The Irish Championship of 1949, held in Galway, ended 70 years ago today. The event was a 7-round Swiss—the first time the Swiss system was used for an Irish Championship–with 16 players.
The field included the defending champion, Dónal J. O’Sullivan; the 1947 Irish champion Barney O’Sullivan [but see Note below]; the 9-times Irish champion J. J. O’Hanlon; the Connacht champion Robert Dundas, the Leinster champion P. W. Whelan, the joint Munster champion John C. Hickey, the Ulster champion J. A. Flood, the Irish Universities’ champion (and future Irish champion) Vincent Maher, and the former Irish correspondence champion and Olympiad team member Warwick Nash.
In the event, though, the runaway winner was Patrick Brendan Kennedy, a U.C.C. student playing in his first Irish championship, who recorded 7/7 to finish 2½ points clear of the field. His wins were against D. G. Jackson, Nash, [Dónal J.] O’Sullivan, Hickey (on his 20th birthday), Flood, Dundas, and O’Hanlon. This was the one and only time in Irish championship history that a player has become champion with a 100% score.
I had never heard of Irish championship medals, but in 1949 one was awarded, which his son David has very kindly photographed:
[See full size version, and reverse side.]
Mel Ó Cinnéide, Paddy Kennedy’s nephew, has twice (1998, 2003) finished joint second in the Irish championship.
Note (January 24, 2021): The 1947 champion was P. A. (Paddy Duignan). Barney O’Sullivan was the 1946 champion. Both played in this event.