LOUGHINISLAND man Darren Dornan is celebrating his coronation as Northern Ireland amateur snooker champion following victory over Antrim’s Ryan McQuillan in the final of the NIBSA (Northern Ireland Billiards and Snooker Association) NI Amateur Championship.
The 37-year-old overcame Connell Doherty and Sean Gray before a solid 5-0 win over Gregory Cook in the quarter-final and a 6-5 triumph over Declan Hughes in the semi-final saw him through to the final at the Antrim Sports Club.
A 10-5 win over McQuillan followed in the final, meaning Dornan claimed his first ever win in an NIBSA ranking event.
After many attempts at trying to win the most prestigious amateur tournament in the country, Dornan has finally got his hands on a trophy that dates back to 1927 and includes the names of Northern-Irish snooker royalty.
“It’s the biggest amateur snooker match in the country, so it’s a huge win,” he explained.
“The likes of Dennis Taylor and Joe Swail have never won this tournament. Alex Higgins won it in 1968, then he won the World Championships four years later.
“There’s some great names on there and it’s great to win it.”
The Drumaness Snooker Club player went into the tournament with minimal practice, having initially thought he wouldn’t be able to play as a result of his son Darragh’s Holy Communion clashing with the original tournament dates.
However, a last-minute change of dates allowed him to compete.
“Going into the Northern Ireland Championships, I didn’t have many expectations because I hadn’t been practicing a lot at all.”
Read the full story in the current issue to read what Darren hopes to do next.