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History of the June Congress

As many of you know the Drogheda June Congress is going now for the last 22 years. How many of you know that it originated in Wexford back in 1971 where Andrew Thomson was chief organiser and is still involved to this day. When he moved to Drogheda he brought the event with him! A labour of love if ever there was one. It is one of the longest  (if not the longest) running congresses in the country and one we are very proud to host. Over the next while we hope to bring you some of the history of this event. Indeed if there is anyone out there who played in the original years in the 1970’s it would be great to get your memories and would love to post them here.

Below is a photo from the Wexford June Congress of 1972. Do you recognise anyone! Two of these people (Andrew Thomson & Paul Wallace) were involved in this years Congress. Can you pick them out?(Double click on pic to get a bigger and clearer view)

We are also on the hunt for the original perpetual trophy which you can see being held on the bottom left hand side. We are not sure who was last to receive it but it has been missing now for quite some years. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated in hunting it down.

Front Row: Mick Keeshan, Michael Littleton, Art Coldrick, Muninhen, Pumh 2nd row: Gerry Murphy, Brendan Ryan, Doreen O' Siocriu, Andrew Thomson, Bill Ross. 3rd row: Peter Kelly, Aileen Noonan, Jim Hackett, Hussain Baher, TBA, Paul Wallace. Top row: Michael O' Briain, Richard Dale, TBA, Elaine Foley, Tony O' Byrne
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8 Replies to “History of the June Congress”

  1. Hi there,

    can I suggest some amendments to your photo caption (below, in LARGE CAPS)?

    Front Row: Mick KEESHAM (note a), Michael Littleton, Art COLDRICK (note b), Muninhen, Pumh, PAUL WALLACE (note b), TBA
    2nd row: Gerry Murphy, Brendan Ryan, DOREEN O’SIOCRIU, Andrew Thomson, Bill Ross.
    3rd row: Peter Kelly, Aileen Noonan, Jim Hackett, HUSSAIN BAHER, TBA, TBA.
    Top row: Michael O’ Briain, Richard Dale, TBA, Elaine Foley, Tony O’ Byrne

    (a) I never spoke to Mick Keesham, but that’s how his name was spelled!

    (b) Art Colgrie / Coldrick, although I only have a vague memory of him, he played on a board 3-4 on a strong team (Collegians?!) that played above that pub in Donnybrook in the 1980s.

    (c) surely THIS must be Paul Wallace -?! He still has that smile and those whiskers, even if he’s lost the head of hair. (Or if the picture of the child is in the top row is really Paul Wallace, then this must be a VERY close relative!)

    (d) Hussain Baher was a member of the Dublin CC in the mid-1970s and he played on the Heidenfeld B side that I captained in either 1975, 76 or 77 (a very cosmopolitan group, with a Chinaman, himself, an Indian, 2 Englishmen and then a couple of Irishmen to follow!)

    regards

    Sean

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    1. Hi Sean

      Thanks for that info. It’s great to get. Nice to get a bit of history. Have made the changes you suggested. Andrew asures me the young lad is Paul. He will be delighted to get this info and I will pass on to him. Thanks a lot

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      1. hi – I’m now reconciled to the youngster being Paul Wallace – he’s not much older or younger than I am and the lad in the front row is too old for 13! I will look out for Paul W at the weekend (4NCL) to ask if he can add more names from his own recollection. (He hails from Wexford, if memory serves, so may be helpful here!)

        Sean

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      2. Hiya Sean
        That would be great and I know Andrew will love that. We are also on a hunt for the trophy in the photo. Andrew crafted it himself you may remember. It went missing years ago but maybe someone out there knows where it is. Cheers and thanks again

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  2. Pingback: Wexford/Drogheda June Congress | IRLchess

  3. We can fill in several more names in the photo, based on information supplied by David McAlister: see http://www.irlchess.com/2013/06/01/wexforddrogheda-june-congress/ for full details. In particular, he identifies the mystery Paul Wallace-doppelganger as the Dutch journalist Alexander Muenninghoff, author of a much-praised biography of Euwe.

    We don’t have any information about the trophy. Do you happen to know for sure when it was last seen? From the list of winners that David provides on his Irish Chess History site, perhaps it would be possible to narrow it down a bit.

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