In response to the recent post on North City and the Ennis Shield 1936-37, Philip Doyle has written to provide more information on two of the players, much more in the case of one of them.
“W. Breen” in the photo is the distinguished blind player Willie Breen, 1917-2001, who represented Ireland in the Blind Olympiads of 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1976.
The article Braille Chess: the Irish story, written and compiled by Philip Doyle, and hosted on the B.C.A.I. tab here, gives much more detail of his life and career, incorporating much information from Willie himself. Here are some excerpts; there is much more in the full article:
“By the mid ‘thirties both Joe Barret and Willie Breen were members of the North City Chess Club which was based at 14 Mountjoy Square, in Dublin. With the outbreak of war however, this Club was forced to disband due to the departure of many of its members who went to work in Britain or Northern Ireland.
With the ending of hostilities the Club was reformed at a new address. It was renamed the Kevin Barry Chess Club and it frequently had blind players as members until its demise in 1992.”
”Willie Breen was born in Dublin on March the 10th 1917. He was one of a family of twelve, eight girls and four boys. Willie was only three years of age when he contracted Trachoma, a very serious eye complaint. Much of the next six or seven years was spent in the Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin, in an effort to save some of his rapidly failing vision, but alas, to little or no avail.”
”In 1952 Willie had a very serious car accident in which he was extremely lucky to survive. Having made a complete recovery, he married two years later, but bringing a lull in his over-the-board Chess until 1960 when the O’Hanlon Chess Club for the Blind was founded. Willie applied himself with renewed enthusiasm, playing Board 1 for the Club, where he acquitted himself with remarkable distinction. Willie also represented Ireland in four Chess Olympiads for the Blind.”
“J. Barrett” is the partially sighted Joe Barrett, who, as noted above, also later joined Kevin Barry C.C., but about whom not much more information is available
Many thanks to Philip for the information.