Doyle wins Timmy Murphy Memorial Title

The Timmy Murphy Memorial handicap tournament was played at Celbridge Snooker Club on Sunday, 11th of January 2026. After a day’s play, which saw many interesting games and several surprise results, the trophy went to Wayne Doyle (Dun Laoghaire), a fitting reward for the consistently high standard of play with which he dominated the day. In the opening round, Wayne set down a marker, scoring a magnificent 248 break, a new record for this and many other national tournaments

Play started at 11.00am, all rounds being 90 minutes, handicapped. First round eliminations were Ciaran Doyle (Dun Laoghaire), Joe Doheny (Borris-in-Ossory), six times National Champion Larry Drennan (Kilkenny), Brendan Devlin (Celbridge), Darren Ryan (Celbridge) and Willy Murrin (Edenderry).

The semi finalists in the top half of the draw were Robert McCrum (Portmarnock) facing Irish multiple National Champion Wayne Doyle (Dun Laoghaire). Robert gained his place in the semi final with a good quarter final win over Timmy Murphy Jnr (AOH Cork), participating in memory of his father while Wayne, scoring very heavily was a resounding winner in his quarter final against former National Snooker and Billiards Champion Eugene Hughes (Baltinglass). In the semi final Robert was no match for Wayne’s high scoring form, two more century breaks taking him sailing into the final.

The semi finalists in the bottom half of the draw were Lloyd Myers (AOH Cork and clubmate of the late Timmy Murphy) and Aonghus McAnally (Portmarnock), also a good friend of Timmy from the time he was resident in Cork. Lloyd progressed to the semi final by taking a good quarter final win against Liam Byrne (Edenderry) while Aonghus crept through a tightly contested quarter final with Richard Butler (Kilkenny). In the semi final, thanks to his consistent solid play, making inroads into the handicap deficit he was giving Aonghus, Lloyd was able quickly to establish a useful lead which he maintained to the finish.

The Final turned out to be a free flowing high scoring spectacular game, both players making useful visits when at the table. Building on the good form he showed throughout the day, Wayne soon built up a useful lead, scoring multiple half centuries in the process. Lloyd, on the other hand, although he himself was playing well, had no answer to Wayne’s level of performance. It was an excellent and absorbing final and we must congratulate both contestants on a great and entertaining match. A special word of thanks is also due to Robert McCrum who did a splendid job as referee for the final.

It was a great pleasure to have Timmy Murphy Junior, not only to participate as a contestant, but also to present the magnificent AOH Cork Timmy Murphy Perpetual trophy to the winner in memory of Timmy Murphy, a staunch and active member of AOH for very many years. At the presentation, Wayne spoke fondly of his memories of Timmy and of the help and encouragement he received in the development of his billiard skills. By way of consolation for his duties of Tournament Director, Brendan Devlin was winner of the plate.

As always, our thanks are due to Phil Martin for the excellent playing facilities and to the staff at Celbridge Snooker Club for their help on the day.

Results (all matches 90 minutes timed, handicapped, breaks over 50 in brackets):

Pre-Quarters

• Robert McCrum   439  –  431  Ciaran Doyle
• Timmy Murphy Jnr   461  –  441  Joe Doheny
• Larry Drennan   333  –  338  Eugene Hughes
• Wayne Doyle (60,159,248)  668  –  359  Brendan Devlin
• Lloyd Myers   370  –  353  Darren Ryan
• Willy Murrin   399  –  403  Liam Byrne

Quarters

• Robert McCrum  496  –  422  Timmy Murphy Jnr
• Eugene Hughes  168  –  707  Wayne Doyle (202, 129, 71)
• Lloyd Myers (75)  406  –  322  Liam Byrne
• Richard Butler  347  –  368  Aonghus McAnally

Semi-Finals

• Robert McCrum  402  –  648  Wayne Doyle (112, 102, 68, 57)
• Lloyd Myers  445  –  320  Aonghus Mcanally

Final

• Wayne Doyle (88, 54, 80, 61, 54, 78, 50)  611  –  332  Lloyd Myers (52)