Yet another busy weekend, with Ennis Congress at the Inn at Dromoland, and the first of two weekends of the IBU Mixed trials taking place in the Templeogue Bridge Centre.
In Ennis, where the numbers were once again well up on the previous year, the prizewinners were:
- Congress Pairs: Paul Barrett & Enda Glynn
- Intermediate Pairs: Mary McCarthy & Joan Maher
- Gala Pairs: Mary Frost & Shirley Mangan
- Novice Pairs: Rajnish Gupta & Dolores Walsh
- Intermediate B Pairs: Virginia Pye & Patricia Gardiner
- Congress Teams: Paul Barrett, Enda Glynn, BJ O’Brien, Pat Quinn
- Open Pairs: Monica O’Loughlin & Rita Cassidy; Emily Crimmins & Mel McCarthy
Diarmuid Reddan directed with his usual aplomb.
In the Mixed trials Team Onishuk (Anna Onishuk, Karel De Raeymaeker, Pat McDaid, Zrinka Kokot, John & Lucy Phelan) won all their matches to top the standings comfortably. They will be joined for the second weekend by Team Rudzinski (featuring three members of the team that will represent Ireland in the Junior Camrose in a few weeks time, Isabel Burke, Denise Walsh and Leah Finnegan), Team Garvey, and Team Haugh. Those four teams will play off over another weekend in Templeogue in a few weeks time for the right to represent Ireland in the Mixed European Championships in Riga in the summer. Thanks to Fearghal O’Boyle who directed the trials.