Denis Taylor on a visit to Newcastle West Snooker Club with some of the members.
Newcastle West Snooker Club
Since it was reformed in early 2014, Newcastle West and District Snooker Club has been going from strength to strength.
The club has a state of the art snooker hall in Maiden St with two 12 foot full size snooker tables and two 10 foot tables in beautiful surroundings with access from 11am to 11pm each day seven days per week for members.
Plans are in the pipeline over the next twelve months to change one of the 10 foot tables to a supreme pool table of championship standard.
The Newcastle West based club, which is affiliated to the Republic of Ireland Billiards and Snooker Association, is currently seeking new members, male and female and young people to join the club. Already the children of members can play but Newcastle West and District Snooker Club is open to people of all ages to come along and join.
The club is constantly running in house leagues and a knockout champion-ship at Christmas time. A handicap system is in place that evens out the standard and ensures everybody is on a level playing field and in with a chance of success.
Recently the club held a summer league over nine weeks after which Keith Massey and Gerry Keogh reached the final with the former taking the honours. The league is now being used to gauge players for the handicap system for the knock out champion-ship at Christmas. Another league is due to take place between now and Christmas.
The club had a very distinguished visitor last year, 1985 World Snooker champion Dennis Taylor. The Coalisland, County Tyrone native was in town for a charity event in the Central Bar and dropped into the club to do the honours and present prizes to the winners of a club tournament that had just been completed.
In 1985, Taylor was the winner of what is ranked as probably the greatest final in history when he staged a dramatic comeback from 8-0 down to tie 17 all before going on to win the deciding 35th frame to defeat Steve Davis, watched by an estimated 18 million tel-vision viewers. Members of Newcastle West and District Snooker Club got an opportunity to relive those moments of 30 years ago recently when Taylor and Davis toured Ireland to mark the 30th anniversary of the final and came to Pery’s Best Western Hotel, Limerick. Using the same cues as they had 30 years previously the great rivals squared up again in an exhibition game and history did not repeat itself as Davis rewrote it by snatching victory.
The message from Newcastle West and District Snooker Club to everybody is come and see what we are about, call into Maiden St. and see the club’s state of the art facility. Annual membership is €100 with a very competitive charge of €3.50 per hour for light to play. For further information or to join contact Rob 087-7756214, Keith 087-6144992, Gerry 087-6961697.
To help defray the cost of ongoing development in the club they are holding a flag day in Newcastle West on Saturday next 15th August. The money raised will go towards buying out the two full sized snooker tables and refurbish them to a quality playing standard