The Master Pairs, sponsored by AL Homecare, was held in the new venue of the O’Reilly Hall in UCD over the weekend, having moved from the usual Templeogue venue due to capacity constraints. Even with some last-minute withdrawals for flu-related reasons, there was a very satisfactory entry of 130 pairs. The winners were Anna Onishuk & Karel De Raeymaeker, who were towards the top of the rankings throughout, and in the end had a very comfortable margin of almost 34 VPs (or a match and three-quarters) over their nearest challengers, Tom Hanlon & Conor Boland. This was Anna and Karel’s third Master Pairs title, but the first since 2010. The prizewinners were:
- 1st Place: Anna Onishuk & Karel De Raeymaeker
- 2nd Place: Tom Hanlon & Conor Boland
- 3rd Place: Tommy Garvey & Gráinne Barton
- 4th Place: Terry Walsh & James Heneghan
- 5th Place: Ronan McMaugh & Michael Donnelly
- 6th Place: Ciarán Coyne & David Walsh
- 7th Place: Peter Pigot & Luca Crone
- 8th Place: Neil Breheny & Rosaleen Glasheen
- 9th Place: John Noonan & Carol-Ann Cummins
- 10th Place: Aoife MacHale & Peter Goodman
- Best National Masters: Ann Moylan-Cleary & Brian Cleary
- Best Regional Masters: Michael Rowan & Phil Harnett
- Best Area Masters: Gráinne Courtney & Philip J Dowling
- Session Prizes: John & Lucy Phelan; Jim McAndrew & Finian O’Donoghue; Pascale Wolfe & Frances Ronan
Full results here, and thanks to our TD crew of Fearghal O’Boyle, Mairead Basquille, and Bernard Higgins for making sure everything ran smoothly. Thanks also to AL Homecare for their continued sponsorship of this event, which is greatly appreciated. 