Ella O’Connor from Dublin is 19 years old and our number one ranked U/21 ladies player. The SBI started its First Ladies tour season in September 2025 and will come to a season end on the 31st of May with the inaugural Irish ladies National championship.
Ella is also a pool player, what attracted Ella to play snooker was the top class facilities in Carlow, the professional tables, lights and conditions but most of all it was to be part of the first wave of ladies who along with the SBI’s Dylan Rees and Tommy O’Donoghue who will bring the female game of snooker to the next level.
Ella is certainly in the learning stage of her snooker career but with the help of designated Ladies National coach Cathal Moore she is in no doubt that she will improve over time and looks forward to the day she wins her first ranking event in Ireland.
Ella is one of four female players who this year will represent Ireland for the first time at the home Internationals in Leeds. If that wasn’t good enough of Ella can hold onto her 4th place ranking at the end of the month, she will be going to Sofia as part of the European ladies team that will compete in the European championships singles and teams event.
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Ella is currently in China representing Ireland in the women’s World Championships and knows that this is only the start of seeing the world through snooker and the SBI. Along with fellow players like Michelle Sherwin, Tanya O’Neil, Sandra Bryan, Margaret O’Driscoll, Paula Judge, Aisling Cawley and Cathy Hunt the female game in Ireland with the SBI is going one way, through the roof !!! The SBI are the National Governing body of snooker and Billiards in Ireland and are the only cue sport organisation that receives funding from Sport Ireland.
We spoke with Dylan Rees and Tommy O’Donoghue about the ladies game in Ireland and it was all positive. Tommy, chairperson and ladies snooker lead said, female sports around the world are thriving not only at a professional level but at amateur level too. Sport Ireland and the SBI are committed to supporting female players achieve their dreams through snooker and to promote snooker and billiards as a sport that offers so much to females of all ages who are looking for a non physical sport that isn’t weather dependant and can offer a competitive edge and opportunities to see the world through sport.
Dylan, Vice chairperson, disability lead and diversity and inclusion lead said, this is only the start, we have planted the seeds this year and have been blown away by our current crop of players who have played on the tour this year. We support our female players in everything we do. They are part of all discussions and plans.
We brought the second biggest women’s snooker event in the world to Carlow last November, with the top players from all over the world playing in the U21, Masters and senior women’s championships. All our female players were supported through our “women in Sport” grant from Sport Ireland The experience had by our players was amazing with over 200,000 watching the live streamed final between China’s Bai Lulu and Thailand’s Mink Nutcharut. We had Paula Judge in the Masters final which was also live streamed from Carlow with 64,000 watching live around the world.
The SBI is looking for females of all ages to come and experience the game of snooker and billiards. The under 21 tour will start next September and we want to grow our current women’s tour also. We would love to see young girls try the sport and everything is in place to achieve that, now all we need is the players. We offer free coaching with our National ladies coach, player starter packs and any help players need to play snooker will be forthcoming thanks to Sport Ireland and the Women in Sport grant.
The last word from the SBI is “Come join us and see the world through snooker”.
