Top darts player wins right to compete

An international darts player won the right in court yesterday to compete in a major darts tournament after she was suspended…

An international darts player won the right in court yesterday to compete in a major darts tournament after she was suspended for a year by her local organisation.

Ms Eileen O'Neill, from Gardiner's Hill, Cork, was suspended for a year from playing in all competitions by the Cork Darts Organisation after she played in a charity event organised by a breakaway association last month.

Player of the Year for 1997 and 1998, because of the suspension she was banned from playing in last night's major league, although her team from The Joshua Tree pub had reached the semi-final.

She applied to the Circuit Court for an order restraining the CDO and its representatives, Mr Roy O'Donovan, Sean Street, Mr Frank Goulding and Ms Mary Barrett, from suspending her from participating in any open competition and particularly the Murphy's League in which her team are semi-finalists.

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After hearing the details Judge A.G. Murphy granted her the injunction.

Ms O'Neill said she had been a darts player for 15 years, competing regularly in competitions organised by the CDO.

She had been Player of the Year for the past two years, was National Singles Champion for three years in a row from 1982 and was a member of the Irish International Team.

On November 22nd last Ms O'Neill was invited to participate in an open competition, The Tash Madden Open Singles, which she accepted after checking with the general secretary of the Irish National Darts Organisation.

She was informed she could not be suspended for playing in an open competition, but the CDO suspended her for a year on December 1st at a meeting to which she was not invited or allowed to address.

She said the immediate effect of that decision was to stop her from playing for her team in the Murphy League, and the knock-on effect of the suspension was that she could not be chosen as Player of the Year 1999. She would not be eligible for selection on the Cork county team or the Irish international team.

She wrote to the general secretary of the Irish National Darts Association, Mr John Keane, complaining about the suspension. He and other members of INDO travelled to Cork and met the named defendants, informing them that Ms O'Neill was entitled to play in open competition without fear of suspension and that failure to lift the suspension would cause serious problems for the relevant bodies.

However, the CDO continued to refuse to readmit her to competition including last night's semi-finals of the league.

Notice of the injunction was served on the defendants, and with the four other members of the Joshua Tree team supporting her Ms O'Neill showed up for the league in the Glen Ryan pub last night.