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History of Castlebar Chess Club
The present Castlebar Chess Club (apparently there was a previous effort) has its origins mainly in the Community Games movement. In 1974 Mayo entered the National Community Games for the first time, thereby making that organization a thirty-two county affair. Local schoolteacher Tom Mc Nally (Blackfort), was asked to enter and coach a chess team. The under-16 team defeated Ballinrobe by the narrowest of margins to capture the Mayo title. The match was played in the sports hall of St. Mary's Hospital. At the provincial finals, held in Roscommon, the team was decisively beaten by Galway City team, Renmore. Licking their wounds, Castlebar's would-be grandmasters returned home vowing to redeem their tarnished reputations!
The following winter and spring of 1975 witnessed some intensive coaching and study of the Game of Kings. Opening theory, middle- game positions, end-game technique dominated Friday nights! Joe (R.I.P.) and Kathleen Ryan of Ellison St. generously offered the use of their living-room for these sessions. Kathleen was secretary of Castlebar Community Games during these inaugural years and indeed there was a strong family involvement in the game of chess over the years.
The Mayo finals of 1975 provided surprisingly strong opposition. Castlebar accounted for Swinford in a tough semi-final before going on to defeat Ballinrobe in the final. The Connacht finals saw the '74 winners, Sligo, squaring up to the '73 winners, Galway, but both reading the wrong script as Castlebar romped home in some considerable style to record their first (of many!) provincial titles. Representing their home town at the National Finals, this team were well worth their silver medals, as having reached and drawn the final, they had to settle for second place, only on tie-break. The Castlebar team was Gerard Mc Donnell, Rathbawn Drive, Myles Gilvarry, Westport Rd., Michael Ludden, Westport Rd., Paraic Moran, Turlough Rd., and David O Farrell, Riverdale.
Equally important as the good results at the National Finals, were the contacts made with the officials in charge and the opposing team managers. A thirty-two county parent body - the Irish Chess Union (I.C.U.) was 'discovered'. It organized national championships, senior and under-age; conducted inter-provincials; represented Ireland internationally; kept a ranking-list of affiliated active chess-players. A whole new world of chess was opening up to the new enthusiasts from the West!
October of 1975 saw the formation of a club. Michael Ruane (R.I.P.) from Derryharriff became its first chairman, Tom Mc Nally, Curragh, secretary, and Joe O'Farrell, Riverdale, treasurer. The new club met in the Welcome Inn Hotel for a few years before moving to the newly refurbished St. Gerald's Social Club in Chapel St. Many successful years were spent here until the social club's unfortunate demise. Presently, the Junior club meets at the College of Further Education in Newtown, while the senior players meet in Flannelly's of Ellison St.
One of the highlights of the club's history has to be the staging of the Irish Chess Championships in July 1983. The event was staged in the Travellers' Friend Hotel and sponsored by I.B.M. There were approximately 200 entries over the nine days. The large entry, the facilities made available by both the Travellers' Friend Hotel and St. Gerald's Social Club, coupled with one of the finest summers in recent times, made this tournament one to be remembered by all those involved. The club also hosted an international 10-aside team match between Ireland and Scotland, again in the Travellers' Friend Hotel. A weekend chess congress was held over St. Patrick's Day weekends for over six years. All-Ireland secondary and primary schools championships were staged in town. However, lack of adequate sponsorship, made these undertakings too onerous a task for a relatively small club to continue with, over the long term.
It was undoubtedly the high level of performance of the Castlebar players, over the chess boards, that persuaded the I.C.U. to grant the staging of so many events to Castlebar during this period. The club captured three National Community Games titles, one 'Irish Life' sponsored All-Ireland team title, a primary schools All-Ireland team championship, an interprovincial title (with an all-Castlebar team). The Mc Donnell brothers (sons of Eugene and Brid) of Rathbawn Rd., carved out their own special niche. Gerard, the eldest, became, and still is, the highest rated player ever in Connacht, Joseph has virtually owned the provincial individual title since its inception!, Pearse captured the Irish U-16 individual championship in 1981, and Niall, the 'baby' in the family, took the Irish U-13 title in 1983. While the club seems to have bottomed out in terms of national titles -the most recent was in 1994 - approximately 50 players, largely juniors, are still active in the town. Hopefully, I.T. to the rescue, 'glory' days will soon return.