The weekend saw the first “major” of the new season, CBAI President John Phelan’s Duais an Uachtarain, in the newly-refurbished Tower Hotel in Waterford. The venue and planning were excellent, so thanks to John and his team, ably marshalled of course by his wife Lucy. TD Diarmuid Reddan did his usual excellent and unflappable job.
John had volunteered to act as standby pair, with Louise Mitchell, to avoid the inconvenience of a sitout, and as it happens they were pressed into service, and then went on to top the rankings, although they had agreed at the outset that they would be ineligible for any prizes. So the prizewinners were:
- 1st Place: Tom McCarthy & Pat Quinn
- 2nd Place: Cian Holland & Dermot Cotter
- 3rd Place: Katherine Lennon & Michael Lennon
- 4th Place: Martin Garvey & Andrea Knox
- 5th Place: Jean Kelly & Betty Cotter
- Best Regional Master Pair: Niamh Harty & Sue Power
- Best Area Master Pair: Mary Santry & Renee Flanagan
- Best Intermediate Pair: Robert Wolfe & John Corcoran
- Session Prizes: Noel Bradfield & John Lyons, Derek O’Gorman & BJ O’Brien, Huey Daly & Dermot O’Brien
- Full results
Duais Winners 2025
Duais 2nd Place 2025
Duais 3rd Place 2025
Thanks to all who attended, and contributed to a most enjoyable atmosphere all weekend. The Tower Hotel will also host the second event of the season to be hosted by the CBAI President, the Novice & Intermediate Congress on 10-12 April.
We also took the opportunity to present the CBAI’s latest Grand Master, Cian Holland, with his silver salver. Cian, who preferred to keep things low-key, becomes the 36th member of this most elite club in Irish bridge. (We lost a Grand Master last week also, of course, with the sad death of Michael MacDonagh.) Many congratulations to Cian on a fantastic achievement.
