A very tight finish saw Ireland unfortunately miss out in the Camrose Trophy (home international championship), with England retaining the trophy by a small margin, and Ireland finishing in second place.
Ireland went into the second weekend with a small lead, and, over the course of a very close weekend’s bridge, lost it briefly, before regaining the advantage after a good win over Northern Ireland and an English defeat to Scotland. Ireland went into the final match, against Wales, win a small lead over the holders. A disastrous first half left them with a mountain to climb, but they very nearly managed it, with three game swings in the first ten boards of the final set clawing them back to lie within a single victory point. Unfortunately, it was not to be, as England gained IMPs and Ireland lost them in the last few boards to seal an English victory.
Well done nevertheless to the Irish team who gave everything they had over both weekends: Mark Moran, John Carroll, Tom Hanlon, Conor Boland, Nick FitzGibbon, Adam Mesbur, and NPC Grainne Barton. A special mention for Moran/Carroll who finished second in the Butler rankings. The team is pictured below, with NIBU Match Manager Helen Hall, holding the trophies for the individual matches against Wales (Cyfeillon Beiriste), Scotland (An Cupa Cairdeas) and Northern Ireland (Col. Walshe Trophy), each of which they won. Congratulations to the Camrose Trophy winners, England, a big thank you to the Northern Ireland Bridge Union for hosting in fine style, and to our own Fearghal O’Boyle and Mairead Basquille for ensuring that everything went off without a hitch.
Next up in the home international series will be the Lady Milne Trophy in England (Bristol) in April. Our women’s team has finished second in each of the last three years, and we are hoping they can go one better on this occasion and win the Lady Milne for the first time.