Category Archives: Players

Irish championship players

The lists of Irish championship players have been updated to reflect the 2023 championship, and to correct some errors and add details. Four players made their débuts in 2023, taking the total to 580 players in all, including 566 men … Continue reading

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Thomas Bewley 1926-2022

Thomas Bewley, who died aged 95 last June, was a highly distinguished psychiatrist who had a major impact on the treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction, as noted by extensive obituaries in the Irish Times, Guardian, Telegraph, and Times, amongst … Continue reading

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Irish championship players

The lists of Irish championship players have been updated to reflect the 2022 championship, and to correct some errors and add details. Five players made their débuts in 2022, taking the total to 575 players in all, including 561 men … Continue reading

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W. Desmond Taylor 1941-2022

I was sorry to hear of the death of one of Ireland’s most distinguished correspondence players, Desmond Taylor, in August, aged 80. He earned the correspondence chess International Master title in 1998 and the correspondence chess Senior International Master title … Continue reading

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Michael Basman 1946-2022

I was sorry to hear the news that Michael Basman, ‘by a very long way, the most creative chess player of his generation’ (William Hartston), has died. He tied for first in the 1973 British championship, though lost the playoff … Continue reading

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The internment of John O’Hanlon

On June 10, 1922, one hundred years ago today, John O’Hanlon, Irish champion since 1913, was arrested in Portadown. A report appeared in the Belfast News-Letter the following Monday (page 5): ARRESTS IN PORTADOWN In the early hours of Saturday … Continue reading

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Gibson – Doyle, Leinster Championship 1980

Among the many tributes that poured in for John Gibson was one at the Irish Go Association web site, which features a very nice recent photo: The photo’s metadata indicates that it was taken on February 29, 2020. The last … Continue reading

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John Gibson 1948-2022

I was very sorry indeed to hear of the passing of John Gibson, announced on RIP.ie and the ICU web site. I saw him in September, when he seemed in excellent form in all ways. He was interesting and entertaining, … Continue reading

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M. McMahon – D. O’Sullivan, Armstrong Cup 1956

The recent report on the Glorney Cup 1956 here mentioned that Michael and John McMahon were the first pair of brothers ever to play for the same Glorney Cup team, and that both played for Kevin Barry C.C.. J. J. … Continue reading

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Goetzee – J. McMahon, Heidenfeld Trophy 2016-17

John McMahon’s biography on the Players page here mentions his long association with the Leinster leagues: in the Armstrong Cup with Kevin Barry from 1956-76, and in the Heidenfeld Trophy with Lucan from 2005 onwards. Here is one of his … Continue reading

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