Killer Kid

I was born in Dublin in 1929 and educated at Newbridge Colledge where I learned chess at age 13. Was taught by Cecil Paterson who later joined the RUC (the Northern Ireland police force) only to be shot and killed early in the "Troubles". Within six months I could beat everyone at school including the 18 year olds.

UCD

After a short spell as a private in the Irish army I studied medicine at UCD from 1946-52 where I was club champion from 1946-57. I also won the Irish Universities title three times during that period. My first game against a master, Schenk, was from the match UCD v. Oxford in 1948. Schenk was a Czech who had palyed in continental master tournaments during the 1930s and was a friend of the famous Russian master Salo Flohr.

First Championship

I beat the aging O'Hanlon in a match in 1949 and the following year won my first Irish championship title with a score of 7½/8. The previous holder, Paddy Kennedy, did not defend his title and so we later played a match which I won 3½-2½ by winning the decisive last game. I then beat poor O'Hanlon in another match and in 1953 finished third in the Clontarf International Tournament behind the two internationals (Wade and Fuller) and comfortably ahead of the home contingent. The same year Noel Mulcahy and I both scored 6/8 in the Irish but he took the title on tie break.

Olympiads

In 1954 I played in my first Olympiad (Amsterdam), on board 3. In my first game I played my first GM, the Czech Dr Miroslav Filip, in those days a super-GM who later played in the Candidates tournaments of 1956 and 1962. I unluckily lost this game when my flag fell in between making my 40th move and pressing the clock. However, I eventually managed an Olympiad score of 4½/16, the best of the Irish team (including this win against Columbia). In the picture I am on the left, then comes Enda Rohan, Jim Walsh (wearing shades), Brian Reilly and Terry Kelly.

Hess and Speer

In 1955 I won the Irish Championship for the second time and married for the first time! Then I spent the next three and a half years in Germany in the British Army Medical Corps where I reached the rank of Captain and (among other things) was medical officer of Hitler's chief lieutenants imprisoned in Spandau jail, including Rudolf Hess and Albert Speer. I played in the German league (unpaid in those days, unlike now) and for Ireland again in the Moscow Olympiad but on top board, which was tough, and scored a miserable 2½/14.

20 Year Gap

On returning to civilian life in 1959 I settled in Manchester as a GP. I won the Manchester championship in 1961 and continued to play at club, league and county level until the early 70s. Then after a gap of over 20 years I returned to the game in 1995 and was graded for the season at about 2000 Elo.