Unexpected journey: Mayo pool player travels to European Championship

Unexpected journeys are usually the most exciting ones. Mayo pool player Danny Feehan only started competing at senior tournaments last autumn and now he's just days from taking his place at the European Championship.

It didn't look too promising for him initially and a place on the Irish team at the European Championships seemed out of reach, but fate decreed otherwise. Did the Westport man expect to qualify in his first year on senior level? Probably not.

But at a ranking tournament in Dundalk, Feehan had a great run, it just fell for him, and he made it to the final. He earned heavy ranking points and eventually qualified for the Irish team flying to Cyprus this week to compete with Europe's best.

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“In a small way I thought it was going to end this year because I didn’t think I was going to make a men’s team or be good enough,” Feehan, told The Mayo News ahead of his departure: “Maybe that’s just a lack of confidence. But I qualified for a men’s team, so now I’m capable of playing up with the best. I’m happy the journey has continued and I can still pursue and play the sport I love.”

Feehan is the only Mayo player participating at men's senior level. He himself isn't a stranger to continental competitions. Last year, he won the U-23 European Championship with the Irish team, alongside Geesala's Padraic Coyle.

But it's definitely a step up on the senior stage: “Underage and men’s are completely different. Experience, consistency and composure really make the better players stand out.

Over a long period, the lads who can do it day in, day out and consistently are the ones who get rewarded. And numbers-wise and talent-wise it’s just different. At under-23 I could have been one of the best players in Ireland; at men’s I know I’m still up there, but I wouldn’t classify myself as one of the top in Ireland, even though I’ve qualified in the top 24. I feel like I’m clutching at straws a bit, but I made it.”

It might come down to a meeting with the eternal rivals on the European pool scene: England. Usually, Irish and English teams dominate in these competitions, as was the case when Feehan won the U-23 Euros last year in Malta. It was a dramatic final which Ireland managed to win 8-5.

Danny Feehan's story has taken him from playing his first balls up in Danny's Bar in Westport, and recently the rise in Mayo pool and the Castle Queue Club in Castlebar has helped him a lot.

Feehan has his work cut out for him at his first international tournament at men's level. Apart from the team competition with group stages and knockouts, there is an individual category called singles for every age group. And as “luck” would have it, Feehan was drawn against the current world number one Tom Cousins.

“At first I was annoyed, but now I’m just glad to share a table with him. It’s something I’ll always be able to say. For the last four or five years he’s been world number one. He flies into China, out to America, he’s a full-time professional.”

It's nothing new for Danny Feehan, as he gave Irish champion Tom Brady a good run for his money in that tournament in Dundalk. He could have beaten him, if it hadn't been for a black ball somehow magically spinning out of the pocket. Tough luck. It might be different this time.

The European 38-Ball Pool Championship starts this Saturday in Adams Beach Hotel, Ayia Napa, Cyprus and Mayo will be well represented by Westport man Danny Feehan.

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