The annual Inter-Firms Pool Tournament got under way last week with lots of action and some surprises. The Committee were quick off the mark despite a combined age of 287. They proved too strong for Coach-house B in the opening encounter.

Tuesday saw the younger element under the moniker of "Chelsea" take the stage. They were involved in a classic. The opponents were the 1998 winners Patton Construction and the seniors hit the ground running. But Kieran Cleary and fellow teenager Tom Plunkett fought back to level it at two all. An outstanding display of potting from Nicholas Culloo and Kieran saw the youngsters win the first of the doubles two nil and in the final match Ciaran O'Reilly showed his partner Tom how to handle the pressure by guiding them through to the next round. It will probably be the only thing Chelsea win this season.

The following day, two great tussles enthralled the spectators. Baby Joes and Blue Stack A were among the favourites for the overall prize and their encounter was as close as expected. Baby Joe's Niall Keenan and Charlie Murphy are ace snooker players and they are talented exponents of the pool game. Their team won the match four two after a titanic struggle, which in truth could have gone either way. The second match saw the younger element in action again representing Movie Madness. They defeated McGroarty's in a tussle that drew a large gallery. It went down to a play-off between Mickey Gallagher and Luke McGee and it was the latter who triumphed after some nervy shots from both players on the black. The final match of the week saw the National B team defeat Fergal McAllister's Donegal Drinks in a gripping contest which went right to the wire.

Michael Neary has done it all in both golf and snooker. Losing last week in the Donegal League stirred something deep in the man and he came into his Derry League match last week determined to make someone pay. Tony Cregan of Oak Grove B was the unlucky recipient as Michael potted superbly en route to a two nil win. Oliver and Tom Plunkett backed him up by drawing their matches to leave the final score four two to Donegal and a first Derry win this season. Onward and upward!

The following Wednesday Michael was at it again winning two nil in Ballybofey against Twin Towns B in a Donegal League match. The town won four nil with the other two nil wins coming from Tom and Oliver Plunkett and Terry Mullin. The club lies third in the table, two points behind the leaders.