I was very sorry to learn of the passing of Gerard McDonnell, in Manhattan, New York, on June 3, 2023, after a long illness.
He was born in Castlebar, Co. Mayo, on October 30, 1960, the eldest of a family of ten. He was Connacht champion three times, in 1978, 1982, and 1983. He played on the Irish Glorney Cup team in 1979, in Carmarthen, Wales (where I was a team-mate).
He emigrated to the US in 1986, and competed with success in several strong tournaments in New Jersey and New York. He earned the title of US National Master.
He returned to Ireland to play in the 1991 Irish Championship in Limerick, where his younger brothers Joe and Niall also played. He finished equal second, a point behind Stephen Brady. In retrospect, he could have gone further in this event: he blundered from a much better position against Philip Short in the first round and from an equal ending against Brady in round 6.
He reached his peak FIDE rating of 2295 in the January 1992 list (history).
As recounted here previously, I had long been aware that Gerard McDonnell was a strong player in New Jersey, but was unsure whether it was the same person. I had finally established that he was, two years ago, it turns out just around the time of his passing. I was on holiday in Manhattan last week, and this jogged my memory to look him up. Unfortunately, I found obituaries.
The photo above is adapted from the article Death of Castlebar man in New York is widely mourned from the Connaught Telegraph, June 10, 2023, and several more obituaries with more detail are given on the Players: References page here.
Gerard McDONNELL, b. Castlebar, Co. Mayo, 30 October 1960, d. Manhattan, New York USA, 3 June 2023.