Remarkable Buncrana snooker club raises tens of thousands of euro for good causes

A remarkable and big-hearted Inishowen club has raised more than €70,000 for local charities over the past two decades.

In its latest generous double-donation, Buncrana’s Clonglash Snooker Club has handed over more than €15,000 to autism charity iCARE and the Donegal Hospice, with each receiving cheques for €7,637.

The money was raised following a recent coffee morning and annual snooker contest in memory of the late Deirdre McDaid (nee Callaghan).

One of the few remaining snooker organisations in the county, the club is proud to keep the great game alive and to support worthy causes that help so many people in our community.

The Clonglash Snooker Club sprang up at the beginning of this century after several local snooker halls, which had thrived throughout the 1980s and 90s, all shut down, including Henderson's, Colm O'Donnell's, the Excelsior Bar, and Willie Grant’s, to name but a few.

When the last snooker hall closed, nine exponents of the green baize sat down and decided to come up with a blueprint for a new home.

Packie Loughrey, Martin Duffy, Kieran McGee, Sean McGee, Robert Callaghan, Neil Callaghan, Liam Henderson, Kevin Callaghan, and the late Patrick McGee all came together to hatch a plan to create their own place to play snooker.

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There was an old, run-down house belonging to the late Philip Callaghan, which was earmarked as a prime location. So, with great ideas, very little money and a determined attitude, the group all worked Saturdays, Sundays, and evenings, tumbling walls and digging up floors.

By May 2000, the Clonglash Snooker Club was born. It would be another two years before a toilet was built, meaning that members had to save their pennies before they could spend one!

Since then, the club has continued to grow in strength, raising money for various charitable causes along the way.

As it’s a non-profit, every penny raised goes to the upkeep of the club.

“We are proud to say we have raised over €70,000 through our snooker club for local charities over the last twenty years,” a spokesperson added.