Dublin North Region was born in February 1989 when the Dublin Region was divided into two entities to be known as Dublin South Region and Dublin North Region. All the Clubs on the North Side of the Liffey were transferred into D.N.R along with the Club in Trinity College.
The inaugural meeting of D.N.R was held in the Bankers Bridge Club on June 9th 1989 when Sean Dillon R.I.P. was elected President. Sadly both the first Secretary - Marie Cummins and the first Treasurer - Derek Stokes are also deceased. Marie gave very devoted service to the Region for many years as Regional Secretary and became President of the C.B.A.I. in 1998.
The first Intermediate Secretary - Madge Kinahan is alive and well and living in Malahide. She was President of D.N.R. in 2001. She is a member of Malahide Bridge Centre and of Portmarnock Bridge Club and is a great supporter of Regional Events.
Nora Foley followed Marie Cummins as Hon. Sec. for several years until
Norma Madden took over in 1994. The still thriving D.N.R. League was
Nora's idea. It was sponsored for several years by Aer Rianta and is
now generously sponsored by Kirwans Funeral Directors. Neil Burke was
the next Secretary followed by Bert McKay, Teriona Rogan, Kay
McDonald and Mary Breen who took over in 2016. Over the years the Region's finances were in the capable hands of George Kearns, Danny Doona, Neil Burke, Phil Brohoon and now Teriona Rogan. Before the Intermediate Committee was abolished by the C.B.A.I. Mary Kelly Rogers, Jacki Furey and Mary Dillon all did a stint as Intermediate Secretary.
Mary Kelly Rogers represented the Region as CBAI President in 2010.
When the old Dublin Region split, the existing trophies were divided between the 2 new regions. D.N.R. inherited the Moran Cup for Intermediate Pairs and the Purcell Cup for Intermediate Teams. The McLoughlin Cup, which was last awarded in 2007, was reinstated as a one session event for Intermediate B pairs, starting in the 2013-14 season. County Development Officers introduced a new Novice Teams event in 2012. The following year, Malahide Regional Bridge Club kindly donated The Paddy English Trophy for this competition, in acknowledgement of Paddy’s contribution to bridge in the area. A new Pairs Competition was introduced in 2017, to cater for Intermediate A2 grade. The trophy for winners of this event was attributed to Norma Madden, DNR President Emeritus.
The Presidency of the Region rotates between the Clubs - each Club nominating a President for one year. The majority of past presidents remain active in the region. We remember the deceased past Presidents, Sean Dillon, Marie Cummins and Anna Menton for their great contribution to bridge in the Region.
Two years after the Region was formed it was decided that D.N.R. would take over the running of the ailing Dublin Congress which was losing money and was looking for a new home. Dublin South Region had no interest in running it so the first Dublin North Festival was run in Portmarnock Sports and Leisure Centre in 1991. It subseqently moved to the G.A.A. Club in Collins Ave, to the Regency Hotel in Whitehall, the Great Southern Hotel at the Airport and finally to A.L.S.A.A. On the first Congress Committee we had Philip Dowling, Sean Dillon, Norma Madden, Anna Menton, Mary Kelly Rogers, Cynthia Phelan, Derek Stokes, Nora Foley, Marie Cummins, John Murray and G Gray. In 2004 Gerry and Eileen Murtagh presented a beautiful trophy for the Congress Teams.
In spite of generous sponsorship from many of the Clubs in D.N.R. the Festival again ran into financial difficulties in 2003, 2004 and 2005 so it was decided not to hold a Festival in 2006.
The M50 Tournament – an inter-regional club teams championship between
the four Regions bordering the M50 – Dublin North, Dublin South,
Eastern, and Mid-Leinster was set up in 2011 and this event is now the
beneficiary of the impressive Gerry Murtagh Trophy, which Dublin North
Region won in 2012 and again in 2013.
The boundries of Dublin North were changed with effect from Sept 2008. We lost Castleknock, Leixlip, Navan Road, St Brigids, Coolmine, Cnucha and Westmanstown to the new Mid Leinster region.
Click here to see a list of current clubs.
Updated 6/10/2016
