Eugene O'Hare 1918-2008

Eugene O'Hare was one of the outstanding figures in Ulster chess in the second half of the 20th Century.

Eugene won five Ulster individual titles in a row from 1960 to 1964 and a sixth and final one in 1969. He was a member of the winning Ulster teams in the Interprovincial Championship finals of 1958 (winning on top board), 1963 (drawing on top board) and 1968 (winning on board three).

His peak period as a player was in the first half of the 1960s and saw him play for Ireland in the 1960, 1962 and 1964 Olympiads.

He was also a notable organiser. In 1952 he was one of the founder members of the City of Derry Chess Club, which quickly became a real force in Ulster chess.

He was instrumental in bringing the 1962 Irish Championships to Magee College and 25 years later he was still active in bringing the 1987 Irish to his home city, when in a pioneering effort with Chessbase software he also produced the tournament bulletin with Allan Turnbull. He again helped organise the 1990 event in Londonderry and was also a leading light in bringing the 1976 Championship to Coleraine.

Although he rarely competed outside Derry after the 1970s, he still competed regularly in local events and played competitively as recently as December 2007 in the Castle Cup. He won countless tournaments in his home city.

The funeral is at 10.00am on Thursday 7th February 2008 at St Eugene's Cathedral.