The eagerly awaited Irish Masters Closed 2024 took place across Fitzwilliam LTC, LCC SC and Mount Pleasant LTC last weekend with 13 categories up for grabs across the Men’s and Women’s age groups.
This year’s event mirrored the phenomenal displays at home and abroad all season long, with exceptional and exciting squash being played across Friday and Saturday with many matches going to the wire.
There was a record number of entries for this years event, with plyers competing in 35+ categories to 70/75+ categories, proving once again that squash is a sport for life.
The podium places across all the categories can be seen below while full results are available here – https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Irish-Squash-Masters-Closed-2024
Action was livestreamed on Irish Squash TV and you can rewatch all of the matches here – https://www.irishsquash.com/live/
Maxine Strain joins a growing staff team at Irish Squash as Club & Community Development Officer, focusing on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. The part-time position is funded through the Dormant Accounts scheme administered by Sport Ireland, enabling Irish Squash to further our strategic objective of positioning squash as an open and welcoming sport that embraces diversity and inclusion.
Maxine brings new energy and experience to Irish Squash, having owned and operated a successful sports coaching business for the past five years. She has also been appointed as a Coach Tutor and Developer for Sport Ireland and several leading sport’s governing bodies. Maxine has a passion for developing inclusive sports programmes and is delivering an important initiative for Sport Ireland: the newly developed ‘Coaching Teenage Girls’ workshops.
As a volunteer, Maxine sits on the board of Triathlon Ireland, bringing a strategic perspective to the suite of participation programmes and initiatives delivered by the NGB. She also Chairs the Women’s Committee at European Triathlon.
The staff team at Irish Squash has expanded from two to six in recent months and is committed to professionalising the organisation and growing the sport by supporting our network of clubs and volunteers.
Staff Team
Scott Graham, Chief Executive Officer – [email protected]
Paul Nugent, Chief Operations Officer – [email protected]
Tiernan Harris, Administrator – [email protected]
Maxine Strain (part-time), Club & Community Development Officer – Equality, Diversity & Inclusion – [email protected]
Will Nicholson (part-time), Club & Community Development Officer – Northern Ireland – [email protected]
Paul Conroy (part-time), Games Promotion Officer – Leinster – [email protected]
The long-awaited Irish Masters Closed takes place this weekend (1st-2nd March) across Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club, Leinster Cricket Club and Mount Pleasant Lawn Tennis Club
True to form, after massive participation numbers all season, this year’s national masters will be the biggest ever with 132 players confirmed across the various Mens and Womens age categories. Squash has always been labelled “a sport for life” and this year’s age range of entries emphasises this with master’s from 35 y/o to over 75 y/o set to take Dublin by storm this weekend.
The quality of squash on show is set to be spectacular as our master’s have performed exceptionally well in national and intercontinental competitions throughout the season, taking home 4 golds from the recent Portuguese Masters Open to go alongside 5 podium places in the ESF European Masters in Hamburg earlier in the season.
Action will be livestreamed over on Irish Squash TV – https://www.irishsquash.com/live/ across both days, while the full tournament schedule and results can be found here – https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Irish-Squash-Masters-Closed-2024
The Mary Peters Trust was established to create an on-going and meaningful commemoration of my Gold Medal win in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. We are Northern Ireland’s; leading sporting charity. We help young people, both disabled and able-bodied, achieve their sporting dreams and ambitions. We do this by selecting the best athletes, supporting them financially and providing access to a team of experts, who help and support their pathway to success. Since our inception more than 40 years ago, the Trust has made a staggering number of awards, making a difference to the lives of thousands of young athletes from across Northern Ireland sport.
The Trust is now taking application for the MPT Award which will provide funding for successful clubs in NI. The closing date is 15th march and applications must be submitted online via the Mary Peters Trust website. For more information and to make an application, visit https://marypeterstrust.org/funding-application/
A week on form our brilliant senior nationals, it was the juniors turn to take centre stage as Belfast Boat Club and Lisburn Racquets Centre hosted the Irish Junior Nationals 2024. This was a massive chance for Irish Players to show their potential in front of a national audience and the tournament itself did not disappoint. Across all 10 categories (B/G U11, U13, U15, U17, U19), there was plenty of drama, excitement and superb squash with many matches going the distance.
A full list of winners can be found below, while full results are available here – https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Irish-Junior-National-Championships
Massive congratulations to our winners and massive thank you to Belfast Boat Club & Lisburn Racquets Centre for hosting.
Fitzwilliam LTC is set to play host to a stellar line-up for the 2024 national championships from the 9th-11th of Feb. With the profile of Irish Squash and our young stars on the rise, this year’s tournament is set to be a titanic battle for the coveted crown of national champion.
This year’s event will be headlined by the Men’s A and Women’s A titles, while the Men’s B will also be up for grabs.
The women’s draw will feature reigning champion Breanne Flynn, who has hit top form at the perfect time as she looks to retain her title, having added a Leinster Senior Open title and a Mount Pleasant Senior Open victory to her accolades last month.
Despite Breanne’s recent success and pedigree, it’s Lisburn’s Hannah Craig who enters the Women’s draw as the no.1 seed after a terrific start to her pro-circuit career. Hannah is based in the US and has recently cracked the top 100 world rankings with some impressive performances on a global stage including a silver medal at the Costa Rican Open.
There are plenty of other players across the Women’s draw who will hope to have a say after fine seasons including Emma Lundy (3 seed), Ciara Moloney Doheny (4 seed) and Hannah McGugan (5 seed).
On the men’s side, Sam Buckley, our men’s reigning champion and national number 1 is also starting to peak at the perfect time, as he looks to become the men’s national champion for the third straight year. Off the back of an impressive WSF Men’s Team World Championship in New Zealand, where Sam beat Malaysian Addeen Idrakie, the world no.64 in straight sets and a recent Mount Pleasant Senior Open title, Sam will be hoping to have things his own way this weekend.
However, if recent form is anything to go by, Sam will have his work cut out by his fellow WSF Men’s Team World Championship teammates, Conor Moran (2 seed), Oisin Logan (3 seed) and Michael Crevean (4 seed). Oisin is coming off the back of Leinster Senior Open title, while Conor already has a Curragh Squash Open and Munster Squash Open to his name this year. Michael was also crowned a provincial champion this season, winning the Ulster Senior Open.
With all 4 top seeds having titles in their seasons arsenal, it will be tough for anyone else to compete, however Sean Conroy (9 seed) may have something to say having reached the final in 2023 and 2022.
Finally, the Men’s B division will feature Fawwad Siddiqui (1 seed), Anuroop Balakrishnan Sobha (2 seed) and Nabil Merchant (3 seed) as they battle a field of 13 to become the Men’s B national champion after Dara O’Flynn was crowned champion in 2023.
Action will be live-streamed over the course of the weekend on Irish Squash TV
Full Draw & Schedule can be found here
Irish Squash have just published their 2024 Performance Support Programme for 2024 which lists the levels of funding which will be provided to Irish International Senior Performance, Junior Development & Future Performance Investment.
The Full Document can be found here – 2024 Performance Programme Support (1)
A new €6 million capital fund is available through county councils throughout the Republic of Ireland. The funding will provide capital support for small groups and organisations, such as affiliated squash clubs. There is a particular focus on small capital works, improvements, and the purchase of equipment for community use, making it an ideal means for squash clubs within the Republic of Ireland to upgrade their courts and auxiliary facilities, such as changing areas, showers, toilets, heating, or energy upgrades.
The closing date for applications, as well as the maximum amount available, differs within each county council. If your club wishes to avail of funding to enhance facilities or purchase equipment, I would encourage you to search for more details via your local council without delay. In some instances, the closing date is as early as late January, and funding of up to €10,000 is available. Applications for lesser amounts are likely to have a strong chance of success.
30% of the fund is ring-fenced for women’s groups and initiatives.
Who is eligible to apply?
Any not-for-profit community or voluntary group can apply, including squash clubs affiliated with Irish Squash. Please pay your €120 club affiliation fee if it is still outstanding.
What costs are eligible for funding?
The following provides a non-exhaustive list of projects that could receive capital funding under the program:
Additional information
Matched funding is not a requirement. If your club is successful with a grant application, Irish Squash can provide written evidence of a valid insurance policy, provided your club has completed affiliation.
For more information, please contact your local county council, local sports partnership, or Irish Squash at [email protected]. A selection of schemes currently open for applications can be found below. The fund is available through all local councils throughout the Republic of Ireland.
