Republic of Ireland won the Home Internationals for the first time since 2012 at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds on Monday.
The four-man team, comprising Michael Judge, TJ Dowling, Robert Murphy, and John Farrell, won all six of their encounters for a resounding success.
With victory, the Irish unit put to rest the disappointment suffered in each of the past four editions of the Home Internationals, when they had to settle for the runners-up position.
On this occasion, the triumph was barely in doubt as Ireland captured the crown for the fifth time.
The Home Internationals is an amateur tournament contested annually between teams predominantly from the British and Irish isles.
Ireland got off to the best possible start on Saturday with a pair of strong victories against the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, before beating Scotland 8-4 and hammering Guernsey 12-0 on Sunday.
Earlier today, the Irish quartet stunned Wales 9-3, in which Farrell compiled a terrific tournament-high break of 132, before sealing the league rout in style with a 7-5 glory against the old enemy England.
Farrell was indeed the star player in the Irish squad, winning a highly impressive 16 out of the 18 frames he contested.
With the maximum 12 points, Ireland finished well clear of Wales in second, who pipped England into third by a point.
The reigning champions Scotland languished in fourth with only three wins, ahead of Northern Ireland, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man.
The Irish team captain Murphy said: “Well done to the boys. Mick is my partner in crime from the European team, I’ve known TJ for 25 years and he’s a brilliant player. And well, Johnny’s my brother-in-law. ”
“We played brilliant and to be honest it’s a great win, our first win since 2012 so it’s great to be champions again.”
“I want to thank the Northern Snooker Centre for its great facilities. It’s one of the best clubs in the world.”
“I want to thank all the players from all the different countries and a big thank you to PJ (Nolan), who has been brilliant as our coach and manager here the last few days.”
In the Masters tournament, England A held off England B – the former’s 9-3 success against their countrymen proving the difference between the pair – while Republic of Ireland placed in sixth.
The week of snooker continues with the Under-21, Under-16, Ladies, and Billiards events set to take place until Friday.
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