Irish Championship - Round 3 - Dublin

Aaron Skinner Wins Dublin Open Sat 14th May 2022

England's Aaron Skinner won the Dublin Open, beating fellow Englishman, Kevin Cordell, 2-1 in the final. Beaten Semi-finlists were Dublin's Mark Farrell and Barry Spence from Belfast. Aaron's son, Finley made it a Father and Son double by winning the Junior title. Martinog Bradley beat Mick O'Brien in the Plate Final. It was the biggest Irish Circuit event of the season so far, with 17 entrants, six of whom travelled from England. Many thanks to John Moore, Mark Farrell & Andy Fitzpatrick for organising at the excellent Cherrytree Pub in Walkinstown, Dublin 12.

Full Results

Dublin Open Final: Aaron Skinner 2 James Cordell 1

Dublin Open Junior Winner, Finley Skinner (centre)

Dublin Open 2022, Cherrytree Pub, Walkinstown

Irish Championship - Round 2 - Ballymena

Farrell Wins Ballymena Open Sat 26th March 2022

Mark Farrell won the 2nd event of this season's Irish Circuit in Ballymena, with a 3-0 victory over Martinog Bradley in the Final. Losing semi-finalists were Barry Spence and Kenny Beggs. John Moore beat England's Joe Harrington in the Plate Final and Daniel Kaliszewski beat Fiona Moore in the Junior Final.

Results | Newspaper Report | Video

Ballymena Open 2022 - Video

Ballymena Guardian Report (click to enlarge)

Trophy Winners: M.Bradley, M.Farrell, D.Kaliszewski, F.Moore & J.Moore

The WASPA event was hosted by Kenny Beggs & Barry Spence at Ballymena Showgrounds, home of Ballymena United FC. There were a few drop-outs due to covid but still a good turnout of 14 players, including Donal Convery and Colin Perry making a comeback on the Irish Circuit after many years. Great to have the two Junior players (Daniel and Fiona) and a big thanks to Gerry and Joe Harrington who travelled from England. There was also coverage by local newspaper, the Ballymena Guardian

Final: Mark Farrell 3 Martinog Bradley 0

Plate Final: Joe Harrington v John Moore

Group matches in the Des Allen Suite, Ballymena Showgrounds

All 14 Players at the Ballymena Open

The venue ...

Directions: Exit M2 onto Raceview Road and follow the signs to Ecos Centre. Take first exit off Roundabout onto Kernaghan's Lane, then turn right towards Showgrounds car park (Coordinates: 54.8707822803542, -6.263059970260716). Tournament is in the Des Allen Suite, above the Main Stand. See Map.

Directions from Belfast | Directions from Derry

Spring Cup, Derry 21st March 2022

Martinog Bradley topped the 4-player table, with Brendan Rodgers finishing second. Details on Derry City Facebook.

Martinog Bradley v Dee Jenkins

RESULTS
D.Jenkins 1 B.Rodgers 1
L.Watson 0 M.Bradley 2
M.Bradley 0 D.Jenkins 0
B.Rodgers 3 L.Watson 2
D.Jenkins 0 L.Watson 0
B.Rodgers 0 M.Bradley 2

Slemish Cup, Broughshane Sat 19th March 2022

A mini-WASPA tournament was held in Broughshane, near Slemish Mountain, to enable players in the area to get some practise for next week's Ballymena Open. Kenny Beggs and Barry Spence had narrow victories over Donal Convery before drawing 1-1 with each other. The draw was enough for Beggs to top the table on goal-difference.

Donal Convery, Kenny Beggs & Barry Spence

RESULTS
Kenny Beggs 2 Donal Convery 0
Barry Spence 1 Donal Convery 0
Kenny Beggs 1 Barry Spence 1

Irish Championship Round 1 - Falcarragh

Bradley Wins in County Donegal 26th Feb 2022

Martinog Bradley won the first event of the 2022 Irish Championship Circuit at the Sean Bheairic Visitor Centre in Falcarragh. He topped the 7-player table ahead of Kenny Beggs on goal-difference, after the pair drew 2-2 in the final game. Barry Spence finished one point behind in 3rd place. Andy Fitzpatrick, making a comeback after 15 years, came in 4th.

Martinog Bradley (left) receives trophy from Event Organiser, Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers v Martinog Bradley

Barry Spence v Oisin Mor

Daniel v Andy

Martinog Bradley (Winner) & Kenny Beggs (Runner-up)

FISTF World Cup 17th-18th Sept 2022

Check out the Official Facebook Page for the FISTF World Cup to be held in Rome on 17th-18th September.

Unlike normal FISTF Tour events, players can only qualify for the World Cup after being nominated by their National Association (NITFA in the case of Northern Ireland) or through the World Ranking. The process is explained in detail at the following link: FISTF Qualification Process

NORTHERN IRELAND SQUAD SELECTION

Northern Ireland is allowed two individual representatives per category and one Team per category. The Team Squad may consist of up to 6 players.

The advertised closing date for initial applications was Mon 7th Feb 2022, to allow time to book cheap flights. Selection for the individual event was based on WASPA Rankings (Jan 2022) because they are the most relevant for active Northern Ireland players.

The players listed below all confirmed their entry before the deadline, so their places in the team are now guaranteed. The top two players in each category will also play in the individual events, with the third player being listed as a reserve in case of drop-outs.

Applications are still invited to fill the remaining team places, on a first-come, first-served basis. Please register your interest by emailing Kenny Beggs, ken@nitfa.org.uk and keep checking here for updates.

To be eligible, players must also be registered by their country with FISTF. The current list is available here: FISTF-Registered Players. Type 'NIR' in the search box to see the list of Northern Ireland players.

Note: Travel and Accommodation will be self-funded.

Derry City TFC Winter Cup 31/01/22

Seven players took part in a league format evening. Lots of tight games and good performances from Dee Jenkins, Oisin Mor and Lawrence Watson. 

Kenny Beggs took the title with 5 wins out of 6 and 1 draw in his final game. Martinog Bradley came in runner up after a thrilling 2-2 draw with 3rd place Barry Spence and a 1-1 draw against Kenny. Results

Kenny Beggs receives trophy from Lawrence Watson

Kenny Beggs v Brendan Rodgers

Thanks to Martinog Bradley for organising.

More on Derry City TFC Facebook

Broughshane Invitational Tournament 22/01/22

A small tournament was organised in the village of Broughshane to welcome back Donal Convery to the game. Playing for the first time in 15 years, he was up against his former Northern Ireland & Belfast Barbarians team-mates, Kenny Beggs & Barry Spence and showed signs of the form which took him to the 2004 Home Internationals in England and 2005 World Cup in Belgium. The event was played as a round-robin, with Kenny topping the table on 6 points.

RESULTS
Barry Spence 1 Donal Convery 0
Kenny Beggs 1 Barry Spence 0
Kenny Beggs 3 Donal Convery 0

Donal Convery 0 Barry Spence 1

Barry Spence Wins Derry Christmas Cup 13/12/21

A tight run race to the finish following a 0-0 draw between Spence and Bradley, which took the competition to the last 2 games of the night with Bradley narrowly in front on goal difference. Oisin Mor proved too tough defensively for Bradley and another 0-0 wasn’t enough. Spence got the goal he needed against Watson to finish 2 points clear at the top of the table.

Barry Spence receives trophy from Martinog Bradley

TABLE
1. Barry Spence 13pts
2. Martinog Bradley 11pts
3. Lawrence Watson 7pts
4. Oisin Mor 6pts
5. Craig Stewart 2pts
6. Dee Jenkins 1pt

R.I.P. Adrian Curtis 9/12/21

The Subbuteo World is mourning the sudden loss of England's Adrian Curtis at the age of 63. Adrian was a welcome visitor when he played tournaments in Belfast and Bangor. Northern Ireland Table Football Association offers its condolences to Adrian's family and friends, in particular his son, Sam, who accompanied him on his trips to the province.

Football Writers Association Article | Yorkshire Phoenix Facebook Post

Adrian Curtis at the 2006 Belfast Grand Prix

BLAST FROM THE PAST!

Flashback to 2007, when host nation, Northern Ireland, finished Runner-up to Scotland in the UK & Ireland Internationals, breaking England's dominance of the competition.

Northern Ireland Team, Runner-up in 2007 UK & Ireland Internationals

Northern Ireland to host FISTF International Open

A FISTF International Open is planned in Northern Ireland for the first time since 2010. It will be organised by Martinog Bradley of Derry City Table Football Club on 11th/12th June 2022 at The Nerve Centre in Derry.

For a bit of nostalgia, here are the previous International Opens & Grand Prix organised by Northern Ireland Table Football Association:

2010 Belfast International Open
2009 Belfast International Open
2008 Belfast GP & IO
2007 Belfast International Open
2006 Belfast GP
2005 Belfast International Grand Prix
1994 Northern Ireland International Open
1993 Northern Ireland International Open, Bangor

Spence Wins Derry Anniversary Cup 8/11/21

Barry Spence won the Derry City 5th Anniversary Cup with a golden-goal winner against Kenny Beggs in the final. Beggs had led 1-0 for most of the match but Spence turned the game around with a superb last-minute equaliser on-the-move before scoring the winner in the first minute of extra-time.

Barry Spence (right) receives trophy from Lawrence Watson

Spence equalises against Beggs to take the game into extra-time

American Champion Visits Derry 24/10/21

American Subbuteo Champion, Patrick Sheridan, took time out from his Irish holiday to visit Derry City's famous Shed for some friendly matches against Martinog Bradley and Kenny Beggs.

Results:
K.Beggs 1 P.Sheridan 2
M.Bradley 1 P.Sheridan 1
K.Beggs 1 P.Sheridan 3
M.Bradley 0 P.Sheridan 4

Kenny Beggs 1 Patrick Sheridan 2

Martinog Bradley v Patrick Sheridan

Kenny Beggs v Patrick Sheridan

Beggs Wins Derry Frightening Flicks 18/10/21

Kenny Beggs won the annual Derry City Halloween event ahead of Barry Spence in 2nd place and Lawrence Watson in 3rd.

The frightening flickers!

Subbuteo Recreation of Coleraine Showgrounds 24/09/21

Coleraine FC supporter, Dave Reed, has made an excellent recreation of the Irish League Club's stadium. Check out the following links:

Coleraine FC website article
Belfast Telegraph article
Video tour

Dave Reed's Subbuteo version of Coleraine Showgrounds