Firstly, this press release was sent to our media contacts last week (when the opening reference to the girls in green was more relevant, unfortunately). It has not generated any great interest to date, but we remain hopeful that we will be able to create some publicity for our game, and for the achievement of our Open Team in qualifying for the “world cup of bridge”. We’re sure you’ll join us in wishing the team (John Carroll, Tommy Garvey, Tom Hanlon, Hugh McGann, Adam Mesbur, and Mark Moran, accompanied by NPC Gráinne Barton, and Coach Nick FitzGibbon) the very best of luck in the Bermuda Bowl in Marrakech, which starts on 20 August. We’ll post a link to the competition website closer to the event, to allow you to follow their results; it should also be possible to watch them on BBO vu-graph during the competition.

Locally, there is good news that the CBAI’s annual match against the NIBU, for the Sonya Britton Trophy, has been restored after a three-year gap, and will take place in the La Mon Hotel in Belfast over the weekend of 12/13 August. In a new departure, a Junior team has been added to the six teams that previously participated, being selected, apart from the Officials Team, on the basis of a qualifying event during the previous season. The CBAI teams this year are: Open: Tomás Roche, Paul Delaney, Martin Brady, David Dunne; Women: Lucy Phelan, Louise Mitchell, Ann O’Connell, Valarie Burke-Moran; Masters: Ian and Niall Kilroy, Eoin and Mary Hodkinson; Intermediate A: Kevin McKevitt, Angela O’Neill, Helen Dredge, Ann Hogan; Intermediate B: Melissa Brady, Kathleen McCabe, Mary Maguire, Nora Scanlon; Juniors: Luca Crone, Matthew O’Farrell, Isabel Burke, Tom Gorey; Officials: Gordon Lessells (captain), Brendan Martin, Pat O’Mahony, Linda O’Riordan.

And finally, belated congratulations to two of that Junior team, Luca Crone & Matthew O’Farrell, who finished sixth in the President’s Cup at the European Transnational Youth Championships in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, which finished on last Saturday, and good wishes to the Irish Under-21 team taking part in the 18th World Youth Teams Championships at the same venue currently. We received a late invitation to enter a team, and the squad (Aileen Armstrong, Eve Connell, Klara Flanagan, David Hoyne, Phedra Kingston, with NCP John Phelan) is young (five of them are 17, and still in school), and inexperienced, and it’s fair to say that they are finding the competition tough thus far. But Phedra, who has just turned 17, made her presence felt with an excellent piece of declarer play to bring home a tricky slam contract, which was duly recorded in the Daily Championship Bulletin by her captain (see page 14 for all the details). Pictured below are Isabel Burke & Luca Crone and Phedra Kingston & David Hoyne in action in the preliminary mixed pairs, plus our national TD Fearghal O’Boyle deep in thought about some potentially tricky ruling … or perhaps contemplating which sandwich to order for his lunch!

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