The stage is set for what is expected to be an epic tournament!
The Irish Masters Open 2024 is kicking off tomorrow in Fitzwilliam LTC and Mount Pleasant LTC, in Dublin. 126 players from 12 countries will compete for the title in 12 categories ranging from O35/40+ to O75/80+.
Irish athletes are determined to claim the title at the Irish Masters Open 2024, following strong performances at the WSF World Masters earlier this year.
Full calendar and results can be found here.
Squash enthusiasts are welcome to the event venues to enjoy the action live. Matches will also be streamed live on our Youtube channel Squash Ireland TV.
Follow us on our social channels for updates, interviews and more.
Squash Ireland, formerly Irish Squash, has published the organisation’s first High- Performance Strategy for the period 2025–2028. The strategy is being released on the anniversary of squash’s formal inclusion in the LA 2028 Olympic programme by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Click here to view the Squash Ireland High Performance Strategy 2025 – 2028.
This strategy marks a significant shift in Squash Ireland’s approach to high-performance squash as the sport prepares for its debut in the Olympic Games. Its development was supported by extensive consultation and research, setting ambitious targets at the European, World, and Olympic levels.
A key objective for Squash Ireland is to qualify athletes for the LA 2028 Olympic Games and increase the number of players ranked in the world’s top 100, with a target of four. Securing substantial additional investment in the high-performance programme is essential for implementing the systems and structures necessary to achieve this strategy. Squash Ireland plans to launch a patrons programme and sponsorship strategy to support its high-performance goals and other objectives.
To kick-start the strategy, Squash Ireland is investing in world-class coaching by recruiting a high-performance Head Coach to provide player support and leadership for the high-performance programme.
Squash Ireland CEO Scott Graham said:
“Ireland has a proud history of competing at the highest levels in squash, reaching as high as number 3 in the world on the women’s side and number 7 on the men’s side. That success has instilled a belief among young players that they too can compete at the very highest level. With the inclusion of squash in the LA 2028 Olympic Games, we have a huge opportunity for young players to pursue a career in squash and strive to become Olympians. As a fast- growing and ambitious National Governing Body, we are committed to backing the players and putting the systems and structures in place to ensure long-term international success.”
“The development of this strategy has taken several months, and I want to thank everyone who contributed, particularly the members of the high-performance working group: Angus Kirkland (Chair), Arthur Gaskin, Derek Ryan, Gareth Brown, Eoin Ryan, and Ken Flynn.”
Sport Ireland’s Director of High Performance, Niamh O’Sullivan, commented:
“Squash Ireland has set clear and ambitious targets for its sport over the coming four years. Sport Ireland is encouraged by the National Governing Body’s plans to maximise the potential of its athletes, clubs and coaches. Our vision for international success by athletes and teams is that it is systemic and sustained; and critically, underpinned by high-functioning National Governing Bodies. I look forward to continuing to engage with Squash Ireland as their plans develop over the next cycle.”
As part of the collaboration, DYNAMIK will provide expert technical advice and comprehensive court maintenance services to Squash Ireland and it’s network of affiliated clubs. This support will ensure that squash courts throughout the island of Ireland are maintained to the highest standards, enhancing both performance and safety.
Squash Ireland is responsible for the promotion and development of squash at all levels. The sport has experienced rapid growth in recent times, with membership increasing by almost 20%, the number of affiliated clubs rising from 50 to 60, and several new squash courts and facilities planned for development.
Craig Jack, Managing Director of DYNAMIK, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, stating:
“As we branch further throughout Ireland, sharing our expertise and the work of our professionals, we are more than excited to collaborate with Squash Ireland to help to deliver optimum playing conditions for this fantastic sport. Providing aftercare and maintenance support will allow us to help maintain the condition, longevity and safety of your court so more people can get involved, play safely and grow with squash in Ireland.”
Scott Graham, Squash Ireland CEO, added:
“At Squash Ireland, we aim to provide real added value and support to our affiliated clubs, so I am pleased that we have developed a partnership with DYNAMIK that focuses on just that. DYNAMIK will offer expert technical advice and comprehensive court maintenance services to affiliated clubs and facility owners. Whether you’re planning to develop your squash facility or looking for cost-effective solutions to maintaining courts, Squash Ireland and DYNAMIK Sports Floors are here to help.”
Through this partnership, Squash Ireland will benefit from DYNAMIK’s extensive experience in delivering high-quality sports facilities, further enhancing the playing experience for squash enthusiasts across the country.
Ellie Hewitt
The successful candidate will coordinate and deliver a range of sports development and participation initiatives aligned with the cornerstones of the Sport NI ‘Power of Sport’ Plan, aimed at putting in place the structures and programmes required to increase squash participation in a sustainable manner.
The Club & Community Development Officer will report to the Squash Ireland CEO and work closely with the Strategic Development Officer for Northern Ireland to develop and action a work plan. It will be essential for the successful candidate to develop positive working relationships with the Ulster Squash Provincial Committee, local clubs, coaches, volunteers, and partners such as Sport Northern Ireland, local councils, and university sports development teams to promote inclusive and welcoming squash programmes and initiatives.
The position is initially offered on a fixed-term contract to 31 March 2025, with the possibility of an extension subject to successful delivery of the funded programme and continued receipt of Sport NI funding.
Key Responsibilities
Experience & Competencies
Further Information
The appointment will be made subject to satisfactory:
How to Apply?
Applications must be sent by email with the subject line: [ATTN: Club & Community Development Officer Northern Ireland]. When applying by email, please include a letter of introduction detailing your skills and experience relevant to the role and your Curriculum Vitae outlining your skills and work experience. Please send these materials no later than the 18th of October 2024, to Squash Ireland CEO Scott Graham at [email protected]. Interviews to take place on 21/22 October.
Squash Ireland is an equal opportunity employer, celebrating diversity and championing inclusivity. If you require any reasonable accommodations to assist you in participating in the employee selection process, please simply let us know.
Squash Ireland are asking you to ‘Step in’ to squash, with a new name and identity for the sport across the island of Ireland.
Formerly, Irish Squash, the national governing body has updated its name and will now be known as ‘Squash Ireland’. This changeover is currently taking place across all digital platforms, including a new mobile-optimized website, and will be rolled out across tournaments, participation programmes, and national squads in the coming weeks and months.
To coincide with this name change, we are very proud to reveal our new brand identity and our ‘Step in to squash’ brand manifesto.
The brand has been developed with renowned sports creative specialists, Branding Sport, to capture a more modern, energetic, youthful side of the sport. A series of newly developed participation programmes and coaching guides will be unveiled over the coming weeks and months, bringing the Squash Ireland brand to life and encouraging more young people to enjoy squash in fun, new ways.
Our players and volunteers were active participants in the brand development process and the ideas and inspiration for the new brand came directly from our community.
Squash Ireland President, Rosie Barry, believes the new identity marks the start of a period of great opportunity for squash on the island of Ireland, “It’s a very exciting time for us as we are already looking forward to squash’s inclusion at the LA 2028 Olympic Games. On top of that, our new brand is an indication of our commitment to promote and grow the game even further, with a major focus on recruiting new, young players to the sport. As we ‘step in’ as an organisation to a new era of growth and ambition, we decided to put the sport of squash front and centre in our name, as we strive to deliver more for our vibrant squash community and appeal to new participants in this exciting sport.”
CEO of Squash Ireland, Scott Graham, says the new identity is a key part in the organisation’s strategic planning; “I was very keen to update the Squash Ireland identity to reflect the energy, the fun and the community at the centre of the sport. The process we worked on with Branding Sport has really delivered on that objective and will help us to grow the game on a number of fronts.”
Branding Sport MD, Patrick Murphy, gives some more insight into the brand design and development; “The players, staff and volunteers at Squash Ireland contributed some very rich insight when it came to developing the brand and we were keen to deliver on that input. ‘Sport in 3d’ was a key idea and something we tried to capture in the new logo – the squash ball travelling in front, behind and all around the player and the court. For the eagle-eyed out there, the dimensions of the lettering and the logo are very deliberate and intended to reflect the dimensions of a squash court itself, while the overall identity has been created to appeal to a youthful audience and to really come to life across social media and digital platforms.”
Step in. Always step in.
In to the forehand, the backhand.
In to your local squash club.
In to the club comp… and the club night out.
It’s a game that suits us.
Chaotic and full of energy.
Sweat and tears. And laughs.
Indoors. Makes sense.
You might not see them,
But they’re all around.
Great Irish squash clubs.
Great people, great fun.
Step in to Squash.
Scott Graham, Squash Ireland CEO.
[email protected]
Squash Ireland is thrilled to announce the launch of our brand-new Social Tour for 2024, designed to bring together squash enthusiasts of all levels for a fun, engaging, and inclusive experience.
The Social Squash Tour is a series of 1-day events all around Ireland where people meet, play squash, socialize and have fun.
Each event will promote squash as a healthy activity for any age and gender, with a social environment welcoming everyone, no matter their level, abilities or skills. We aim to bring together the community of beginners and improvers who aren’t eager to compete in official events, but are looking forward to challenge themselves, meet new people and share the love for our sport.
Each event will consists of a few hours of timed matches, to ensure everyone gets on court as much as possible. Everyone plays everyone. No winners or losers, no final ranking. Just a lot of games, chats and fun!
Registrations are open on SportyHQ, free of charge. Each participant will receive a t-shirt provide by Squash Ireland.
Limerick Women’s Social Tournament – FULL
Kilworth Women’s Social Tournament – October 21st – CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Kilworth Men’s Social Tournament – October 22nd – CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Rathnure Women’s Social Tournament – November 8th – CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Any club interested in running a social tour event can contact [email protected] highlighting:
1. Day, time and location of the event
2. Min and Max number of participants (1 court per max 6 players, min 2 courts)
3. Target group: open to all, over a certain age, women-only etc.
Funds will be provided to help towards running the event.
Squash Ireland is pleased to confirm the appointment of two young leaders to the Junior Committee.
Dean Dromgoole will take on the role of Junior Secretary, while Maria Protsepova will also join the Junior Committee, bringing new energy and ideas that will undoubtedly help grow junior squash.
Dean brings 15 years of experience competing in Ireland and across Europe and is registered as a PSA professional player. As a squash coach, Dean works regularly with young players and, as a former player himself, understands the junior squash scene very well. He is currently studying Mechanical Engineering at TU Dublin and plans to attend the majority of Junior Tour events.
Maria Protsepova has represented Ireland at the junior level, competing across Europe and as far as Australia at the World Junior Squash Championships. In addition to her experience as a player and coach, Maria is a committee member at Mount Pleasant LTC and a student of Law and German at Trinity College Dublin.
Maria brings with her a passion for promoting squash to junior players and, while catering to top players, she is also keen to develop an inclusive and welcoming environment to encourage more young people to play squash at all levels.
Speaking about the appointments, Irish Squash CEO Scott Graham said:
“I am delighted that both Dean and Maria have stepped forward to join the Junior Committee. We are putting a real focus on developing junior sections within clubs and broadening the player base, with more young people becoming involved in squash. I am particularly pleased that we have such excellent young leaders coming forward with fresh ideas.”
The role of Senior Secretary remains vacant. Please contact [email protected] for more information or to express your interest in this volunteer role.
The Junior Committee for the 2024/25 season is Dean Dromgoole (Junior Secondary), Maria Protsepova, David Noone (Connacht Rep), Eoin Ryan (Leinster Rep), Brendan Connolly (Munster Rep) and Josh McVeigh (Ulster Rep).
Applications were submitted in September 2023, with announcements on equipment funding published in May 2024, and capital funding made today.
The biggest beneficiary was Athlone Squash Club, which Irish Squash was pleased to provide a letter of support for the facility, which could act as a regional hub for squash in the Midlands although a significant funding shortfall remains.
Glenville Squash Club was awarded €15,045 for club and court upgrades, while Freshford Squash Club received a similar amount of €15,695.
Speaking on the news, Irish Squash CEO Scott Graham said:
“I am delighted for the clubs that were successful with their applications and have been awarded significant investment. Increasing and enhancing squash facilities across the island of Ireland is an important factor in continuing to grow the sport and make it more accessible and enjoyable to be a part of.
“For any clubs that did not apply or were unsuccessful, there will be more opportunities through future rounds of the Community Sports Facility Fund or local schemes managed by councils and local sports partnerships, such as the recent Local Enhancement Programme or Community Recognition Fund.”
“We will continue to highlight capital and other funding opportunities as they arise and are available to assist clubs where possible.”
If you missed Irish Squash’s recent webinar, facilitated by 2into3 on ‘How to Develop Local Club Facilities,’ please contact [email protected] to receive a recording of the webinar.
Click here for more on the Community Sports Facilities Fund.
Craig entered this $6,000 event as the number one seed and sought to take advantage of her first round bye.
The Lisburn native made light work of Chile’s Antonia Vera Sepulveda in the quarter final, dropping just 5 points in a comfortable straight games victory.
Hannah proved why she was the #1 seed for the event when she grinded out a 3-1 victory over her #3 seed Mexican opposition in the semi-final winning the last two games comfortably, 11-3, 11-4.
The Irish woman’s best was yet to come as she faced the #2 seed, Lucia Bautista in a titanic final. This was a very tense affair which went to the wire. Luckily for Hannah, she showed immense mettle to win the decider 11-7 and claim her first PSA title in South America.
After turning pro this time last year, Hannah dedicated her victory to the sacrifices she has had to make to to fully commit to squash and to those who have pushed and supported her to chase her dreams.
Congratulations Hannah. The first of many.
The three new board members further bolster the expertise on the board of Irish Squash, which has grown considerably as a National Governing Body for Sport in recent years as we strive to fully deliver the 2022-2027 Connecting the Dots Strategic Plan.
Rose Hynes brings substantial, broad-spectrum experience from her work as a commercial lawyer, a member of senior management, and as a Chair and Director of Stock Exchange and SEC-registered companies, as well as other commercial entities across various sectors. Hynes also has extensive experience in leading successful organisations through long periods of complex transformation involving extensive stakeholder interaction. She has over 35 years of experience across all aspects of the aviation industry, both as a senior executive in GPA Group and at board level in Aer Lingus Group, and as Chair of Shannon Group and the Irish Aviation Authority.
Kevin Ahern brings over 30 years of financial services experience, most recently as the CEO of TD Securities in Ireland, leading a front office trading floor encompassing Debt Capital Markets, Rates, Equity Derivatives, Foreign Exchange, and Corporate Banking relationship management. As CEO and Country Head for 10 years, Ahern was a driver of major strategic change. A member of boards of directors in both executive and non-executive capacities for 17 years, Ahern managed the firm’s risk profile, ensuring that appropriate internal systems and controls were in place, and oversaw the adoption of the group’s culture in the day-to-day management of the firm.
Susan Kelly has over 20 years of experience in human resource management and financial services and is currently a Partner at Odgers Berndtson, a leading global executive search and organisational leadership firm. Kelly’s appointment adds further depth and breadth of experience to the board, supporting Irish Squash’s ambition for a strategically focused board planning for and safeguarding the long-term future of the sport.
Commenting on the appointments, President Rosie Barry said:
“Rose, Susan and Kevin will bring a wealth of experience to the new board in Irish Squash, underpinning our transformation to a skills-based board after the EGM in March 2024. I look forward to working closely with them as we continue to professionalise the organisation and further enhance the governance structures already in place. Their appointments are timely, coinciding with the mid-point of our Strategic Plan, Connecting the Dots 2022-2027, as we review progress made to date and refresh strategic objectives for the benefit of our squash community.”
Irish Squash CEO Scott Graham added:
“Irish Squash is well-placed to continue its growth over the coming years, and with the addition of two further highly experienced and committed directors to the board, the organisation and the sport as a whole will benefit in the months and years to come. Irish Squash has been on an upward trajectory recently, with the number of people playing squash on the rise, as well as the number of clubs, tournaments, and coaches. We will shortly be launching a youthful and energetic new brand identity and mobile-optimised website, which will help with our push to increase the number of people involved in squash, particularly young people. Our growing team of Club & Community Development Officers is available to assist clubs across a range of areas, including the establishment of junior sections, participation programme design and delivery, accessing local funding opportunities, and club development planning.
We are also making solid progress on the development of a National Centre, having submitted an application for funding under the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund.
On the high-performance front, with squash included in the LA 2028 Olympic Games, we are pleased to have secured seed funding to professionalise and develop our high-performance programme. With this in mind, we are currently recruiting for a Head Coach to oversee the High-Performance Unit and chart our path to future international success.”
