OVERSEAS NEWS

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

Irish National Championship

Eugene Hughes beat Phil Martin to recapture the Irish Billiards
Championships at the Ivy Rooms, Carlow on Saturday 9th June. It
was the first time the Dunlaoghaire club owner had entered the

championship since he won back-
to-back titles in 1977 and 1978. In
the intervening years Hughes had
tried his luck as a professional
player, but has now let his
membership of the WBA lapse.
Having beaten his teacher and
mentor Victor O’Gorman in the
quarter-finals, he powered in four
breaks over fifty to outscore Aidan
Murray in the semi-final. In the
other half of the draw, Phil Martin
eventually overcame some stout
resistance by defending champion
Dick Brennan. The players were
locked together at 200 and 400
apiece, before Martin managed to
pull away, helped by runs of 57 and

62 to reach the 650 target first. Brennan, who has won the Irish title
three times, took some consolation by taking the event’s high break of
153, made in his quarter-final match against Brendan Devlin.

In the final Hughes established a lead of 200 at the interval, reflecting
his superior scoring power and highlighted by runs of 79 and 98. An
enthusiastic crowd, including four times former champion, 72 year old
Larry Codd, cheered Hughes to victory.

“I thought all this was behind me”, laughed Hughes, who has concentrated
most of his career on snooker. “I really enjoyed playing here, but if
anything, the tables were just too good for billiards, so I found it a bit
hard to control the balls and score as I’d have liked.”