Brothers contest final held in memory of late friend

With Jonathan Leneghan’s untimely passing three years ago, a darkness and sadness descended on the pool playing community in Ballina and its surrounding areas. Yet, sometimes, with darkness and sadness eventually comes a little light and the Jonathan Leneghan Memorial pool competition has brought said light by raising much needed funds for the Cois Locha residential services where Jonathan’s sister resides.

Paddy Corcoran, the founding member of Ballina Pool Events, has discussed the charity event and other upcoming events which are taking place in Ballina’s Century Snooker Club.

“It went really well. We had a great entry and things went very smoothly. Two Ballina brothers, Adam and Aaron Moyles were in the final and players travelled from all over the county. The main thing was that we raised funds for Cois Locha so I’m extremely pleased,” said Paddy.

In the first round, two blockbuster matches took place with the inaugural winner Darren Flaherty up against long-time rival Aaron Moyles and one of the pre-tournament favourites Colin Holmes playing Castlebar’s Stephen Jennings. Last year’s winner Eoghan McGrath from Erris played Paddy in the opening round.

“I thought I was going to be in for a tough morning when Eoghan broke and cleared the first frame but to be fair I got the run of the balls after that,” said Corcoran. “I managed to string the next five frames together which put me in control of the match. The breaks went my way and I was delighted to get over the line against last year’s winner,” he said with a smile.

“The pick of the first-round matches was Darren Flaherty against Aaron Moyles. I’m sure Johnny was looking down at that draw and smiling. They were probably the two favourites for the tournament from the get-go so for them to meet in the first-round was enthralling. They’re well used to each other and, as expected, it went the distance with Aaron coming out the right side of an 8-7 scoreline. There’s never much in it when these two play each other. Everyone was watching it, fine margins in each frame and they’re the top two players in town by some distance. They are at a standard everyone aspires to be,” Corcoran continued.

The chief organiser does his best to make his time-consuming love of pool a family affair by including his wife Melissa, daughter Maddison and son Danny.

“Maddison plays pool with me regularly and has her own cue. She plays every odd Sunday and Melissa was out in Belmullet with me at tournaments over the years. When he gets a bit older, I’ll get Danny involved and hopefully he’ll come through along with the next generation of upcoming players.” 

Speaking of families, Paddy was pleased to see the final take place between two brothers, Adam and Aaron Moyles, guaranteeing the trophy returned to Ballina. At just 18 years of age and continually progressing, Adam belied his youth to string together some impressive performances on the day. Aaron had a strong connection with Jonathan Leneghan too, so it was truly fitting to see both of them in the final.

“I was delighted to see Aaron in the final as he was Jonathan’s old doubles partner.

“Adam played really well. He won three 8-7 matches to get through the final and is putting in the hours’ practice, so it was a great reward for him reaching the final against his brother.” 

Aaron finished last season ranked in the top eight players in the country and participated in the Ultimate Pool tournament in Blackpool, England. He played all over the country and was unlucky to lose the Mayo King of the Hill tournament to Barry Hough by the finest of margins.

The next iteration of the Ballina Pool Leagues will begin in September and entry fees are currently being collected with the deadline being this coming Saturday, August 31.

“Players interested, be they newcomers or seasoned players, can take a look at the Ballina Pool Events on Facebook,” says Paddy Corcoran. “There’s something for everyone, there will probably be five or six divisions and we’ve had approximately 20 different winners of divisions over the years so it’s open to anyone.” 

Next month is a big month for pool in Ballina with a national ranking event taking place in the Great National Hotel, the Mayo King of the Hill taking place and the Ballina Pool Leagues recommencing.

The funds raised by donations and entries to the Jonathan Leneghan Memorial competition will be spent on a sensory garden for Cois Locha. But the charity events don’t end there, as a 24-hour pool marathon is being organised by Ryan Cooper to secure donations for Pieta House. The 24 hour marathon will be streamed on Facebook on Ballina Pool Events page.