Michael Creaven is expecting last year’s Division One relegation in Wroclaw to fuel Ireland’s performance at the upcoming European Championships in Amsterdam.
The Irish side, consisting of Creaven, Sam Buckley, Conor Moran, Oisin Logan and Sean Conroy, is unchanged from 2025 in Poland when an 11th-place finish cost them their top-flight spot.
However, seeded No.1 and preparing to contest a Division Two pool with Slovakia, Norway and Austria, Creaven is feeling optimistic that promotion can be achieved when the music stops in the Netherlands next Saturday after four days of play.
“The draw this year is good,” he said. “We’re coming in at one seed and hopefully we’ll finish at one as well. We have got Slovakia, Norway and Austria in our group, so they’re good countries as well, it will be good games all the way.
“Last year we were up and down, started really well, but then towards the end of the tournament we fell off a little bit.
“We ended up getting relegated, unfortunately, but this year we are a bit stronger, we’ll have all improved a little bit and hopefully we will be back up to Division One for next year.”
The 24-year-old Sutton player was delighted with his latest Ireland selection. “It’s always nice getting the letter,” he smiled.
“We had a tough enough season. Everyone was close enough. It was probably four, five of us going for three spots, so it was a good battle across the whole year, and it was nice. The hard work paid off in the end.
“It [Team Ireland] is different from being on your own, to be fair. I prefer the team environment a little bit. You’re playing not just for yourself but for the lads as well, so it’s a bit more pressure, but it’s a good pressure as well. It’s good.”
Good too is Creaven’s form in 2026. “Third in the Nationals. I had a good tournament in Oporto towards the end of February. I won a Satellite there, my first Satellite win, so I was delighted with that.
“And then the week after, the final of the Limerick PSA Open. So, I was doing well and then played a competition against Oisin (in England). Oisin’s playing well. He got the better of me in that one, but I’m feeling good going into the Europeans. Hopefully, we’ll get back up to Division One.”
That would be a super reward for Creaven’s commitment to the sport as an athlete juggling the demands of a day job.
“I work Monday to Friday, but probably train twice a day on the weekends, and two times a week I try to do twice a day as well. It’s a big commitment, but it’s enjoyable as well. It’s fun, if you get me.
“I’m doing accounting at PWC, and I have to do exams. I’ll be finished them in two years so when they are done I can maybe look into it [going full-time in squash] then and see how we go.”
