Irish Men Ready for 2024 Battle in The Bowl

Dumfries once again plays host to the Irish Men’s Championship as two teams are set to contest a best-of-three series to determine Team Ireland at the next European Championships.

John Wilson

Defending champions Team Wilson are aiming to defend their crown after retaining Ireland’s status in B-Division at the 2023 Europeans in Perth. Skip John Wilson is once again supported by third Kyle Paradis and lead Craig Whyte. Andrew Gilmore will step in as second instead of James Russell. The team are supported by their coach, Eoin McCrossan. Although they are no strangers to the international stage, they are hungry for more and are excited to get playing. “We always relish a national championship” explains skip John Wilson “and we’re excited to play some good games and try and defend our crown!”.

Brian Mathews

They will face Team Mathews, led by current Irish Mixed Champion Brian Mathews. He will be joined by 2012 world senior champion Bill Gray as well as previous Irish men’s representatives Arran Cameron and Steve Callan. Brian sprung a bit of a surprise at last season’s Irish mixed to emerge as champion and is happy to do the same again: “I think I play best when there’s no pressure involved and I can just play my game. The team are looking forward to having a good weekend and seeing what happens. It’ll be great!”

The games are scheduled as follows:

  • Game 1: Saturday 11am
  • Game 2: Saturday 4pm
  • Game 3: Sunday 10am

Keep track of the ICA social media for results and pictures and Dumfries Curling YouTube page for some potential streaming.

Ireland Fall Just Short in Triple Crown Bid

The 2024 Four Nations was a successful outing for the Irish Curling Association as they won two of the three trophies they contested, beating Scotland and England, but lost to Wales by a single shot in a tight tussle for the triple crown.

This year’s event was held at the Flower Bowl near Preston, England and a small band of Irish players travelled up, down and across the Atlantic for the chance to represent the association. Things started well for the Irish with two contests against Wales on Friday night. Dale Sinclair skipped the women to a handsome win, with Kyle Paradis doing enough to give Ireland the tie in a loss to the Welsh men. The highlight of the contest was a memorable double to score 2 in the 8th end and send Ireland into Sunday with a 2-shot lead.

Saturday morning was the reverse for the team as Kyle Paradis skipped his men to a big win over England, and Dale Sinclair kept it close in a narrow loss to England that came down to the last shot. Things got better and better for the team with Ross Barr leading the men to a huge win over the Scots and Bernie Gillet lost in the final end to give Ireland the lead in all 3 trophies overnight.

A wonderful dinner and some memorable (if less than wonderful) dancing followed, with the President leading by example as ever with his full dancing arsenal on show.

On Sunday, 6 mixed games would decide the fate of the trophies and the first set of games were against Wales. A strong win for Wales against Kyle Paradis left Ross Barr with it all to do. He did manage to win, but the Welsh knew they had done enough and peeled out the final shot of the game to win the contest overall and retain The Meikle  Trophy. A topsy-turvy second set of games against England saw Kyle Paradis take an early lead, only to draw his game and Eoin McCrossan was down 6-2 before coming back to win 7-6. Thanks to the previous day’s results, The Turnbull Trophy was secured for another season. Finally, the Scottish games. Ireland had a 9-shot lead from Saturday and they needed every single one as Scotland had levelled the contest after 4 ends. Ross Barr, pulled a few shots back to limit the damage but the comeback kid of the day, Eoin McCrossan, skipped his team for a 5-0 deficit to win 7-5. The Marshall Millenium Trophy was once again Ireland’s.

The final results were:

Marshall Millennium Trophy: Ireland 31 – 27 Scotland

The Turnbull Trophy: Ireland 33 – 25 England

The Meikle Trophy: Ireland 30 – 31 Wales

Next year’s four nations will be hosted by Wales, once again at the Flower Bowl from 24th-26th of January 2025.

2023 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW

The 2023 European Championships B-Division kicks off this Saturday in Perth, Scotland with Ireland’s men set to take part. The competition, which runs from 18th-25th November, marks the second year the Irish men will compete at this level after a recent successful return. The team of John Wilson, Kyle Paradis, James Russell, and Craig Whyte supported by coach Eoin McCrossan made the playoff round last year and will be hoping for more of the same.

The competition will see 16 teams compete in two groups of 8, battling it out for two promotion spots to next year’s top tier. The top three teams of each group will proceed to the playoffs for the medals and promotion opportunities, whereas the bottom two in each group will battle to avoid the trapdoor that will send two of them back to the C division.

Ireland is in group B alongside recently relegated Spain, England, Wales, Slovakia, and Austria along with promoted sides Ukraine and Liechtenstein. Their first game is against Spain on Saturday at 2pm and their round-robin efforts conclude with their Ukraine game on Thursday afternoon.

Following their golden success at the 2022 C-Division in Lithuania, Ireland’s men travelled to Ostersund, Sweden last season, and with a record of 4-3, made it to the playoff round before succumbing to France in a tight playoff game. This hasn’t changed the focus of the team who know that the competition will be tight.

“Last year our group was so evenly matched that coming into the last game we could have finished anywhere from 7th to 3rd. We know that there’ll be tough competition ahead but we’re feeling good and excited to get going!”

Admission to the event at the Dewar’s Centre, Perth is free and live scores, schedule and team information can be found here.

2023 AGM & Closing Bonspiel

Steve Callan Becomes President-Elect

The 2023 Annual General Meeting of the Irish Curling Association was held on 19th March 2023 at Lanarkshire Ice rink in combination with the closing bonspiel.

To begin the day, 6 teams took to the ice in 3 very competitive games. In the spirit of Mother’s Day, the usual rules of keeping family members apart were dispensed, but any combative fireworks that might have been forecast failed to materialise. Inspired by the Women’s worlds, Neil Fyfe threw last and Eoin McCrossan skipped from third in a 6-5 win over Alasdair McIntyre’s team – not quite up to the standards set by Patz and Tirinzoni perhaps. A strong start from David Whyte saw him prevail in the father-son battle over Craig Whyte by a score of 8-5, but it was Bill Gray who won the day with a final score of 10-6. Bill’s team of Steve Callan, Christine Furey and Ari Furey saw off Ross Barr, Alison Barr, John Burns and Eleanor Burns. Bill utilised the hammer effectively with big scores of 4 and 5 seeing him to victory.

Winning Team of Bill Gray, Steve Callan, Christine Furey & Ari Furey.

Following the bonspiel, Bill paid thanks to all who had participated as well as the staff at the ice rink for providing a great day. Reveling in the victory, Bill noted it had been a good while since he had tasted victory in an ICA bonspiel and this really was one to enjoy.

The AGM followed the bonspiel with a hybrid meeting being offered to all members in a technological first for the ICA. President Eoin chaired the meeting beginning with a moment’s remembrance for those we had lost in the past year, including ICA founding member Liz Knox. Following that members heard reports from the President, Treasurer and WCF reps highlighting the activities of the association throughout the year including WCF competitions, Four Nations success and advancing the cause of ice in Ireland.

President Eoin McCrossan and President-elect Steve Callan

Steve Callan was elected as President-Elect meaning he will succeed Eoin McCrossan as president at the 2024 AGM. Steve thanked everyone for their support and said a few words including a touching tribute to the community the ICA provides, giving him his ‘Irish Fix’. David Whyte and Bill Gray continued in their roles as Treasurer and Secretary respectively and new ordinary committee members elected were Kyle Paradis, Brian Mathews, and John Wilson. They join Craig Whyte, Ailsa Barron, and Jason Medhurst who continue in role. Nina Clancy completed the committee being elected as the new female WCF representative.

Outgoing Committee members, Christine & Caroline with President Eoin.

These elections meant that there were some farewells and President Eoin led the thanks to outgoing committee members Christine Furey and Carolyn Hibberd. In particular, Carolyn’s departure comes after a hugely significant contribution to the association. As a founding member, Carolyn has championed the cause of the association for 30 years. She was the second president, a long-time WCF rep and competed at 5 international championships, the highlight no doubt being a 2010 European C-Division Gold medal. In recognition of this, Carolyn was awarded honorary life membership of the ICA – a truly fitting accolade after a huge amount of service.

Biggest ever Battle in Bowl set for this weekend

In a moment of ICA history, four teams will contest the 2023 Irish Mixed Championship marking the biggest national championship in Irish curling history. Dumfries Ice Bowl once again plays host with games beginning on Friday evening ahead of a potential final on Sunday. The winning team will earn the right to represent Ireland at the 2023 World Mixed Championship in October.

Defending Champions - Team Wilson
Defending Champions – Team Wilson

Leading the field are the defending champions John Wilson, Alison Fyfe, Craig Whyte and Jen Ward. They enjoyed the best possible preparation for the event by winning the Irish Weekend at Stranraer and will be keen to represent Ireland once more.

Senior women’s skip, Dale Sinclair, joins three of last year’s runners-up Kyle Paradis, Ailsa Barron and Eoin McCrossan. They ran their rivals close last year and will hope to take that final step to the top of the podium.

The third team of Bill Gray, Nina Clancy, David Whyte and Louise Kerr sees parts of the two Irish Seniors teams heading to Korea in April to join forces to tackle another national championship. Experience may prove crucial this weekend, and if so Team Gray has it in spades.

Brian Mathews rounds out the field with his team of Clare McCormick, Jason Medhurst and Stephanie McDonald. This mostly Ireland-based team is representative of the ever-growing and changing membership of the ICA and they will be keen to play their first national championships.

The event begins on Friday night with a 4 team round-robin ahead of playoffs on Sunday to be determined by the round-robin standings

All games will be streamed live on the Dumfries Curling YouTube channel which can be accessed here.

Irish Mixed Playdowns Schedule

Ireland Ready for B-League Return

Ireland’s Men are gearing up for the 2022 European Curling Championship in Östersund, Sweden which marks their first appearance in B-Division for a decade. Östersund plays host to both the A and B Division, with international curling returning to the town after the Mixed Doubles and Seniors were staged there in 2018. The Irish gold medal-winning team from Lithuania’s C-Division returns led by skip John Wilson. John is backed up by third Kyle Paradis, second James Russell and lead Craig Whyte. The team will be supported by coach Eoin McCrossan, in their aim to keep Ireland at this level.

The competition consists of 16 teams, split into two groups of 8. The top three teams in each group will proceed to promotion playoffs with a chance to be one of 2 new teams in the 2023 A-Division and at the other end of the standings, the bottom two teams in each group will contest the relegation playoffs to determine the two relegated teams. Ireland are in a group with England, Wales, Lithuania, Ukraine, Slovakia, Finland and Estonia.

John is itching to get going,

“I’m nervously excited, I can’t wait to get going – I’m very happy to return to international competition and feeling good to have the gold-medal winning band back together. Our preparation has been good, with Craig and I taking part in the world mixed and then joined by James from LA and Kyle from Belfast in the build-up. We have been working hard to get ready for championship conditions as well as getting a grilling from Coach Eoin on strategic scenarios – so we feel prepared!”

Ireland last played at this level in 2012 in Karlstad, Sweden and for lead Craig Whyte that was his first international experience,

“I’m excited to be back to try and right the wrongs from 10 years ago! I’m looking forward to playing together again as a team and building on the performance and result from May as well as playing some new teams!”

Although there are new teams lying in wait – Ireland’s first game is against Ukraine in a repeat of May’s C-Division gold medal game. The round-robin portion of the competition runs from Saturday to Thursday with playoffs taking place on Friday and Saturday. You can follow the scores on the WCF website here. You can also keep up to date with the scores and show your support on our social media channels.

Successful Season Kick Off at Greenacres

The 2022/23 season kicked off in style for the Irish Curling Association as members gathered at Greenacres Curling Rink for an Opening Bonspiel and Training Day. Members were first put through their paces by guest coaches Colin and Drew who helped members shake off any summer rust with drill stations across three sheets focussing on the line-up, working with a laser and sweeping.

This is the second season in succession that an opportunity to get comfortable on the ice has been offered to members and it was once again gratefully received. One member noted, “I’ve never received any formal coaching since I started using a stick to deliver – so that was really helpful”. Another hoped their good form would carry into the bonspiel “It’s not often I get a chance to just practice – when I’m in a game and a shot goes wrong I don’t have any chance to stop and work out why and work on it… Hopefully, this will mean the game later goes totally to plan!”

The opening bonspiel saw 6 teams keenly contest 3 games for early season bragging rights and prizes. The scores were as follows:

  • David Whyte 13–4 Bill Gray
  • Andrew Gilmore 7-3 Eoin McCrossan
  • John Gilmore 9-7 Ross Barr

Some memorable shots were made (and almost made!) by every team. In particular, we were joined by Jordan and Daniel as guests from Glasgow University Curling Club as well as Geraldine Murphy making her first outing to an ICA event.

President Eoin presents prizes to the winning team – Alison Barr, Nathan Furey & David Whyte.

After the games, President Eoin made the presentations to the winning teams – but that wasn’t all! Following the European Championships C-Division, there was one further presentation to be made. Member John Furey had made the trip out to support both teams in a coaching capacity but was unable to stay for the medal ceremony. Totally unknown to John, Eoin revealed the medal and was delighted to be able to present it. “You’ve really got me there” was all John could muster. Special thanks go to his wife Christine who made sure John was at the rink with no idea of why!

Our next event will take place at Greenacres once again with the Irish Fyfe Trophy Open Bonspiel being staged on 30th October.

World Senior Profile – Bernie Gillett

Ahead of the Irish Ladies team’s trip to the World Senior Curling Championships on 23 – 30 April 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland, let’s have a look at one of our player profiles:

  • Name – Bernie Gillett
  • Age – 63
  • Occupation – Physiotherapist and homemaker
  • Status – Married
  • Children – Brian 35, Clare 34, Kevin 33, Sarah 30, Owen 28, Kiera 27
  • Years curling – 25
  • Home club and ice rink – Thornhill Curling Club, Ontario
  • Favourite sport outside curling – golf
  • Who would you really like to meet? – can’t think of anyone!
  • Favourite TV programme? – BBC News
  • Favourite holiday destination and why? – Brazil snorkelling down the Rio da Prata River with an anaconda snake, which fortunately I did not know could be there or I would not have even stepped into the river!!
  • Favourite other Irish curler and why? – Louise Kerr with 100 caps for Ireland – amazing!’
  • You can save one prized possession. What is it? – my possession my phone my lifeline to my kids and all my life.
  • Who would you choose to be marooned on a desert island with? – my husband Tom as I trust he would figure out how to get us off the island.
  • Sum yourself up in five words – Enthusiastic, encouraging, empathetic, respectful, loyal.