Irish Amateur Championship (snooker)  The Irish Amateur Championship (occasionally known as the Irish National Championship) is an annual snooker competition played in Ireland and is the highest ranking amateur event in Ireland. The competition was first established back in 1927 which was won by T.H. Fayrey. The championship is currently held by TJ Dowling. 2014 champion Martin McCrudden has won the tournament 4 times and is now the most successful player in the modern era. Many former champions have gone on to play on the world tour such as Colm Gilcreest, David Morris, Vincent Muldoon, Brendan O'Donoghue, Rodney Goggins and most noticeably Ken Doherty who won the compition in 1987 and 1989 and would go on to become the only former champion to win the World Snooker Championship in 1997 ending Stephen Hendry's run of 5 consecutive World Championship wins. Currently only former champion Ken Doherty is currently playing on the world tour.