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Snooker tables

  • 15-08-2020 3:02pm
    #1
    Deisedarren
    Registered Users Posts: 178 ✭✭


    Where in Waterford can you play a casual game of snooker without joining a club
    Thanks in advance


Comments

  • #2
    cococoady
    Registered Users Posts: 963 ✭✭✭cococoady


    Deisedarren wrote: »
    Where in Waterford can you play a casual game of snooker without joining a club
    Thanks in advance

    Norris's have 2 tables and I don't think you need to be a member. Not much elsewhere. Tis a pity as I loved a few games of snooker but since Showboat and Bridge Hotel closed their halls and Sullys downsized there is nothing else.


  • #3
    dzilla
    Registered Users Posts: 1,762 ✭✭✭dzilla


    It's a shame. Used to love a casual game every now and again. The lack of snooker halls around Ireland and UK just kind of amplifies the demise of the following of the sport. Theres a bit of interest this year from the world championship it's been interesting


  • #4
    Wanderer2010
    Registered Users Posts: 6,663 ✭✭✭Wanderer2010


    Norris's also have a sign saying pool tables are for customers only so im pretty sure you cant just walk in and start playing- they want some drinks and/or food from you for the privilege.


  • #5
    Smell the glove
    Registered Users Posts: 1,731 ✭✭✭Smell the glove


    Downses have a snooker table but they aren't open at the moment.


  • #6
    bradolf pittler
    Registered Users Posts: 558 ✭✭✭bradolf pittler


    Theres a place called the Hawks Nest that has tables.
    But they are a members club.I see they are advertising on their facebook page for new members


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  • #7
    friendlyfun
    Registered Users Posts: 1,215 ✭✭✭friendlyfun


    I guess the showboat used to be the place for that. Wonder what the status of that place is now. Great place to play


  • #8
    Wanderer2010
    Registered Users Posts: 6,663 ✭✭✭Wanderer2010


    friendlyfun wrote: »
    I guess the showboat used to be the place for that. Wonder what the status of that place is now. Great place to play

    Crying shame to see it now- windows broken in, rubbish and bottles piled up outside the front door. I thought some guy had bought it back a few years ago but nothing seems to have come of it.


  • #9
    taytobreath
    Registered Users Posts: 2,773 ✭✭✭taytobreath


    Surely they would of sold the 10 or 12 snooker tables they had in there?


  • #10
    Cake Man
    Registered Users Posts: 2,818 ✭✭✭Cake Man


    taytobreath wrote: »
    Surely they would of sold the 10 or 12 snooker tables they had in there?

    About that yeah and 6 decent American pool tables which IIRC they installed new around 2010ish, just a few years before they closed. A real shame.
    Was very sad when the Showboat closed, I thought they may have been able to trade even just as the snooker hall as they would have been more or less the only place for a game in the town. I guess it just may not have been profitable enough to only run as a snooker hall.
    Don't live at home anymore but when I did, I would have gone in there at least once or twice a week for a few games but it was a bit noticeable that it was quieter in the last few years before it closed. I remember back around the early to mid 00's there would be times you'd have to sit and wait for a table to free up.


  • #11
    bradolf pittler
    Registered Users Posts: 558 ✭✭✭bradolf pittler


    From what i heard the guy that bought the showboat was gonna try and turn it into a casino and apartment complex but when he saw the state it was in and the amount of money needed he just gave up on the project,dont know if he still owns it but the showboat was always damp and i can only imagine how bad it is in there now.I think that the tables are still in there although they would be worthless.
    From the playing side of things the showboat was the best club in ireland in the 90s.Many great players started in there,
    Douglas Hogan
    Eugene Ryan
    Nicky Quinlan
    Micheal Nolan
    Tom O Driscoll
    Jason Doyle
    Pat Storan
    Peter Condon
    Micheal Freeman and dozens more
    All fantastic players capable of century breaks.They won the munster championships on numerous occasions.Their trips to killarney every January are legendary.It was said that if you put the top 20 from the 'boat against any other 20 players from any club the 'boat wouldnt be beaten.
    The Hoffmans pro am was the highlight of the year,I remember a young Matthew Stevens coming over from Wales when he was in his teens and blitzing everyone to win it.They also held many big Irish ranking events including the Irish championships once or twice.
    For me it was never the same when they moved away from the main area and out into the back using the side entrance,It kinda took away the whole club feel where lads would sit at the small bar watching the players knock in ton after ton on table 1 while having a pint.It was just a few tables in a room when they moved and it was never the same.


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  • #12
    Cake Man
    Registered Users Posts: 2,818 ✭✭✭Cake Man


    Yeah I remember the walls in there would have loads of pictures and news articles from tournaments played there over the years. You could tell it was a bit of an institution with many decent players having played there at some point. Going back to the first point of your post, the place hadn't changed too much since the 80's/90's bar a lick of paint here and there.

    When you mention the main area, where would this have been? Would have been before my time I would say as I always remembered the place to have three separate rooms - one room had 4 tables just in front of you as you came in the door (which were replaced with 6 pool tables in the last few years before closure). The main big room had about 7 tables and then there was a room at the back (furthest away from the bar) down the back of that 7 table room which had about 4 other tables in there.

    Brings back a lot of memories just thinking about the layout of the place. There's surely an interest for somewhere with a few tables in the town. It wouldn't have to be as many as the old Showboat but surely somewhere with even a handful of tables. As I mentioned earlier though it may be just not that profitable and to be fair they can be the types of places that can attract the wrong crowds.


  • #13
    bradolf pittler
    Registered Users Posts: 558 ✭✭✭bradolf pittler


    When i 1st started playing in there it was a 10 table club,Lined up in 2 rows of 5 where the lounge/function room would be now if it was open today.Then there was an extension built and 6 more tables put in.It was the biggest club outside Dublin at the time.
    When the renovations started to build the lounge they basically cut the hall in half and moved more tables to where it would be now.I stopped playing for a bit when this happened as i didnt enjoy the new layout.
    A few new snooker clubs opened after the boat closed up.Jack T's on the Quay,The bowling alley on the Dunmore Rd had tables for awhile and there was a club in Tramore that didnt last long.
    The days of snooker being a viable business are long gone i'm afraid.For example if you have 8 tables and charge 10 euro an hour the most you can make is 80 euro an hour and thats if all the tables are going which obviously they wouldnt be.When you factor in the costs like rent,heating,staff wages etc it just wouldnt be worth it.There seems to be no large clubs anymore in Ireland and a quick search tells me that theres no commercial clubs in Waterford,Wexford or Kilkenny,A sad state


  • #14
    cococoady
    Registered Users Posts: 963 ✭✭✭cococoady


    Is there a club in Cappoquin? When I drive thru there I see a sign over a door but no idea if it's open or not


  • #15
    JMcL
    Registered Users Posts: 2,161 ✭✭✭JMcL


    Wanderer2010 wrote: »
    Crying shame to see it now- windows broken in, rubbish and bottles piled up outside the front door. I thought some guy had bought it back a few years ago but nothing seems to have come of it.

    Wasn't it bought by the same shower (some Chinese based property speculators) that bought Katie Reilly's and The Grand in Tramore - both have which have also been left to rot?


  • #16
    taytobreath
    Registered Users Posts: 2,773 ✭✭✭taytobreath


    JMcL wrote: »
    Wasn't it bought by the same shower (some Chinese based property speculators) that bought Katie Reilly's and The Grand in Tramore - both have which have also been left to rot?

    That's what I thought too.

    The grand hotel been such a prominent building in Tramore the council really should do something about it.
    Could the CPO it?


  • #17
    south
    Registered Users Posts: 1,625 ✭✭✭south


    taytobreath wrote: »
    That's what I thought too.

    The grand hotel been such a prominent building in Tramore the council really should do something about it.
    Could the CPO it?

    That had started doing work on it but it's full of asbestosis so health and safety closed it down


  • #18
    Wanderer2010
    Registered Users Posts: 6,663 ✭✭✭Wanderer2010


    taytobreath wrote: »
    That's what I thought too.

    The grand hotel been such a prominent building in Tramore the council really should do something about it.
    Could the CPO it?

    Is that the big grim grey building on the top of the hill when you are walking on the strand and look up, kind of to the right of the church? Think I drove past it a few times, thought it was closed down decades! Looks awful up there and really, I dont think there is much hope for it now. Knock it down.


  • #19
    taytobreath
    Registered Users Posts: 2,773 ✭✭✭taytobreath


    Wanderer2010 wrote: »
    Is that the big grim grey building on the top of the hill when you are walking on the strand and look up, kind of to the right of the church? Think I drove past it a few times, thought it was closed down decades! Looks awful up there and really, I dont think there is much hope for it now. Knock it down.

    yea that's the grand hotel. it looks like it is a lost cause now.


  • #20
    Wanderer2010
    Registered Users Posts: 6,663 ✭✭✭Wanderer2010


    taytobreath wrote: »
    yea that's the grand hotel. it looks like it is a lost cause now.

    Wow, I cant imagine ever stepping foot in there unless I wanted to catch every disease known to mankind! When was it last operational do you know? I genuinely thought it was closed down about 20 - 30 years..


  • #21
    taytobreath
    Registered Users Posts: 2,773 ✭✭✭taytobreath


    Wanderer2010 wrote: »
    Wow, I cant imagine ever stepping foot in there unless I wanted to catch every disease known to mankind! When was it last operational do you know? I genuinely thought it was closed down about 20 - 30 years..

    I'm not sure exactly how long, but about 7 or 8 years I would think

    Edit: I googled it and its been derelict since 2014


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  • #22
    pinking
    Registered Users Posts: 34 ✭pinking


    bradolf pittler wrote: »
    When i 1st started playing in there it was a 10 table club,Lined up in 2 rows of 5 where the lounge/function room would be now if it was open today.Then there was an extension built and 6 more tables put in.It was the biggest club outside Dublin at the time.
    When the renovations started to build the lounge they basically cut the hall in half and moved more tables to where it would be now.I stopped playing for a bit when this happened as i didnt enjoy the new layout.
    A few new snooker clubs opened after the boat closed up.Jack T's on the Quay,The bowling alley on the Dunmore Rd had tables for awhile and there was a club in Tramore that didnt last long.
    The days of snooker being a viable business are long gone i'm afraid.For example if you have 8 tables and charge 10 euro an hour the most you can make is 80 euro an hour and thats if all the tables are going which obviously they wouldnt be.When you factor in the costs like rent,heating,staff wages etc it just wouldnt be worth it.There seems to be no large clubs anymore in Ireland and a quick search tells me that theres no commercial clubs in Waterford,Wexford or Kilkenny,A sad state

    And have you seen the price of proper full sized snooker tables? Yeah you could probably pick them up cheaper second hand, but this is probably the main reason why no NEW venues are popping up - https://www.homeleisuredirect.com/snooker_tables/

    Surely this is a sport that will struggle to recover after the covid pandemic with so many pubs and snooker halls being closed


  • #23
    taytobreath
    Registered Users Posts: 2,773 ✭✭✭taytobreath


    pinking wrote: »
    And have you seen the price of proper full sized snooker tables? Yeah you could probably pick them up cheaper second hand, but this is probably the main reason why no NEW venues are popping up - https://www.homeleisuredirect.com/snooker_tables/

    Surely this is a sport that will struggle to recover after the covid pandemic with so many pubs and snooker halls being closed

    jesus.... i didnt think they were that expensive...i wonder how much the ones they use on the pro circuit cost


  • #24
    bradolf pittler
    Registered Users Posts: 558 ✭✭✭bradolf pittler


    A quick look on done deal and you'd get a decent table for 1 or 2k 2nd hand.
    Expect to pay 8k for a pro STAR table including heaters and installation.


  • #25
    Asdfgh2020
    Registered Users Posts: 1,377 ✭✭✭Asdfgh2020


    bradolf pittler wrote: »
    A quick look on done deal and you'd get a decent table for 1 or 2k 2nd hand.
    Expect to pay 8k for a pro STAR table including heaters and installation.

    Anyone recall pot black snooker club.......always seemed to be jammed,.....snooker was at the height of its popularity at the time.......was located where the factory is now/car stand/former Winston’s


  • #26
    bradolf pittler
    Registered Users Posts: 558 ✭✭✭bradolf pittler


    Asdfgh2020 wrote: »
    Anyone recall pot black snooker club.......always seemed to be jammed,.....snooker was at the height of its popularity at the time.......was located where the factory is now/car stand/former Winston’s

    Yep i do,I think there were 8 or 10 tables upstairs.The owner was Tommy"The wing"Macarthy,A 1 armed guy who used to play for money sometimes.
    He used to have the head of a rest or the X screwed into his arm to hold the cue.The guy could really play.
    He was a good friend of Alex Higgins back in the day and he even got a few mentions in the Hurricanes autobiography.
    Amazing to think how many tables there were in the town back in the 90s.
    Showboat 16
    Pot Black 8/10
    Sullys?????
    De La Salle 4
    Now i think theres only 5
    Norriss 2
    Hawks Nest 2
    Downes 1


  • #27
    Asdfgh2020
    Registered Users Posts: 1,377 ✭✭✭Asdfgh2020


    bradolf pittler wrote: »
    Yep i do,I think there were 8 or 10 tables upstairs.The owner was Tommy"The wing"Macarthy,A 1 armed guy who used to play for money sometimes.
    He used to have the head of a rest or the X screwed into his arm to hold the cue.The guy could really play.
    He was a good friend of Alex Higgins back in the day and he even got a few mentions in the Hurricanes autobiography.
    Amazing to think how many tables there were in the town back in the 90s.
    Showboat 16
    Pot Black 8/10
    Sullys?????
    De La Salle 4
    Now i think theres only 5
    Norriss 2
    Hawks Nest 2
    Downes 1

    Is the De la salle you refer to above the school or the centre on Stephen st....?

    I recall seeing Alex Higgins one night in the reg back in Late 90’s........off his face drunk and surrounded by a group of complete Dodgey looking ‘minders’......I was tempted to try and get his autograph but He’d probably not have been able to hold a pen......hard to believe he had to resort to touring around taking on locals for cash....


  • #28
    bradolf pittler
    Registered Users Posts: 558 ✭✭✭bradolf pittler


    Asdfgh2020 wrote: »
    Is the De la salle you refer to above the school or the centre on Stephen st....?

    I recall seeing Alex Higgins one night in the reg back in Late 90’s........off his face drunk and surrounded by a group of complete Dodgey looking ‘minders’......I was tempted to try and get his autograph but He’d probably not have been able to hold a pen......hard to believe he had to resort to touring around taking on locals for cash....

    The DLS center on Stephen St.Great club,great people running the show.Just a pity it closed up.Must be derelict around 15 years or more at this stage.
    I remember Higgins playing pool in the junction bar in the 90s.Myself and a mate went down to watch.It was a total sh1tshow.He lost more frames then he won then my mate recognised the cue he was using.....Seems he stole my mates cue from behind the counter in the showboat cos he'd lost his own 1.


  • #29
    Asdfgh2020
    Registered Users Posts: 1,377 ✭✭✭Asdfgh2020


    bradolf pittler wrote: »
    The DLS center on Stephen St.Great club,great people running the show.Just a pity it closed up.Must be derelict around 15 years or more at this stage.
    I remember Higgins playing pool in the junction bar in the 90s.Myself and a mate went down to watch.It was a total sh1tshow.He lost more frames then he won then my mate recognised the cue he was using.....Seems he stole my mates cue from behind the counter in the showboat cos he'd lost his own 1.

    He rapidly went into a downward spiral alright. O’sullivan Still cleaning up in his mid 40’s......Higgins in his 40’s was close to penniless and as you say above stealing q’s etc.....what a waste of talent. Always played the victim also it was always someone else’s fault that he did x,y and z


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