We had a record entry for both the Spiro Cup (national mixed pairs championship) and the Coen Trophy (national mixed teams championships) over the weekend of 19/20 October, with the Templeogue venue filled to capacity and then some. It’s great to see such interest in these competitions, and while we did our very best to accommodate everyone who wanted to play, some people had to be disappointed. A reminder to be sure to get your entry in early next season!
The Spiro was won by Kathleen Vaughan & Richard Elvin, with a fantastic performance, scoring over 73% in the first session and finishing with an overall victory margin of more than 5%. Their nearest challengers were Mairead Haugh & Justin Corfield, with Joan Kenny & Enda Glynn third. Full results are here.
The victory in the Coen was perhaps equally remarkable, given that the team had spent the previous evening celebrating into the small hours the recent wedding of one of their pairs. Aoife MacHale & Peter Goodman (the newlyweds) and Louise Mitchell & Diarmuid Reddan obviously have very resilient constitutions. Second place went to Kathleen Vaughan, Richard Elvin (almost completing a notable double), and Betty & Dermot Cotter, with the visiting Croatian team of Sandra Havlićek, Mate Meštrić and Tihana Brkljačić, together with their local host Thomas MacCormac, taking third spot. Full results are here.
Well done to all the prizewinners, and thanks to Mairead Basquille, Fearghal O’Boyle, and Bernard Higgins for managing the huge entry seamlessly.