Chess league honours Tom McNally
THE Mayo Chess League has announced that a new trophy will be awarded for the upcoming Mayo Chess League.
The trophy is named in honour of Tom McNally, an extraordinary chess coach from Castlebar. Tom taught in St. Pat’s National School for many years and it was there that he started to encourage youngsters to play chess.
Starting in the early '70s, Tom gave an enormous amount of his time to coach kids after school. It was not long before his coaching methods bore fruit.
His achievements as a coach from that point on were simply extraordinary. Under his management the small Castlebar club sent out teams that won Community Games gold, silver or bronze medals practically every year, from the early '70s through to the '90s. The club 'owned' the Connaught junior team championship for 20 years and more.
Local player Joe McDonnell, himself a winner of multiple Connaught senior titles, commented: "Tom is a highly skilled and dedicated coach and teacher; superb at motivating young people and always very generous with his time despite family and work commitments. The local club punched well above its weight for many years, out competing the much bigger city clubs."
Eamonn Abberton, who runs the Castlebar club, added: "Tom is simply the best chess coach I have ever known. His teaching abilities combined with his love for the game was an inspiration to his students. And their achievements were remarkable, and Tom’s guidance was immense in helping them achieve that success."
But it was not just the club teams that scored major successes. Under Tom’s tutelage local brothers Niall and Pearse McDonnell claimed junior Irish Under 13 and Under 16 national titles.
Niall recalls traveling the country with Tom: "I travelled with underage teams from a very young age. Tom was always there as a chaperone to look after us and keep us out of trouble. He gave selflessly of his time to make those trips, even at a time when he had a young family himself. Indeed Tom and his wife Geraldine regularly welcomed us into their home in the Curragh and there would often be nearly a dozen of us playing chess 'til late in the evening."
The winner of the Connaught senior title was a Castlebar player for many years, with brothers Paul and Alan Millett, and Joe McDonnell, competing and claiming the trophy on several occasions.
Rarely has there been a more popular winner than when Tom himself won the senior title in 1987, fighting off several of his former students in an epic battle that went down to the last game. There is a belief in chess circles that Tom took special pride in showing them he was still the master.
Tom organised many very successful tournaments in Castlebar over the years which brought tourists to the town during the recession in the 1980s. He even managed to have the Irish senior chess championship staged in Castlebar in 1983. Gerry McDonnell, another of Tom’s former students, was in contention right to the end.
The attention to detail that Tom brought to those tournaments meant that they were very successful and widely recognised as such. Hotels, B&Bs and the local bars all did very well as a result of the tourist influx.
Despite all of these achievements, there remains the strong belief that Tom has never really had proper recognition for his work. The Mayo Chess League now hope to put that right by naming the cup in Tom’s honour.
The Mayo Chess League starts on November 15. Players will play for the honour of getting their name on the Tom McNally Cup. The league is organised by John Hensey and newcomers of all ages are most welcome. The entry fee is €10.
Interested players should contact John at jghensey@eircom.net or (085) 8088075.