Category Archives: Players

John Moles 1949-2015

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Sean Coffey

I was very sorry to hear of the sudden death of John Moles, one of the most talented players Ireland has ever produced, on October 4. He was twice Irish champion and played in two Olympiads, and wrote an outstanding … Continue reading →

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From Irish champion to polar adventurer

Posted on October 29, 2015 by David McAlister

The format for the 1989 renewal of the Irish Championship provoked a bit of controversy at the time. The Irish Chess Union abandoned the usual formula of one-game a day over 9 rounds and compressed the Championship into 5 days. … Continue reading →

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Samuel Beckett, once removed

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Sean Coffey

Oliver Dunne asks the exact question I had been wondering about myself: is it possible that any of Beckett’s games survive? So far I have not found any. But I did find what may be the next best thing: a … Continue reading →

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Samuel Beckett, contd.

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Sean Coffey

In Samuel Beckett and the Armstrong Cup, I thought I had made an original discovery of Samuel Beckett’s career as a chess player, as chess players would understand the term, in the form of an Armstrong Cup scorecard from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Armstrong Cup, Players, Tournaments | 2 Comments

Who did Dake play?

Posted on January 26, 2015 by David McAlister

In the comments to “The trials of Aibhistín de Búrca” Paul Brown raises the issue of which player played A. Dake at Warsaw (de Burca or Cranston). At IRLchess we have plumped for de Búrca. De Búrca, in his 1960 … Continue reading →

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The trials of Aibhistín de Búrca

Posted on December 28, 2014 by David McAlister

At the Annual General Meeting of the Irish Chess Union on the 13th March 1935 the feasibility of sending a team to the International Team Tournament to be held in Warsaw in the second half of August was discussed. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Players | 3 Comments

Myles na gCopaleen

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Sean Coffey

The last post mentioned that Gerry O’Nolan, member of Dublin C.C. for fifty years, was a brother of the journalist/author Brian O’Nolan, better known as Myles na gCopaleen or Flann O’Brien. As Flann O’Brien he wrote several celebrated novels: At … Continue reading →

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Gerry O’Nolan

Posted on August 30, 2014 by Sean Coffey

The ICU web site has a recent post discussing the history of Dublin C.C.. The major work on this is of course the outstanding history compiled by Dr. A. A. Luce around 1967, at the time of the club’s centenary. … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Players | 2 Comments

An Armstrong Cup record?

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Sean Coffey

In the last post I mentioned that the 1984-85 season has been up to now one of the most mysterious of all Armstrong seasons. David McAlister’s full roll of honour at irishchesshistory.com contains only the name of Dundrum as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Armstrong Cup, Players | 4 Comments

Ivan Gormally c. 1962-2013

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Sean Coffey

Early this year I heard the sad news of the very untimely passing of Ivan Gormally. He was a clubmate of mine from our very earliest days at Dundrum C.C. and would have been a couple of years older than … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Players | 2 Comments