Sport Ireland have approved the newest part of Squash Ireland’s coaching pathway, an L0 Introductory Coach award that will sit beneath the current L1 and L2 qualifications.
In its programme approval report, the Sport Ireland education and training council said: “The council commends Squash Ireland on the high standard of the programme documentation.
“The council have approved the programme as presented for inclusion on the Coaching Development Programme for Ireland (CDPI) at introduction level.”
Delighted with the approval, Eddie Murphy, the Cork-based Squash Ireland education officer, explained: “Up to now, a Leaders course would have been somebody who wouldn’t become a coach but who could help a coach – but they wouldn’t get a qualification when they finished it.
“What we have done now is changed that Leaders course into a foundation level coaching course, the Introductory Coach award.
“As an introductory squash coach, the qualification would let them bring beginners into squash and it would stop where we introduce the squash racket into the curriculum.
“We are trying to get people interested in a bit of coaching, the basics like hopping, skipping, jumping, hand/eye coordination – we need to develop that bit, put in the foundation before they get the racket.
“We need to do one pilot course first before we start advertising. We will be encouraging people who would like to get involved in coaching to do this one-day course and get a bit of experience from the tutors, showing them that this introductory course badge is the way to start.
“If we can do that, then going forward we are putting in a good foundation from a coaching perspective for our certification.”
Scott Graham has lauded the “big strides” Squash Ireland have taken in the last 12 to 18 months. Nearing the second anniversary of his appointment as CEO in 2023, the administrator is preparing for next Sunday’s latest AGM at the Sport Ireland campus in Blanchardstown.
Ahead of his presentation at that meeting, Graham reflected on the progress made by Squash Ireland in recent times. “Look, it has been fantastic,” he said about the development that has happened.
“One reason I took the role in Squash Ireland – or Irish Squash as it was at the time – was because I saw the potential within the sport.
“We always want to do more. We see that we are certainly not perfect, but we have made big strides in the last two years and there is definitely more to come – we are only getting started on this stuff.
“It is really satisfying. Within the Irish sports system, we are recognised now as one of the leading smaller national governing bodies. We were shortlisted for the NGB of the year award for two years running.
“We also gave a presentation at the European Squash AGM earlier this year and from a European perspective we are probably recognised as the fastest developing federation in Europe.
“We are making good strides, but we recognise there is obviously a lot more to do. We have a very ambitious board, a very ambitious staff and some great volunteers who support the mission and who love the sport. We are in a great place.”
Drilling into some of the specifics, Graham added: “What we have done over the last 12 to 18 months is tried to put the foundations in place so the sport can grow in years to come.
“From a governance perspective, there was a change to the constitution, a change to the board whereby it’s a more strategically focused board and they don’t have those operational roles that they would have had in the past.
“We have independent directors on the board now which has added a lot to the organisation in terms of expertise, oversight, governance and real rigour around how we do things, what we do and our strategy and planning for the future.”
Referencing other Squash Ireland foundations that are now in place, Graham continued: “We have a finance manager in now who started one day a week and due to the level of grant activity and the complexity of the different grants that we are managing, he is up to three days a week now.
“We hired a number of different development officers… and that is just a taster of some of the foundations we have put in place. We are looking to build and grow, to really move the metrics that matter with participation numbers, tournament entries, the number of qualified coaches and so on.
“We are working more closely with the Sport Ireland high-performance unit now about our programme and how we can develop and professionalise it.
“We moved from a day rate system with various national coaches across all the age groups and now have Arthur Gaskin as our national coach, David Noone in junior performance (U17/U19), and Michael Conroy who looks after the younger ages. They are all part-time with us now and we hope to increase that capacity over time.
“We have also just recently launched our Junior Performance Academy, so that will look to provide more structure and professionalised support to the young players.
“There will be a whole suite of squad sessions but educational stuff as well around nutrition, strength and conditioning, anti-doping, mindset, all of those different tools that people need in their tool kit to be the best that they can be.
“On the high-performance front, squash will be an Olympic sport and will be in LA in 2028. We have long felt there is good potential in Ireland within this high-performance element of the sport.
“We have a long history in terms of former world number threes, number sevens, a lot of top 20 players, huge success on the international stage.
“It’s just about bringing our current crop of players through and giving them everything they need to be the best that they can be.”
Squash Ireland have outlined why its sport “remains one of the most exciting and inclusive” in the country following a past year described as “a time of change” in how it delivers core activities for its membership.
Next Sunday will see the 20th annual general meeting of the governing body take place at the Sport Ireland Campus in Dublin’s Blanchardstown. Ahead of that gathering, a comprehensive 96-page annual report – including financial statements – has been published.
While income for 2024 was €903,560, marginally down from the 2023 figure of €916,069, a surplus of €2,408 was generated compared to a deficit of €14,930 the previous year.
In her two-page reflection, Squash Ireland president Rosie Barry highlighted the August 2024 mid-term review of the Connecting the Dots 2022-2027 strategic plan.
She also praised the professionalising of the organisation under the baton of CEO Scott Graham while also referencing the “essential support” that continued to be provided by “countless volunteers” throughout Ireland.
“Our strategic plan, Connecting the Dots 2022-2027, remains central to the core activities of our organisation. From a governance perspective since our last AGM, the board’s function is now strategic rather than operational and our skills base is strengthened by the addition of two independent directors.
“This is an exciting and very important new development for Squash Ireland and I would like to welcome Susan Kelly and Kevin Ahern to our board. Rose Hynes, a member of the squash community, is also a very welcome addition to the board and further enhances our essential skillset.
“The Strategic Delivery Group (SDG) completed a mid-term review of our strategic plan in August 2024 which confirms that we are on target for many of the objectives under each of the six pillars.
“We remain committed to developing a national centre despite not being successful in our application for the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund, noting that there was an unprecedented demand for such funding in 2024.
“Our office staff, under the leadership of CEO Scott Graham, has expanded significantly to deliver on the operational needs of Squash Ireland. This marks our commitment to further professionalising our organisation.
“The past year was a time of change for us in how we deliver on core activities for our membership. I thank all our volunteers for their understanding and patience as we all adjust to these changes and also for their feedback which helps to inform our decision-making.
“Although staffing levels have increased, we will always remain reliant on the countless volunteers who provide essential support at club, provincial and national level. We continue to work on how best to support and enhance our volunteer network and the Interprovincial Forum is vital in this regard.”
After sifting through an extensive list of on-court achievements across the various playing categories, including the “impressive results” achieved on the international stage, Barry concluded her 2024 reflection by adding: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed to the success of Squash Ireland in the past year.
“Your hard work, passion, and commitment to the sport are truly appreciated. I would like to extend my gratitude to the board, our CEO and staff, coaches, referees, volunteers, and, of course, our players for your dedication and effort.
“I am confident that with your continued support, Squash Ireland will continue to thrive and grow, ensuring that squash remains one of the most exciting and inclusive sports in the country.”
Lydia McQuillan blasted her way to the Girls U19 Italian Junior Open title on Sunday, completing her three-match campaign with a convincing 3-1 win in the final at the National Technical Centre in Riccione.
McQuillan, who had a bye in the round of 16, began her title charge on Friday with a 3-1 quarter-final win over Luxembourg’s Elisenda Ruiz-Kaiser (4-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8).
The Lisburn club player then defeated Hungary’s Nora Juhasz 3-1 on Saturday in the semi-finals (10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 11-5) before wrapping up her tournament title win with another 3-1 success in Sunday’s final, beating Romania’s Timeea Maria Dumitrascu (6-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8).
There was also a podium finish for Sutton’s Zoe Yeomans in the Girls U17s. She saw off Poland’s Zuzanna Gora 3-2 in her third/fourth place play-off on Sunday (11-9, 8-11, 9-11, 11-4, 12-10).
In the Boys U15 event, Sutton’s Harry Yeomans’ tournament ended with his 0-3 defeat to Konstantinos Christos Papatheodorou (8-11, 4-11, 7-11). His 23rd/24th place match with Hungary’s Lorant Szijarto was cancelled.
In his earlier matches, Yeomans lost 1-3 to Switzerland’s Kuba Wesolowski in the round of 32, defeated Italy’s Orlando Silvio Rustighi 3-0 in the 17th/32nd place play-off and lost to Poland’s Beniamin Morzyc 0-3 in the 17th/24th place play-off.
Meanwhile, Ridit Thapar – another Sutton club player – finished his six-match Boys U13 programme with a 3-2 win on Sunday over Poland’s Nicolas Lanza 3-2 (11-7, 7-11, 11-5, 11-13, 12-10) in the 19th/20th place play-off.
He began with a 3-0 round of 64 win over Italy’s Vincent Cusumano and then lost 0-3 to Poland’s Maciej Dziech in the round of 32.
Two play-off wins followed, 3-0 against Italy’s Paolo Ficorella and 3-1 versus Romania’s Radu Andrei Petrescu before he was beaten 1-3 by Bulgaria’s Boris Braykov in the 17th/20th place match.
Entries are now being taken for next month’s Waterford Masters Open. The 2025 tournament will be held at Celtic and De Le Salle College squash clubs.
The two-day event, which begins on Friday, July 25, will cater for 18 categories – nine men’s and nine women’s – ranging from Over 35 to Over 75.
The draw for this rankings event will be published on Tuesday, July 22.
Squash Ireland plan to run a Level 1 coaching course over two weekends in Dublin, most likely at LCC in Rathmines.
The course is scheduled for June 28/29 and July 12/13, starting each day at 9:30am and finishing at 5pm.
For further enquiries, please contact [email protected]
Celtic stalwart Eugene Walker has been appointed Masters committee chairperson. The long-time squash official from the Waterford City club will coordinate and lead the delivery of Masters tournaments, including the Masters National Championships, Masters Open and Provincial Masters tournaments.
He will also coordinate the Masters representative teams, including reviewing selection criteria, selecting teams, and appointing team captains.
In addition, Walker will be liaising with counterparts in England, Scotland and Wales, and coordinating the Masters Home Internationals in collaboration with the Masters committee.
Squash Ireland CEO Scott Graham enthused: “Eugene is an experienced tournament director and received the Patrick Murray Award at the Squash Ireland Awards earlier this year.”
From his commitment to Squash Munster, Squash Ireland and his local club Celtic, to his role as tournament director for Masters, Senior and Junior events, Walker has been at the forefront of ensuring our competitions run smoothly and professionally.
His ability to manage these events with kindness, fairness and unwavering dedication has set the standard for tournament organisation in Ireland.
In addition, Walker will be liaising with counterparts in England, Scotland and Wales, and coordinating the Masters Home Internationals in collaboration with the Masters committee.
Irish players enjoyed a bumper weekend of men’s masters squash podium finishes – including four first places – in England and Croatia.
There were four podium placings at the five-day British Open Masters in Birmingham, including three first places. Meanwhile, in Zagreb, there were three more successes, including another first-place finish.
Topping the podium in England were David Ayerst in the Over 50 final, Willie Hosey in the Over 60 final and Kyran Hurley, who defeated fellow Irishman Peter Stephens in the Over 70 decider.
Over in Croatia, there was delight for Brian Lalor in the Over 55 final. Elsewhere, Michael Conlon won four of his five matches at the three-day event to finish second in the Over 65, and there was also delight for Mark Gilliland as he clinched third place in the Over 35.
2025 BRITISH OPEN MASTERS
Men’s Over 50 final: David Ayerst beat England’s Paul Boyle 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 14-12)
Men’s Over 60 final: Willie Hosey beat England’s Jon Foster 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-6)
Men’s Over 70 final: Kyran Hurley beat fellow Irishman Peter Stephens 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 14-12)
2025 CROATIAN MASTERS
Men’s Over 55 final: Brian Lalor beat Hungary’s Peter Nagy 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-5)
Men’s Over 65: Michael Conlon beat the Czech Republic’s Pavel Mach 3-1 (11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6) in his final outing to finish second with four wins in five matches
Men’s Over 35 3/4th place play-off: Mark Gilliland beat Croatia’s Petar Galekovic 3-1 (11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 11-8)
Squash Ireland CEO Scott Graham has described Tuesday’s meeting with Charlie McConalogue, the Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Sport and Postal Policy, as very productive.
The visit by Graham and Rosie Barry, the Squash Ireland president, provided the opportunity for the sports federation to provide an overview of its progressive work to date and its ambitions for the future.
Donegal TD McConalogue has been in his role at the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport since January 2025.
“I’d like to thank the Minister for meeting with us for almost an hour at the Department of Sport,” said Graham. “It was great for him and his officials to give us their time given their busy schedule.
“A big part of our meeting was updating the Minister about the rapid progress and development within Squash Ireland over the last two years.
“We had a wide-ranging discussion about everything from grassroots participation to high performance and a discussion on the support we are looking for with our national centre plans.
“The varied discussion also included participation initiatives, club activities, our junior performance academy and the high-performance programme.”
Squash Ireland’s meeting with the Minister and his team of officials took place on Tuesday, 12 days before the 2025 AGM which will be held on June 22 at the Sport Ireland Campus in Blanchardstown.
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