We promised Tom Hanlon the evening before he left for the European Championships in Madeira that we would not comment on the team’s performance during the event, no matter how well they were doing, on the grounds that every previous time we have drawn attention to the fact that they were doing well in a tournament, they promptly lost their next match.
Well, with one round of the Open event still to go, it seems safe now to congratulate the Irish Open team on finishing in the top eight (they are currently sixth) and qualifying for the World Championships in Marrakech next year. Well done to Tom, Hugh, Adam, Nick, John, Mark, and their NPC Grainne, on a great achievement based upon a lot of hard work.
Our Women’s Team also has an outside chance of qualification with one round to play, and two more in the Mixed Teams. We’ll post a fuller analysis of all the event this evening after the conclusion of the tournament.