Seven clubs celebrated Leinster Junior Open titles following the Sunday night conclusion of the two-day tournament at Sutton, which attracted an entry list of 118 players – up from last year’s 105.
Celtic, Sutton and Mount Pleasant each had two winners, with Galway, Belfast, Limerick and the American-based Ella Erickson taking the spoils.
Erickson, the Rye High School graduate now at Georgetown University, was just one of five No.1 seeds to live up to that favourite status in the 10-event tournament, securing a 3-0 win in the GU19 final against Sutton’s Zoe Yeomans, her 2025 World Squash Junior Championships Ireland teammate.
Another title match featuring Irish teammates from last July in Cairo was the BU19 decider where the No.2-ranked Aaron Knox bagged a 3-1 win over Conal Jackson, the top seed from Sutton, in an intensely competitive tie.
The No.1-seeded Harry Knox, last weekend’s BU13 Czech Junior Open title winner, made it a Celtic double with his 3-0 win over Sutton’s Eoin O’Brien.
Sutton’s double success was achieved in the GU17 and BU17. Lucy Walsh made light of her third seed status to defeat the No.1, her Sutton clubmate Zoe Sheridan, 3-1 in her final, and the score was 3-0 for No.4 seed Danny Jones in his victory over fellow Suttonian, the No.2 Nathan Hann.
Mount Pleasant’s double came courtesy of top seed Michael Lai in the BU15 and second seed Anna Maria Deak in the GU11.
The weekend’s three other title winners were Limerick’s Ruby Carroll, the GU13 top seed, Belfast’s Gabby Curran, the GU15 No.2, and Galway’s Conor Mullery, the BU11 No.1.
Leinster Junior Open results
BU19 Final: Celtic’s Aaron Knox [2] WON 3-1 (11-8, 12-10, 12-14, 12-10) v Sutton’s Conal Jackson [1]; Third place play-off: Sutton’s Christian Dromgoole [3] WON 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 12-10) v Fitzwilliam’s Frank O’Flynn [5]
GU19 Final: USA-based Ella Erickson [1] WON 3-0 (11-4, 11-9, 11-5) v Sutton’s Zoe Yeomans [2]; Third place play-off: Sutton’s Rebecca Jackson [5] WON 3-1 (4-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-5) v Belfast’s Shriya Drawid [3]
BU17 Final: Sutton’s Danny Jones [4] WON 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-4) v Sutton’s Samuel Hann [2]; Third place play-off: Celtic’s Adam Power [1] W/O v Freshford’s Nathan Walsh [3]
GU17 Final: Sutton’s Lucy Walsh [3] WON 3-1 (11-8, 11-1, 9-11, 11-1) v Sutton’s Zoe Sheridan [1]; Third place play-off: Highfield’s Maggie Jones [2] WON 3-1 (11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6) v Mount Pleasant’s Laya Sabry [5]
BU15 Final: Mount Pleasant’s Michael Lai [1] WON 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-9) v Sutton’s John Quigley [2]; Third place play-off: Celtic’s Jamie Morrissey [5] WON 3-0 (11-8, 11-3, 11-5) v Mount Pleasant’s Leonid Ivlenkov [6]
GU15 Final: Belfast’s Gabby Curran [2] WON 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-6) v Mount Pleasant’s Zoe Nyhan [1]; Third place play-off: Sutton’s Saibh Darcy [3] WON 3-0 (11-3, 11-6, 11-4) v Sutton’s Mai Yu [5]
BU13: Celtic’s Harry Knox [1] WON 3-0 (11-7, 11-4, 13-11) v Sutton’s Eoin O’Brien [2]; Third place play-off: Belfast’s Josh Archer [3] WON 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-3) v Mount Pleasant’s Ridit Thapar [4]
GU13 Final: Limerick’s Ruby Carroll [1] WON 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-6) v Celtic’s Daisy Morrissey [3]; Third place play-off: Mount Pleasant’s Aurora McDonnell [2] WON 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-6) v Mount Pleasant’s Bridget Whitcomb [5]
BU11 Final: Galway’s Conor Mullery [1] WON 3-1 (9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-7) v Celtic’s Dylan Dunphy [2]; Third place play-off: Ballypatrick’s Zach Kelly [4] WON 3-1 (11-7, 12-10, 5-11, 11-4) v Sutton’s Tim O’Brien [3]
GU11 Final: Mount Pleasant’s Anna Maria Deak [2] WON 3-1 (2-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-9) v Windsor’s Georgie Ryan [1]; Third place play-off: Windsor’s Sofia Heron [3] WON 3-1 (11-13, 11-3, 11-5, 11-7) v Fitzwilliam’s Jessica O’Gorman [5]
Squash Connacht president Paul Bree had to pinch himself after walking into Westport Squash Club on Horkans Hill last Sunday. Forty women’s players from six different clubs – hosts Westport, Galway, Claremorris, Loughrea, Sligo and Ballina – had turned up for a Swiss pairs event featuring eight-minute matches.
There were, of course, winners when everything had shaken out by the end of the afternoon (Galway were the best overall team with Claremorris’ Nina Wallace topping the Division 1 Individual). The bottom line, though, had emphatically been achieved.
“The emphasis wasn’t on winning, the objective of the event was to get clubs back in the mindset of fielding women’s teams, getting women together in their club and going somewhere because that is what used to happen before,” Bree enthused, careful not to take any credit away from event organiser Fiona Gallagher.
“I was nervous asking Fiona because she is a busy woman and thought she would say no, but she didn’t and with back up from the women on our committee and a lot of the lads, I couldn’t believe it when I went in last Sunday morning.
“The first thing that went through my head was, ‘This is great’. There were 40 women, a range of abilities, the club was buzzing, there was catering in place, Dave Broderick (Squash Ireland’s club and community development officer) stuck his head in and brought prizes, and there was a very good vibe for an extremely busy day.”
The hope is that a successful foundation has been laid for a four-team women’s spring league. That would be some going, given how just a single club – Westport – entered last year. It would represent another win for the slow but sure rejuvenation of squash in the West in the last few years.
Taking over the Connacht reins wasn’t something on Bree’s bingo card. Originally from Westport, work down the country saw him first step into squash in 1978 at Limerick LTC, switching over from tennis. There was also time spent attached to Galway and in Castlebar, when the largest Co Mayo town had two clubs in the 80s, before settling into helping his native Westport evolve.
“Westport was a two-courter, and we were lucky to hit a point in our history where we had a lot of committed people together at the same time,” he explained. “I would have joined the board of Squash Ireland as a Connacht rep about four years ago and with structural changes, the branch structure was modified and I kind of was just handed the role of Squash Connacht president.”
Bree’s appointment sounds accidental, but the evolution in Connacht on his watch has been progressive. “Squash in Connacht had been kind of stationary and gone slightly back the last five or eight years. A lot of people blame covid for a lot of things but while it didn’t help, I don’t think you could blame covid for everything.
“Some clubs that only had one court struggled disproportionately because you are limited by playing numbers. With limited playing numbers, you are limited in the number of committee members and people prepared to share the burden. To my mind, the decline was most evident in clubs with one court.”
So what tactic was adopted to give the sport a lift? “We have tried to replicate in Connacht what worked for us in Westport. That was a monthly cadence of meetings, whether we needed one or not, and we got people who had moved a bit away from squash to come back in and drop into the meetings.
“We got a small bit more energy going in the last 12 months and got clubs starting to talk to each other a bit more than just playing a game against each other occasionally. We found that by having a structure similar to the structure we would have had in the good old days, we started to make progress on several issues.
“This season has been good because we hit our stride with regular formal meetings, minutes and we got people to kind of take roles. Last year, we danced around it. We didn’t want to hang a role on someone’s neck in case they got frightened. This time, we cajoled people into taking on specific jobs and doing them, but we didn’t burden them with a title.
“We have a functioning committee now – the core of treasurer, secretary and me as chairperson – who push stuff along, but it’s open and very transparent. We run our meetings on an open church basis, where every month anyone can join the meeting from any club.
“We have kept the meetings to one hour religiously, and we don’t send out a whole list of actions to people. We instead try to keep the actions relevant, and we communicate more. Over the next 12 months, if we keep that level of engagement, we will get more stuff happening.
What’s been achieved and what’s next? “We decided we needed to get a couple of wins on the board, so the women’s cohort was an obvious one because that decline was more precipitous than the men’s one.
“Our club in Westport has, for the last five years, actively recruited women. We had a formula that worked, but we felt that if we could get other clubs to come together and send women to an event such as last Sunday, it would be the grit in the oyster.”
In time, an overarching Squash Connacht plan will be agreed but for now it’s about strategic small gains. “A plan is too grand a word,” said Bree, whose own tuition in the role is bolstered by the provincial president’s forum chaired by Derek McGrath (Sport2Sport).
“What we are trying to do is get stuff happening tactically. We have made progress on getting more involvement from all the clubs, rather than one or two trying to drive things. We have run a league fairly well for the last four years, and we’d like to grow participation in that. It’s a men’s league, really, but some elite women play for some teams in it.
“We’d like to grow that and maybe get a few clubs that are moribund to field a team, but that is a challenge. To get a club back up and running after having it moribund is a lot harder than jump-starting a car. A lot of bits have gone missing over the years.”
The list reeled off by Bree was a reminder of how widespread squash used to be. “Places that had clubs were Kiltimagh, Swinford, Crossmolina, Kilconly, Padraig Pearses GAA on the Galway-Roscommon border. I think there were Athenry and Tuam.
“From the 70s and 80s, there was a necklace of squash clubs attached to Gaelic football clubs, but people got older. There was no succession plan in place in the clubs, and people just got tired.
“There are a couple of clubs you can get back, but there isn’t a magic bullet – and it’s not just money. Money adds rackets, balls, t-shirts. That will help a bit, but it takes one missionary in a community to get it going. It could be a school principal, a retired hurler… I don’t know, but we compete with Gaelic games and it’s tough.”
Tough but not insurmountable. Last Sunday’s successful one-day women’s blitz in Westport highlighted that.
Squash Ireland CEO Scott Graham has spoken enthusiastically about the vision Ballypatrick Squash Club has for the sport.
Located near Kilcash Cross in Co Tipperary, 14 kilometres from Clonmel, Ballypatrick recently launched its new junior section and has a myriad of ideas to grow membership and enhance facilities at the Sports Capital Programme-funded sports centre it shares with the local tennis club.
Committee members Aaron Kelly and Patrick Coady were on hand for the 3 Rivers League outfit when Graham stopped by on Friday, and the impression they made was indelible.
“It was great to get out and meet one of our clubs,” enthused the Squash Ireland boss following his visit to the club, which this season has also returned to the Munster League for the first time in a while. “There is a lot of positivity about growing their membership, growing their junior section.
“I was very happy to meet them. I dropped in a junior development pack filled with rackets, balls and goggles, all that sort of stuff. We received these packs from the Community Sports Facility Fund and distributed them to clubs, so I basically hand-delivered them to Ballypatrick.
“I had a good conversation with their committee members. They recently launched a junior section and have been working with the local school, bringing in school children for coaching a couple of times a week.
“The two guys got trained up and qualified with a level one coaching qualification and we discussed the need to qualify more coaches.
“We are going to put on another coaching course in the next couple of months, and the club plans to put forward a couple of people to complete that course to help the junior section deliver more programmes.
“We also provided some advice on the upcoming Community Sports Facility fund, which we expect to open in the next couple of weeks or months. Ballypatrick is considering an application to increase its size and renovate the changing facilities.
“That would make it more suitable for hosting league matches, and they are also looking at the potential of putting in glass doors to increase the visibility of its courts.
“We also spoke about the Squash Ireland partnership with Access Courts and how an outdoor court would complement their indoor courts and allow more players to play in the summer.
“The committee is considering that and hopefully will put in an application for capital funding when that comes around.”
With the countdown on for the first appearance of squash at the Olympic Games, the LA28 ticket draw is now officially open.
This is the first and best opportunity for Irish squash fans to secure their place.
How the ticket draw works:
To be eligible for the ticket draw, fans must register their interest via the official LA28 portal. Click here for the registration link.
Why register now?
Nominations are now open for three categories in the Squash Ireland Awards 2025 – Volunteer of the Year, Coach of the Year and Referee of the Year.
The awards will be presented in Dublin on February 28th at a dinner at the Fitzwilliam Club following the completion of that weekend’s Irish Masters Nationals.
Aside from the three categories that will be decided by public nomination (click the nomination form link below), several other awards will be presented on the night – including the Spirit of the Masters Award, Masters Player of the Year, the Patrick Murray Award, Senior Player of the Year and the President’s Award.
There will also be an overall Club of the Year award. This will be made up of four provincial finalists who have won Provincial Club of the Year, with each province selecting its finalist through its own provincial committee.
The Junior Player of the Year will be presented in Cork following the Irish Junior Nationals on February 13th-15th.
Click here for the Volunteer, Coach and Referee of the Year nomination form
Squash Ireland has partnered with Squash Media & Marketing (SMM) in a move that will see them represent Access Courts sales in Ireland to create greater grassroots opportunities in the country.
The partnership follows a global push to increase the number of courts available to the squash community in an effort to continue the growth of the sport in the build-up to the Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) Olympic Games.
It comes off the back of similar partnerships with US Squash, Squash Australia, Squash New Zealand Poipātū Aotearoa and JPSquash in South Africa.
Access Courts has developed a new generation of modular squash courts designed to remove traditional barriers of cost and infrastructure. Squash Ireland will look to introduce Access Courts into traditional squash clubs, multi-sport facilities and other locations in order to increase access to squash and facilitate growth at the grassroots level.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with Access Courts and SMM to bring Access Courts’ innovative court solutions to Ireland,” said Scott Graham, the Squash Ireland chief executive.
“Access Courts offers cost-effective modular indoor and outdoor courts that have received excellent reviews and are ideal for a wide range of locations.
“I am particularly excited about the outdoor courts, which feature a rubber floor suitable for all-weather conditions. Outdoor squash brings a new dimension to the sport, increasing visibility and creating opportunities to play and socialise in a new environment.
“For clubs short on indoor space, Access Courts’ outdoor squash court provides a fun alternative that complements traditional indoor squash or other racket sports.
“The timing of this announcement could not be better, as a new round of Community Sports Facility Funding is set to open for applications in early 2026, allowing affiliated clubs to apply for funding of up to 95 per cent of the cost of their capital project.”
Squash Ireland is seeking to appoint a part-time Disciplinary Officer to oversee and manage disciplinary matters across the organisation. This flexible role is key to promoting a culture of respect, safety, and integrity within Irish squash.
The successful candidate will manage disciplinary cases, support disciplinary panels, and help ensure fair and consistent application of Squash Ireland’s policies and Code of Conduct. The role requires experience handling sensitive matters, strong communication skills, and a solid understanding of fair procedures. This is a flexible, part-time position with remote working available.
Full details of the role, including responsibilities and how to apply, can be found below
Closing date for applications: 4 January 2026
Squash Ireland president Rosie Barry was a speaker at this week’s Sport For Business Women in Sport Conference at Tallaght Stadium.
A selection on the AIG-supported 50 Women of Influence in Irish Sport list for 2025, Barry was part of the panel that discussed why fresh thinking and diverse leadership continue to reshape the Irish sporting landscape.
Joining Barry were Julie Nicholson, the chair of the Irish Association of Powerchair Football, and Bethany Carson, Women in Sport Lead at Sport Ireland, Rob Hartnett of Sport For Business chaired a conversation with these leaders whose impact on their sport includes participation, inclusion and national-level strategy.
Below is the article published on Sport For Business titled ‘Squash Ireland’s Rebuild – and Rise’
Rosie Barry spoke about Squash Ireland’s resurgence and the momentum generated by Olympic inclusion in 2028, but she emphasised that none of it is achievable without the full ecosystem aligned behind change.
“Influence isn’t about hierarchy. It’s about momentum, and momentum comes from people buying into the journey.”
Barry explained how stakeholder engagement has become a cornerstone of squash’s development – from clubs and coaches to volunteers, parents, facility partners and newly emerging communities of players. By broadening the circle, she said, the organisation has been able to modernise its approach, strengthen governance, and build genuine trust.
“We realised early on that if plans were going to work, they couldn’t happen to the sport – they had to happen with the sport. When stakeholders feel heard, they become invested, and when they become invested, they drive the change as much as we do.”
She spoke about this being especially important for women and girls, who often experience squash differently depending on club culture, tradition or environment. Engaging those voices directly has been central to designing programmes that feel authentic, not imposed.
With Olympic visibility now within reach, she affirmed that stakeholder alignment will be the engine that converts interest into sustainable participation.
With less than a week left before the December 15th Volunteers in Sport Awards 2025 entry deadline, Squash Ireland would like to thank all clubs that have already nominated one or more outstanding volunteers from their ranks.
Dave Broderick, the Squash Ireland club and community development officer, said: “The nomination process is open for another few days but will close on December 15th and a full guide to the nominations process and the recognition categories can be found HERE.
“Squash Ireland can help if a club is feeling unsure about how to approach it. Reach out to us and we will help you create the story.”
The Federation of Irish Sport 2025 Volunteers in Sport Awards are bringing together volunteers from all 32 counties to celebrate their commitment to fostering participation and ensuring that sport is accessible to all.
Over 460,000 volunteers work each week tirelessly to bring sport and physical activity to life for people of all ages.
This year’s awards have placed a renewed focus on celebrating volunteers, clubs and community by supporting them with a €200 donation awarded to the affiliated club or sporting organisation of every county-level award winner.
After nominations close on December 15th, the awards celebration will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin’s Blanchardstown on February 26th.
Squash Ireland’s international teams will wear Adidas thanks to a new partnership with McKvr, the Irish sportswear wholesaler.
McKvr is the official kit supplier for Team Ireland, most recently providing a range of Adidas and McKeever kit for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. They were also recently announced as the official supplier to Team Ireland for the LA 2028 Olympics.
Players representing Ireland at World and European levels will receive a full range of technical performance clothing, leisurewear and essential travel accessories.
As part of the agreement, Squash Ireland and McKvr are also extending support to the grassroots of the game. Affiliated clubs nationwide will be eligible for a €250 credit to use through the McKvr online shop once €2,500 of kit has been purchased.
Squash Ireland CEO Scott Graham said: “We are delighted to partner with McKvr and Adidas to ensure our international players have access to world-class performance kit. Competing at the highest level requires not only talent and dedication but also the right support, and this partnership delivers just that.
“Equally important is our commitment to clubs across Ireland. By working with McKvr to provide €250 in credit to every affiliated club, we are ensuring that the benefits of this partnership are felt at every level of the sport – from grassroots to elite.
“The ease and accessibility of the online club shop provided by McKvr will reduce the administrative burden for club volunteers and ensure members look the part while playing and socialising.”
