The Northern Ireland Amateur Championship (often referred to as the Northern Ireland Championship) is an annual snooker competition. It is the most prestigious amateur event in Northern Ireland.
History
The first year of the championship was 1927, when G. Barron defeated G.R. Duff. It was not held in the years 1940 and 1942–44 due to World War II and in 1972 and 1973 because of The Troubles.
Many players who have appeared in the final of the tournament have gone on to be professional, most notably including two-time World Snooker Champion Alex Higgins, former world number one Mark Allen, 25-time Irish Professional Champion Jackie Rea, World Championship semi-finalist Joe Swail, World Championship quarter-finalist Patrick Wallace (who has won the competition a record ten times) and ranking event winner Jordan Brown.
Other players who have gone on to be professional include Tommy Murphy, Jack McLaughlin, Martin O’Neill, Michael Duffy, Declan Hughes, Julian Logue, Joe Meara, Sean O'Neill, Dermot McGlinchey and Robbie McGuigan. Currently Allen and Brown are playing on the World Snooker Tour.
The current champion is Patrick Wallace, who defeated Joel Connolly 10–6 in the 2026 final to win the national title for the tenth time in his career.
Winners Year Winner Runner-up Final score 1927 Gibson Barron Robert Duff 381–331Aggregate score over 7 frames. 1928 J. Perry J. Blackburn 414–327 1929 W. Little Capt. John Ross 282–276Aggregate score over 5 frames. 1930 J. Luney Gibson Barron 351–285 1931 Jack McNally W.R. Mills 288–273 1932 Capt. John Ross W.R. Mills 266–207 1933 J. French J. Chambers 281–218 1934 Capt. John Ross W. Price 329–199 1935 Billy Agnew Capt. John Ross 281–227 1936 W. Lowe Sam Brooks 326–228 1937 J. Chambers J. Blackburn 4–0 1938 Jack McNally Billy Sanlon 4–3 1939 Jack McNally Sam Brooks 4–3 1940No competition due to World War II 1941 Jack McNally A. Heron 4–2 1942–1944No competition due to World War II 1945 Jack McNally Charles Downey 4–0 1946 Jack McNally Jackie Rea 4–3 1947 Jackie Rea Jack Bates 4–2 1948 Jack Bates Ted Haslam 4–1 1949 Jack Bates Jim Stevenson 4–2 1950 Jack Bates John Dickinson 4–2 1951 Jim Stevenson Ted Haslam 4–1 1952 Jim Stevenson Dan Turley 4–1 1953 Jim Stevenson Joe Thompson 4–1 1954 Billy Seeds Jim Stevenson 4–2 1955 Jim Stevenson Maurice Gill 4–1 1956 Sam Brooks George Lyttle 4–3 1957 Maurice Gill Dessie Anderson 4–1 1958 Billy Agnew Billy Hanna 4–3 1959 Billy Hanna Billy Seeds 4–3 1960 Maurice Gill Dessie Anderson 4–3 1961 Dessie Anderson Maurice Gill 4–1 1962 Sean McMahon Dessie Anderson 4–2 1963 Dessie Anderson Jimmy Clint 4–2 1964 Paddy Morgan Maurice Gill 4–2 1965 Maurice Gill Sammy Crothers 4–1 1966 Sammy Crothers Billy Caughey 4–3 1967 Dessie Anderson Sammy Crothers 4–1 1968 Alex Higgins Maurice Gill 4–1 1969 Dessie Anderson Alex Higgins 4–0 1970 Jimmy Clint Noel McCann 4–3 1971 Sammy Crothers Dessie Anderson 4–2 1972 No competition due to the Northern Ireland conflict 1973name="Billiards back" https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1970-01-01/1979-12-31?basicsearch=billiards&somesearch=billiards&retrievecountrycounts=false&sortorder=score&newspapertitle=belfast%2Btelegraph&page=1 1974 Paddy Donnelly Sammy Pavis 4–1 1975 Jimmy Clint Sean McMahon 4–1 1976 Eddie Swaffield Donal McVeigh 4–1 1977 Donal McVeigh George Maxwell 4–0 1978 Donal McVeigh Liam McCann 4–2 1979 Raymond Burke Jim Begley 4–3 1980 Sammy Clarke Donal McVeigh 4–3 1981 Tommy Murphy Billy Mills 4–3 1982 Sammy Pavis Kieran Erwin 9–8 1983 Jack McLaughlin John McIntyre 10–4 1984 Jack McLaughlin Harry Morgan 10–3 1985 Sammy Pavis Kieran Erwin 10–9 1986 Colin Sewell Gordon Campbell 10–4 1987 Seamus McClarey Gordon Campbell 10–4 1988 Paul Doran Joe Swail 10–7 1989 Harry Morgan Martin O'Neill 10–5 1990 Kieran McAlinden Martin O'Neill 10–9 1991 Michael Duffy Joe Swail 10–9 1992 Declan Hughes Andy Sharpe 10–8 1993 Patrick Wallace Kieran Erwin 10–8 1994 Kieran McAlinden Michael Duffy 10–6 1995 Julian Logue Colin Bingham 10–4 1996 Joe Meara Paul King 10–6 1997 Jonathan Nelson Paddy Doherty 10–5 1998 Martin O'Neill Jonathan Nelson 10–8 1999 Michael Duffy Kieran McMahon 10–2 2000 Patrick Wallace Barry McNamee 10–2 2001 Sean O'Neill Julian Logue 10–5 2002 Joe Meara Jonathan Nelson 10–7 2003 Mark Allen Colin Bingham 10–4 2004 Colin Bingham Joe Meara 10–9 2005 Mark Allen Kieran McMahon 10–1 2006 Dermot McGlinchey Kieran McMahon 10–9 2007 Patrick Wallace Joe Meara 10–5 2008 Jordan Brown Julian Logue 10–9 2009 Jordan Brown Dermot McGlinchey 10–4 2010 Dermot McGlinchey Kieran McMahon 10–8 2011 Kieran McMahon Brian Milne 10–5 2012 Patrick Wallace Dermot McGlinchey 10–4 2013 Patrick Wallace Jordan Brown 10–4 2014 Patrick Wallace Raymond McAllister 10–4 2015 Patrick Wallace Jordan Brown 10–2 2016 Patrick Wallace Jordan Brown 10–8 2017 Jordan Brown Dermot McGlinchey 10–8 2018 Jordan Brown Patrick Wallace 10–5 2019 Declan Lavery Darren Dornan 10–5 2020 Declan Lavery Robbie McGuigan 10–9 2021 Robbie McGuigan Rab McCullagh 10–4 2022 Robbie McGuigan Rab McCullagh 10–6 2023 Robbie McGuigan Raymond Fry 10–8 2024 Darren Dornan Ryan McQuillan 10–5 2025 Patrick Wallace Raymond Fry 10–7 2026 Patrick Wallace Joel Connolly 10–6
References