Council

A lifelong squash lover and player and interested in the development of squash outside of the urban strongholds..

Junior Worlds Hong Kong 1991.

Senior Mens Worlds Pakistan 2005.

Current Masters International Player.

Current Level 2 squash coach.

Donal is a Chartered Accountant who took up squash in the early ‘90s having called a stop to his previous sporting interests – cross-country running (no real enjoyment, always just relief to finish training or racing), and karate (once the bumps and bruises started lingering for days instead of being ok the next morning).

He found squash a welcome change from his earlier sporting pursuits as every game is fun or competitive or both. Having started out playing social games with a couple of friends in UCD, he moved onto join Squash Ireland in Dublin 6 and moved again to Mount Pleasant in Ranelagh where he is still a member. He has been playing squash for circa 30 years and hopes to carry on playing for the next 10+ years.

Gavin was relected to the Commitee 23/11/23

Andrew grew up in the UK and first picked up a squash racket when he was 9 years old, when he and a friend went to a taster session in the local sport centre. Jahangir Khan had just won his second of 10 British Open titles.

Swimming, badminton, music and squash lessons followed, and while all the former eventually fell by the wayside, it was squash that became his lifelong sport. Weekly training was with coach Phil Harrison while match practice was in a corporate league against adults three, four or more times his age. He soon found himself slowly moving up the leagues until he eventually started beating his Dad (and Jahangir beat Jansher 3/1 in the British Open final).

For the next few years he enjoyed playing at various levels in his home county of Essex and eventually went on to represent his university in the BUCS league (while Jansher Khan wins his third British Open).

After a number of years hiatus (, Peter Nicol winning his only British Open title) and a move to Ireland, Andrew picked up his racket again and joined Sandycove Squash Club where he is still an active member.

After completing his Irish Squash Level 1 coaching qualification in 2007 (Gaultier, Palmer, Matthew) he was one of the coaches that helped launch the junior section in Mount Pleasant Squash Club (Ramy Ashour) and can still be found helping children from the age of 4 start on the same journey he took.

Andrew was asked to join the Leinster Squash Council in 2011 (no competition held) holding the position of Junior Secretary for a number of years, and in 2016 (Mohamed El Shorbagy) he completed his Level 2 coaching qualification with Ronny Vlasseks and the WSF in Brussels.

In 2020 (just before the fateful corona-virus pandemic hit and all sporting activity was cancelled) Andrew received his first national coaching role when he was appointed as the Irish Squash National Coach for the under 13 squad – an honour that the 9 year old watching Jahangir Khan win couldn’t have imagined.

As well as coaching, he still plays in the Leinster leagues for Mount Pleasant where he is slowly but surely getting over-taken by ex-pupils that are a third, quarter or less times his age. He finally accepts that the ambition of that 9 year old boy of winning the British Open now probably won’t happen.

(… and if Phil Harrison is out there… please get in touch!)

Noel's first racket was a tennis racket in Malahide Tennis Club, he swapped that for an electric guitar where he made another kind of racket, until eventually he was convinced to hold a squash racket in his mid twenties.

Noel got the squash bug straight away, playing in Squash Ireland, Total Fitness & today he plays for Aer Lingus, where he captains the Division 6 team.

What Noel lacks in skill, he makes up for in his endless passion for the game. He qualified as a Club Coach in 2016, and is committed to improving all aspects of the sport.

Noel was appointed to Leinster Council in 2014.

Paul Conroy started as GPO in September 2023.