How do you see the state of snooker in RoI?

FR01 · 23-04-2021 11:30am

bradolf pittler wrote: »

https://sbireland.ie/2021/04/17/irish-snooker-starting-on-long-road-back-to-glory-days/

Good article and i agree with a lot that was said.
The days of large commercial snooker clubs are coming to an end, Grant funded community clubs are starting to spring up especially in the southern regions for some reason and this hopefully will lead to a resurgence at a grassroots level.
Dunno whats meant by "junkets"?
I can only think of EBSA and IBSF events where players and officials are sent to represent Ireland not only in playing in the events but attending AGM's where decisions are made at at European and World level. Hardly "junket" trips.They are not the FAI.

Prehaps junket may not have been the correct word but as far as I know and I’m open to correction is that only officials can vote in AGMS abroad and not players ? Just because the IBSF or EBSA send invitations for a number of players to attend doesn’t actually mean that Ireland has to send them ? It’s got to the stage that you are going down the ranking list to see who will go. Wasn’t it always the way to send the best, ie current amateur champion and also the current no. 1 in the rankings ? Now I’m not saying don’t send players to gain some experience in playing in these events but sending players just for the sake of it baffles me.

Also I found it a strange comment form the chairman to say large commercial clubs are coming to an end ? I’m sure the owners of the Spawell, the classic in Finglas, Terry Rodgers in Fairview and the Celbridge snooker club may be disappointed to hear this ?

Regardless if the grant money is put into supporting the grassroots which are the smaller community clubs scattered throughout the country then that can only be a good thing for the growth of the game.

FR01 · 23-04-2021 11:31am

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Read that the other day, very interesting. Great to see Dylan Rees talk about establishing more community clubs because i think that has to be the future. Lovely to hear about Freddie Chute and a new club opening up in thurles, my old stomping ground back in the day. From small acorns etc

Lovely guy Freddie Chute, a proper snooker man.

bradolf pittler · 23-04-2021 11:59am

FR01 wrote: »

Prehaps junket may not have been the correct word but as far as I know and I’m open to correction is that only officials can vote in AGMS abroad and not players ? Just because the IBSF or EBSA send invitations for a number of players to attend doesn’t actually mean that Ireland has to send them ? It’s got to the stage that you are going down the ranking list to see who will go. Wasn’t it always the way to send the best, ie current amateur champion and also the current no. 1 in the rankings ? Now I’m not saying don’t send players to gain some experience in playing in these events but sending players just for the sake of it baffles me.

Also I found it a strange comment form the chairman to say large commercial clubs are coming to an end ? I’m sure the owners of the Spawell, the classic in Finglas, Terry Rodgers in Fairview and the Celbridge snooker club may be disappointed to hear this ?

Regardless if the grant money is put into supporting the grassroots which are the smaller community clubs scattered throughout the country then that can only be a good thing for the growth of the game.

Try telling the parent of a junior player that his kid can't play in say a World U19 when they know there's an invitation there for 4 players and they only want to send 3....
I asked the same question a few years back when i saw 1 or 2 lads heading to a World Amateurs' that were obviously not up to the standard. The answer i got back was it's RIBSA's policy to fill the invitations that they are given. No matter how low down the rankings they have to go. Fair enough i suppose

I won't 2nd guess the new Chairman's comment about commercial snooker dying but my own thoughts are that we will probably never see a big club with 10/12 tables opening up in this country for a very long time.The clubs you mentioned are all well established and more then likely own their own premises which is a huge advantage. They are also all in and around Dublin which in itself is an advantage due to population size etc. The game itself will never really die out but the days of it being a viable new business model are well and gone.

FR01 · 23-04-2021 12:12pm

bradolf pittler wrote: »

Try telling the parent of a junior player that his kid can't play in say a World U19 when they know there's an invitation there for 4 players and they only want to send 3....
I asked the same question a few years back when i saw 1 or 2 lads heading to a World Amateurs' that were obviously not up to the standard. The answer i got back was it's RIBSA's policy to fill the invitations that they are given. No matter how low down the rankings they have to go. Fair enough i suppose

I won't 2nd guess the new Chairman's comment about commercial snooker dying but my own thoughts are that we will probably never see a big club with 10/12 tables opening up in this country for a very long time.The clubs you mentioned are all well established and more then likely own their own premises which is a huge advantage. They are also all in and around Dublin which in itself is an advantage due to population size etc. The game itself will never really die out but the days of it being a viable new business model are well and gone.

Can never understand the policy of sending players who are simply not up to it but if it’s a governing body’s policy to fill the invitations then that’s their decision.

I’m not so sure that snooker is not a viable business, yes the clubs I mentioned are in and around Dublin but there’s plenty of clubs in and around our most populated cities. Opening up a club in a rural area is hardly an intelligent business model.

bradolf pittler · 23-04-2021 12:35pm

FR01 wrote: »

Can never understand the policy of sending players who are simply not up to it but if it’s a governing body’s policy to fill the invitations then that’s their decision.

I’m not so sure that snooker is not a viable business, yes the clubs I mentioned are in and around Dublin but there’s plenty of clubs in and around our most populated cities. Opening up a club in a rural area is hardly an intelligent business model.

I think the point about new clubs opening is that we will see these as being non profit community funded clubs not business'.
Been racking my head trying to think of commercial clubs in the south east where i'm from
Kilkenny,Waterford,Wexford,Carlow,Tipperary......None
But there are a host of small 1 to 3 table clubs with a lot of dedicated lads keeping the game going

FR01 · 23-04-2021 1:55pm

bradolf pittler wrote: »

I think the point about new clubs opening is that we will see these as being non profit community funded clubs not business'.
Been racking my head trying to think of commercial clubs in the south east where i'm from
Kilkenny,Waterford,Wexford,Carlow,Tipperary......None
But there are a host of small 1 to 3 table clubs with a lot of dedicated lads keeping the game going

Since you mentioned it I’ve been trying to think of commercial clubs in the southeast and likewise I’ve come up with ..... none !

Such a shame really because there was quite a few back in the 1980’s and 90’s and they provided some superb players.

There are more and more of the smaller social clubs with two or three tables which looking at the lack of larger clubs has to be seen as promising. Hats off to the people who are running these clubs and hopefully we will see some new talent emerge from these set ups.

YFlyer · 26-04-2021 1:28am

The Vic in Limerick still open? CIE club closed

bradolf pittler · 26-04-2021 11:57am

YFlyer wrote: »

The Vic in Limerick still open? CIE club closed

I think that club has been gone for a few years now.
I do know that the main guys in Limerick like Frank Sarsfield and John Torphy now play in St John's

Joe_ Public · 26-04-2021 12:23pm

Is the Venetian still open? In my head I'm wondering if that isnt the old vic but i could easily be wrong about that. Mario Fernandez still going strong down in st johns too.

bradolf pittler · 26-04-2021 12:29pm

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Is the Venetian still open? In my head I'm wondering if that isnt the old vic but i could easily be wrong about that. Mario Fernandez still going strong down in st johns too.

The venetian doesn't ring a bell with me i'm afraid.
I think Mario has hung up his cue, Havn't seen him play in the Munster Club Champs for years now anyway

Joe_ Public · 26-04-2021 12:42pm

bradolf pittler wrote: »

The venetian doesn't ring a bell with me i'm afraid.
I think Mario has hung up his cue, Havn't seen him play in the Munster Club Champs for years now anyway

I could be wrong on both counts. Long time since i was in limerick, thought mario was still playing some masters but may well have packed it in.

YFlyer · 28-04-2021 12:00pm

bradolf pittler wrote: »

I think that club has been gone for a few years now.
I do know that the main guys in Limerick like Frank Sarsfield and John Torphy now play in St John's

Where is St John's?

Fun fact: Pat McCarthy cycle from Limerick to Tralee for a snooker tournament. He still managed to get through a few rounds.

fran38 · 29-04-2021 4:57am

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Is the Venetian still open? In my head I'm wondering if that isnt the old vic but i could easily be wrong about that. Mario Fernandez still going strong down in st johns too.

You're on about the Victoria probably? Like a previous poster said, the 'Vic' is closed, I think from around 2016.

YFlyer wrote: »

Where is St John's?

Fun fact: Pat McCarthy cycle from Limerick to Tralee for a snooker tournament. He still managed to get through a few rounds.

St John's is a private run club at the very top of William Street in Limerick City. Based in a period style house.

Fun fact: Pat could pick up a broomstick and make a ton. Fabulously talented player but never put in the effort.

The other snooker club in the city was St Michaels which started out asa temperance society in the 1920's or thereabouts. All of the notable snooker players that came out of Limerick played out of there originally before moving allegiences to the 'Vic'. The Victoria was a relatively new club which opened in the mid 1980's. Unfortunately The 'Vic' was a commercial business and time caught up with it. ST Michaels was run as an ofshoot of the St Michaels Boat Club and was historically seen as the poor cousin by the affluent members who frequented the boat club. St Michaels was a victim in part of Covid and was closed late 2020.

YFlyer · 29-04-2021 6:50am

I remember St John for the kick boxing with Albert Satchea and Eddie Moloney. The same place?

Michael's be just down from Donky Fords?

Met Pat at the Dennis Taylor exhibition. He would of loved to have got to play a frame.

fran38 · 29-04-2021 7:57am

YFlyer wrote: »

I remember St John for the kick boxing with Albert Satchea and Eddie Moloney. The same place?

Michael's be just down from Donky Fords?

Met Pat at the Dennis Taylor exhibition. He would of loved to have got to play a frame.

I don't know if that was St John's snooker club or maybe you went to a community centre in St John's parish (Garryowen).

Toddsies snooker hall was on Mary Street which is a five minute stroll from Donkey Forde's Toddsies closed in the late 90's.

bradolf pittler · 29-04-2021 5:43pm

fran38 wrote: »

You're on about the Victoria probably? Like a previous poster said, the 'Vic' is closed, I think from around 2016.

St John's is a private run club at the very top of William Street in Limerick City. Based in a period style house.

Fun fact: Pat could pick up a broomstick and make a ton. Fabulously talented player but never put in the effort.

The other snooker club in the city was St Michaels which started out asa temperance society in the 1920's or thereabouts. All of the notable snooker players that came out of Limerick played out of there originally before moving allegiences to the 'Vic'. The Victoria was a relatively new club which opened in the mid 1980's. Unfortunately The 'Vic' was a commercial business and time caught up with it. ST Michaels was run as an ofshoot of the St Michaels Boat Club and was historically seen as the poor cousin by the affluent members who frequented the boat club. St Michaels was a victim in part of Covid and was closed late 2020.

I remember playing in a few events in St Michaels many moons ago.
My main memory is of the really slippery floors. If you were streching for a shot or had 1 leg on the floor it would nearly come out from under you and might end up in a heap!!!!
My other memory is of the late great Willie Hayden who ran the place(I think)
A gentleman with a great knowledge of the game.

fran38 · 29-04-2021 9:49pm

bradolf pittler wrote: »

I remember playing in a few events in St Michaels many moons ago.
My main memory is of the really slippery floors. If you were streching for a shot or had 1 leg on the floor it would nearly come out from under you and might end up in a heap!!!!
My other memory is of the late great Willie Hayden who ran the place(I think)
A gentleman with a great knowledge of the game.

You're right about the floor lol. Willie Hayden and Phil Bermingham were the caretakers from the mid 80s up to late 90s. Both deceased now.

YFlyer · 30-04-2021 12:09pm

fran38 wrote: »

I don't know if that was St John's snooker club or maybe you went to a community centre in St John's parish (Garryowen).

Toddsies snooker hall was on Mary Street which is a five minute stroll from Donkey Forde's Toddsies closed in the late 90's.

It was St John Pavilion. Wondering if there were tables in one of the rooms?

Interesting, never heard the name Toddsies. The place with the unusual floor?

fran38 · 30-04-2021 8:24pm

YFlyer wrote: »

It was St John Pavilion. Wondering if there were tables in one of the rooms?

Interesting, never heard the name Toddsies. The place with the unusual floor?

The unusual floor if you could call it that, was St Mick's. Toddsies was beside St Mary's Pipe band hall on St Mary's Street. A one table club, it was always in a very bad state of repair. The club not the table. There was also a club overhead the old Burtons menswear shop on O'connell Street where Dunnes Stores is now. Apparently this was a thing back in the day with Burton shops in Ireland and Britain. There was always a snooker club situated overhead.

YFlyer · 30-04-2021 9:30pm

fran38 wrote: »

The unusual floor if you could call it that, was St Mick's. Toddsies was beside St Mary's Pipe band hall on St Mary's Street. A one table club, it was always in a very bad state of repair. The club not the table. There was also a club overhead the old Burtons menswear shop on O'connell Street where Dunnes Stores is now. Apparently this was a thing back in the day with Burton shops in Ireland and Britain. There was always a snooker club situated overhead.

Thanks Fran. Different times.

BonnieSituation · 05-05-2021 11:26am

Only got back into last year after decades out of it and sure enough lockdown locked me out of the club since Christmas.

Anyway, roll on June 7th and we're back open. Can't bloody wait.

BonnieSituation · 18-05-2021 9:59am

Fully intending to dragging a few of the lads up to the club regularly for games once its reopened.

God be with the days of having the likes of the Gala and similar facilities on your doorstep.

What's everyone else's plans going forward?

Outside of Cross Guns though, I wouldn't have a notion of where else to be headed tbh. Not that I mind that too much. It's the sort of place that I have no issue throwing cash over the counter to help keep open.

FR01 · 18-05-2021 12:13pm

Yeah can’t wait until June 7th comes along. Not many clubs knocking around now in Dublin apart from Ken’s in Terenure, The Spawell, CrossGuns,Terry Rodgers and the Classic.

BonnieSituation · 18-05-2021 12:34pm

FR01 wrote: »

Yeah can’t wait until June 7th comes along. Not many clubs knocking around now in Dublin apart from Ken’s in Terenure, The Spawell, CrossGuns,Terry Rodgers and the Classic.

Oh aye. But that's the first time I've ever seen a confirmed list of open spots.

Joe_ Public · 26-05-2021 9:32pm

Best of luck to the 4 guys over for Q School kicking off tomorrow. Big ask to have to win 6 consecutive matches for a guaranteed card, but if you're not in it you can't win it, so they say! Ross Bulman was within a couple of frames of earning his card 2 years ago, so be interesting to see how close he can go this time.

FR01 · 27-05-2021 1:36pm

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Best of luck to the 4 guys over for Q School kicking off tomorrow. Big ask to have to win 6 consecutive matches for a guaranteed card, but if you're not in it you can't win it, so they say! Ross Bulman was within a couple of frames of earning his card 2 years ago, so be interesting to see how close he can go this time.

Unfortunately not the greatest of starts for young Ross, losing his first match 4-1.

Joe_ Public · 27-05-2021 2:27pm

Better luck for Mick Judge with a 4-1 win over Tyrone man Fergal Quinn. Bit disappointing we only have 5 players here, only one under 40 who lost his match this morning. By my count, there are 18 welsh players here, 13 Scottish, just a shame we dont have a few more decent young prospects who fancied a crack at it.

FR01 · 27-05-2021 7:37pm

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Better luck for Mick Judge with a 4-1 win over Tyrone man Fergal Quinn. Bit disappointing we only have 5 players here, only one under 40 who lost his match this morning. By my count, there are 18 welsh players here, 13 Scottish, just a shame we dont have a few more decent young prospects who fancied a crack at it.

Lots of lads would jump at it, the financial cost however to compete is another story.

BonnieSituation · 27-05-2021 8:09pm

How much does it cost to enter Q school?

Joe_ Public · 27-05-2021 9:07pm

BonnieSituation wrote: »

How much does it cost to enter Q school?

A bag of sand, £1,000.

How do you see the state of snooker in RoI?

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