong teams – including last year’s winner CBRE – earlier than planned.
The semi-finalists out of the group stages included MFO The Property Professionals and People Source. In the first semi-final, Hooke & MacDonald, captained by David Cantwell, defeated MFO The Property Professionals led by Marcus O'Connor, while Avril Clare and the People Source team were defeated by The Irish Times.
Hooke & MacDonald's team comprised captain David Cantwell, Conor Steen, Maeve Cantwell and Vonny Kelly. The Irish Times team comprised Lincoln Nelson, Martin Murphy, Kate Cafferky and Fiona Flood.
The industry was well represented in the large number of entries this year, which included teams from Lisney, Savills, Hunters, the Law Society, Sherry FitzGerald, Cushman & Wakefield, CBRE, Wyse, Knight Frank and Independent Valuations.
