By Fin Ruane The first time I watched any of the boys play at a ranking event venue was October 1990 when myself, Ken Doherty and a sizeable contingent from Ilford travelled up to see Stephen Murphy play John Parrott in their pre-televised match of that season’s Rothmans Grand Prix.[Read More…]
Irish Snooker
Fin’s Fables: The Professional Years
By Fin Ruane The year was 1990 and the number of registered professional snooker players stood at 128. The governing body WPBSA held all the strings and had the final say on who would and would not be allowed to join their exclusive club. Amateur snooker was thriving and every[Read More…]
Fin’s Fables: The London Years
By Fin Ruane England in 1988, and particularly in London, was a hotbed of snooker, some of the world’s finest snooker talent converged there to improve and fine tune their skills. Ilford and Barking Snooker Clubs in Essex were just two of the many gathering points for a new breed[Read More…]
Fin’s Fables: The Beginning
By Fin Ruane My first memory of being around snooker was the World Amateur Championship in Dublin in 1974. I was five years of age and my dad who was chairman of RIBSA at the time brought me to a match. To say I was captivated by the game is[Read More…]
Muldoon Wraps up Season with Irish Championship
Vincent Muldoon claimed his third Irish Senior National Championship on Sunday after a comprehensive 10-5 triumph over Martin McCrudden in Letterkenny. In doing so, the Galway potter equals the record of most Irish Championships, joining his final opponent McCrudden and Davy Morris on a hat-trick of victories. The first four[Read More…]
Irish Scene: Delaney Beats Redmond in Navan
Joe Delaney jumped up to second in the Irish rankings after winning the seventh Senior ranking event of the season in Navan. Delaney put the disappointment of being dumped out of the World Championship qualifying in the early rounds well and truly behind him with a 5-3 victory over Robert[Read More…]
Ireland Lose Main Tour Nomination
The provisional qualifying criteria for the professional Main Tour places for next season was announced yesterday with changes that could lead to great damage to the Irish scene. For years, the top prize for finishing top of the Irish Senior rankings as an amateur was a ticket onto the pro[Read More…]
Irish Scene: Goggins Beats O’Donoghue in Carlow
Rodney Goggins extended his lead at the top of the Irish rankings after a 5-1 victory over nearest challenger Brendan O’Donoghue in the sixth Senior ranking event of the season in Carlow. Wexford’s Goggins won the opening title back in October and has never failed to reach at least the[Read More…]
Irish Scene: O’Donoghue On Course for Number 1
Brendan O’Donoghue beat Joe Delaney 5-2 to claim the fifth ranking event of the Irish Senior campaign yesterday in Celbridge. The Nenagh player impressively surrendered only three frames in his last three matches for his second success this season and puts him to within touching distance of top place in[Read More…]
Irish Scene: Muldoon Wins Again
Vincent Muldoon came through two deciding frame thrillers to claim back-to-back titles at the fourth ranking event in the Irish Senior Championship in Carlow. The Galway man launched himself into contention at the top of the Irish standings with victory in the third ranking tournament before Christmas and has narrowed[Read More…]