Well done to the organisers of the Waterford Congress, which returned live for the first time since covid, with very satisfactory numbers attending. Our thanks to TDs Diarmuid Reddan, Pat Breslin, and John Phelan, to the Congress Committee for their hard work, and to the Tower Hotel for their excellent service. The competition winners were:
- Mixed Pairs: John Power & Mary P Treacy
- Novice Pairs: Derry & Mary-Clare Higgins
- Congress Pairs: Paul Scannell & Gordon Lessells
- Intermediate Pairs: Claire Tallon & Marian Tubbritt
- Congress Teams: Jim Doyle, Sean Connor, Kay Cussen, Denis Sheehan
The weekend also saw the first of two sets of matches for the Camrose Trophy (home international championship), in Newport. Ireland had a somewhat mixed weekend overall. We started with what would probably have been regarded as a surprise defeat to hosts Wales, having led at the halfway point (a theme that was to recur later). Wins over Scotland and Northern Ireland stabilised the ship, and the fourth match of the weekend against the EBU Team (England, as hosts for the second weekend, has the honour of supplying two teams for the competition) started spectacularly well, with a lead of 66-3 being established at the halfway point. The first board of the second set added a further 6 IMPs to the Irish tally, but that was the end of the good news, as the EBU managed to claw back the entire deficit and then some over the remaining fifteen boards, emerging victorious by 10.86-9.14 VPs, and denting the Irish hopes. The team rebounded to close the weekend with a comprehensive win over England, to see us finish in third place. The rankings after weekend one are: EBU 69.13, England 59.83, Ireland 57.81, Wales 47.50, Scotland 42.94, and Northern Ireland 21.79, so while the EBU will be favourites, any of the three leading teams can realistically aspire to winning the competition. The second weekend is in Altrincham, England, from 1-3 March.