David Hanna Jnr Memorial Championship
The Snooker Torunament that every Donegal player wants to win is now in full swing and most of the remaining players are at the last 16 stage, with a few already advanced to the quarter-finals. Up until the last sixteens there were no shock results to report, but this was to change last Thursday night.
Upset number one came when Anthony Bonnar, Donegal number two seed, was knocked out by Donegal Town’s Charlie Murphy. Anthony’s fire-power and experience were expected to carry him through but Charlie is no novice himself and two breaks over fifty helped him to claim an impressive win 3-1.
The second blip on the form book came when Donegal Town’s unhearalded Jason Patterson claimed the scalp of the number four seed Phelim McClafferty from the CYMS. This win came with the help of 45 and 54 breaks and Jason must now be regarded as a likely challenger for the title.
The first player to justify his seeding was John Connors, pre-tournament favourite. John, with the aid of 55, 70 and 46 breaks, disposed of his North West club mate Gerry McKeever by three frames to nil.
John’s next opponent will be the CYMS’s Chris Gibbons who beat Paul Murray of Ramelton 30. With two of the best break builders in the county coming together this must be the pick of the matches in the quarter-finals.
Another player to merit his ranking, but only just, was North West’s Joe Devine the number three seed. He beat the CYMS player Mickey Duffy by three frames to two but Mickey was unlucky to miss a tough blue with the pink on in the last frame. Joe is now the highest ranked player in the bottom half of the draw after the demise of Anthony Bonnar. The remaining last sixteen games put Donegal Town’s James Gallagher against the North West stalwart Bernard McGuinness and the North West youth Garath Boyle against Jason Patterson from Donegal Town. CYMS player Adrian McFadden will take on North West’s Pat Bonnar and finally a local derby with North West players Brian McAleer and Paul Doherty going head to head.
It is intended to have the semi-finals completed by Friday night and the North West Club will host the final on Friday the 12th of May at 8pm. All are welcome to come and watch the final where refreshments will be provided.
We would like to thank our sponsors Hanna Hats Donegal Town whose family have been involved in the Donegal Championship for 25 years now. Also our thanks to Bonnar Engineering who have also been generous to the tournament for many years. Our thanks also to McEwen Expert Electric for their support and to Gerry’s Barbers who sponsored the high break this year.
Any queries about matches can be made to the North West snooker club on 9121384 or to tournament organiser Geery McKeever on 9127253 or 9127022
Four Masters Notes
Membership @ €30 per adult is now due and should be paid to Paul Timoney or Deirdre Dillon not later than May 31st 2006. Please note that there is a €5 charge for non-members in 2006 for every match ticket purchased through the club for Ulster and All Ireland Championship matches involving Donegal.
This charge will apply for the Donegal/Down match in Mac Cumhaill Park on June 4th in the Ulster Championship. Tickets are limited and will be issued to members in the first instance and non-members thereafter on a first-come first-served basis.
The €50 winners in the final Annual Lotto draw for 2005/2006 on Monday May 1st were Aaron Pearson, Driminin and Damien Timoney, Castle Street. The draw for fully paid-up members also took place and the winners were as follows: €1,000 - Bernie O’ Doherty, €500 - Irene Pearson, €500 - Mary Mc Hugh, €250 - Joe O’ Grady, €250 - Fergal McAllister, €100 - Anne Colhoun, €100 - P & E Gavigan, €100 - Richard Nesbitt, €100 - Gabriel O’ Donnell, €100 - Martin McGowan. Any person interested in joining the 2006/2007 Annual Lotto should contact Paul Timoney (087) 2791305 or any committee member as soon as possible.
The club has organised a two-hour Child Awareness Information Night for next Monday evening May 15th from 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. in Dom’s Pier 1. Anyone interested in attending should contact Paddy Muldoon (087) 9213299 immediately as there are some places still available. An executive meeting of the club will take place next Monday night May 15th at 9.30 p.m. in the Abbey Hotel.
SMS Text Alert Service: Any fully paid-up adult member of the club who has not been receiving text messages from our new SMS Text Alert Service in the last couple of weeks should contact Sean Dunnion Jnr. (087) 2300735 as soon as possible to ensure that their mobile number is included in the system. This service alerts members on a regular basis to local club events taking place, match fixtures, notice of meetings and general items of interest.
The club would encourage members and their families to support the Donegal Action for Cancer Care ‘Awareness Rally’ in Letterkenny this Sunday at 2pm.
40 GAA clubs in the county can avail of training in using a defibrillator. There will be 10 courses a year for three years to get 3 members of each club trained in use of the life-saving equipment. Pictured at a training session last Thursday in the Abbey was tutor Terry Thompson overseeing Kevin Lowther giving first aid. Seated Front: Paul Thompson, Margaret McNicholas, Claire McMenamin, Michelle Bennett, Martin Regan. Back: Tommy Brennan, Declan Bushell, Eunan McGlinchey, Sean McKenna and Jody McGroarty Pic: Jason McGarrigle