The Irish Amateur Championship (occasionally known as the Irish National Championship) is an annual snooker competition played in Ireland and is the highest ranking amateur event in Ireland.
History The competition was first established back in 1927 which was won by T.H. Fayrey. Many former champions have gone on to play on the world tour such as Colm Gilcreest, David Morris, Vincent Muldoon, Brendan O'Donoghue, Rodney Goggins and, most notably, twice winner Ken Doherty. He went on to become the only former Irish champion to win the World Snooker Championship in 1997, when he ended Stephen Hendry's run of five consecutive wins.
Brendan O'Donoghue is the most successful player in the tournament's history, having won the competition a record seven times in the modern era. The reigning champion is David Morris, who defeated O'Donoghue 7–1 in the 2025 final to win the national title for the fifth time in his career.
Winners
Year Winner Runner-up Final score 1931 J. Ayres 1932: Not contested 1933 Seumas Fenning 1934: Not contested 1935 Seumas Fenning 1936: Not contested 1937 P. J. O'Connor 1938–1939: Not contested 1940 Pete Merrigan 1941: Not contested 1942 P. J. O'Connor 1943: Not contested 1944 Seumas Fenning 1945–1946: Not contested 1947 Charlie Downey 1948 Pete Merrigan 1949 Seumas Fenning 1950–1951: Not contested 1952 W. Brown 1953 S. Brooks 1954 Seumas Fenning 1955 Seumas Fenning 1956 W. Brown 1957 J. Connolly 1958 G. Gibson 1959–1960: Not contested 1961 W. Brown 1962 J. Weber 1963 J. Rogers 1964 J. Rogers 1965 W. Fields 1966 G. Hanway 1967 Paddy Morgan Billy Kelly 1968 G. Hanway 1969 D. Dally 1970 Dessie Sheehan 1971 Dessie Sheehan 1972 J. Rogers 1973 F. Murphy 1974 P. Burke 1975 F. Nathan 1976 P. Burke 1977 J. Clusker 1978 Eugene Hughes 1979 Eugene Hughes 1980 Dessie Sheehan 1981 A. Kearney 1982 Paddy Browne 1983 J. Long 1984 Paul Ennis 1985 Gay Burns Ken Doherty 11–6 1986 Gay Burns Damien McKiernan 8–3 1987 Ken Doherty Richard Nolan 8–7 1988 John Buckley Stephen Murphy 8–7 1989 Ken Doherty Anthony O'Connor 8–5 1990 Stephen O'Connor Richie McHugh 8–7 1991 Jason Watson Joe Canny 8–5 1992 Jason Watson Douglas Hogan 8–3 1993 Colm Gilcreest Jason Watson 8–7 1994 Mick Kane Tom Gleeson 8–4 1995 Tom Gleeson Paul Ennis 8–5 1996 Joe Canny Shay Clinton 8–1 1997 TJ Dowling Garry Hardiman 8–6 1998 TJ Dowling Douglas Hogan 8–3 1999 Joe Canny Stanley Murphy 8–3 2000 Rodney Goggins Garry Hardiman 8–7 2001 Martin McCrudden Brendan O'Donoghue 8–5 2002 Jason Watson Tom Gleeson 8–2 2003 Brendan O'Donoghue Martin McCrudden 8–5 2004 David Morris Rodney Goggins 8–4 2005 David Morris Brendan O'Donoghue 8–2 2006 David Morris Brendan O'Donoghue 8–2 2007 Vincent Muldoon John Torpey 8–2 2008 Vincent Muldoon Garry Hardiman 8–4 2009 Martin McCrudden David Hogan 8–6 2010 Martin McCrudden Vincent Muldoon 8–6 2011 Jason Devaney David Hogan 8–6 2012 Vincent Muldoon Martin McCrudden 10–5 2013 Michael Judge Robert Redmond 8–5 2014 Martin McCrudden Michael Judge 7–3 2015 Brendan O'Donoghue Robert Murphy 7–2 2016 TJ Dowling Jonathan Williams 7–32017 Brendan O'Donoghue Rodney Goggins 7–32018 Michael Judge Rodney Goggins 6–52019 David Morris Josh Boileau 7–32020Tournament Not Held2021 Brendan O'Donoghue David Morris 6–52022 Brendan O'Donoghue Ryan Cronin 7–42023 Brendan O'Donoghue Ross Bulman 7–52024 Brendan O'Donoghue Ross Bulman 7–52025 David Morris Brendan O'Donoghue 7–1
References