The die is now cast for the 2026 Irish Senior Nationals following the publication of the draws for the three-event, 60-player tournament that gets underway at Fitzwilliam in Dublin on Friday.
Twenty-four players will contest the Men’s A title, with eight round one matches getting the action going.
These ties include the prospect of ninth seed Aaron Knox going up against the No.24 David Noone, his Squash Ireland junior performance coach, for the reward of a round of 16 clash with No.8 Danny Lynch, last weekend’s Intervarsities title winner with Trinity A*.
Friday night’s round of 16 will see the top seeds, Sam Buckley [1] and Conor Moran [2], on court. Buckley, the PSA No.105, is looking to reclaim the title he surrendered in dramatic circumstances last year to Sutton clubmate Moran, the PSA No.141.
Buckley was two games up and on course for a 3-0 win when leading 8-4 in the third in last February’s final, only to come unstuck and lose a five-game thriller that finished 17-15 in the fifth.
Either Jamie Byrne [17] or Jack Brannigan [16] will be Buckley’s round of 16 opponent, with Dean Dromgoole [15] or Frank O’Flynn [18] set to face Moran at the same stage of the tournament.
Switching to the Women’s A section, where there is a start list of 17 players, defending champion Hannah Craig will begin her title defence against either Stephanie Ryan [16] or Alessia Osborne [17] on Friday night.
The PSA No.66 was a 3-0 winner in last year’s final over Breanne Flynn, the PSA No.104, whose latest campaign features an opener against Zoë Nyhan [15].
Nineteen players will contest the Men’s B section and with last year’s champion Brian Knox not defending his title due to his Men’s A participation, Rex Lloyd has been installed as the No.1 seed and will open against either Enrique Pelayo [17] or Keith Lowther [16] on Saturday morning.
Christian Dromgoole, the No.2, will begin his title quest with a Friday night tie versus either Nicholas Wood [15] or David Connolly [18].
