Joe Doheny wins Timmy Murphy Memorial Title
The Timmy Murphy Memorial Cup was held yesterday, 29th November, at the Ivy Rooms. There was a great turnout for this inaugural event to remember this great man of billiards.
Timmy’s wife, Phyllis, along with all his family were on hand to present the magnificant cup, sponsored by A.O.H., to Joe Doheny from Borris-in-Ossary the eventual winner.
The Inaugural Timmy Murphy Memorial handicap tournament was played at Carlow on Sunday, 29th of November 2015. After a day’s play, which saw many interesting games and several surprise results, the trophy went to Joe Doheny (Borris-in-Ossory), a fitting reward for the consistently high standard of play he showed throughout the day.
Play started at 11.15am, all rounds being 1 hour, handicapped and the Final over 90 minutes. In the opening preliminary round Aonghus McAnally bowed out at the hands of Borris-in-Ossory player Liam O’Brien while Phil Martin (Celbridge) suffered a similar, unexpected fate at the hands of clubmate and regular practise partner Brendan Devlin.
The semi finalists in the top half of the draw were Liam Byrne (Edenderry) and Jason Dowling (Rathkeale), Jason, having claimed last season’s Pat O’Sullivan Handicap Memorial Title and no doubt attempting to take the Handicap double for 2015. Liam progressed to the semi final with good wins in the preliminary stages against Anthony O’Flaherty (Rathkeale) and Borris player Liam O’Brien, While Jason took two closely contested games against Larry Drennan (Kilkenny) and Dara Martin (Celbridge), Dara in turn having played well against Sonny Stack (AOH Cork) in the pre-quarter stage. In the semi final, Liam, who had been playing well all day, stepped up his game even further to claim his place in the final, relatively unchallenged by Jason.
The semi finalists in the bottom half of the draw were current double National Champion Wayne Doyle (Q Club, Wicklow) and eventual winner Joe Doheny (Borris-in-Ossory). Wayne, playing like a champion, with breaks in the 80s won his opening round match against Donnacha Breathnach (AOH Cork) but had a tougher time in his quarter final against Lloyd Myers (also AOH Cork), Lloyd in turn having survived a close pre-quarters game against John Kehoe (Enniscorthy). Joe progressed to the semi final with decisive wins over Robert McCrum (Portmarnock) and Finbar O’Connor (AOH Cork), Finbar showing that he was an accomplished player in taking out ex double National Champion Rodney Goggins (Wexford) in the most closely contested match of the day. In the semi final, Joe continued to play well, scoring well at each visit while. Wayne on the other hand, struggled to overcome a loss of form, working hard to bring the balls into scoring position and having done so, found himself faltering time and time again on the simplest of shots, leaving Joe to take his place, relatively unchallenged, in the final.
The Final turned out to be an enthralling game, both players alternating between good scoring play and nervous scoreless visits, punctuated by more than a few hard-luck shots. From the start, it was a matter of whether Joe would overcome the handicap difference or if Liam could score well enough to keep ahead. Joe lost no time in tackling the deficit and 30 minutes into the game had caught and passed Liam and looked like he could easily take the game. Liam however, responded and for the next 40 minutes or so matched scores and alternated in the lead with Joe until, with 20 minutes left on the clock, Joe gradually pulled clear to claim a well deserved Inaugural Timmy Murphy Memorial Trophy.
Our thanks must go AOH Cork who generously sponsored the beautifully crafted trophy. It stands as testament to the high regard they held for Timmy Murphy and we look forward to contesting it on an annual basis.
It was a great pleasure to welcome so many of the Murphy family to the event where Phyllis made the presentation to the winner in memory of her late husband Timmy.
As always, our thanks are due to Marian Leacy for the excellent facilities and to the staff at The Ivy Rooms for their help on the day. By way of compensation for his surprise first-round elimination, Phil martin emerged winner of the plate.
Results:
