Gleeson brothers reach knockout stages at Euro's
Mark and Noel Gleeson represented New Institute Snooker Club and their country with distinction at the European Snooker Championships in Israel last week.
The Puckane youngsters were the first set of brothers to represent Ireland at international level.
Noel Gleeson made history at the recent European Snooker Championships in Israel by becoming the youngest ever Irish juvenile to reach the last 16 in the competition.
Aged just 15, Noel played in the Under 18 Championships and topped his group and went on to reach the last 16.
He also competed in the Under 21 Championship and got to the last 54, only being narrowly beaten by fellow Irish man and number 1 ranked under 21 in Ireland Noel Landers from Youghal. In the sixth frame, Noel was unlucky not to win the match in the sixth frame as the black ball hung over the pocket and Landers went over to shake Noel's hand, only to be told by Noel that if he potted the black it would go to a re-spotted black which Landers potted and then went on to win 4-3. Noel is now ranked number 12th in European at Under 18 level.
His brother Mark, aged 18, played in the Under 21 Championships and got to the last 32 which was a fantastic achievement for him. He was defeated by Daniel Holoyda who is currently the number 2 ranked senior player in Poland, and was previously he was number 1 in under 18 & 21 level in his native country. Mark Gleeson's run has seen his rise to number 20 in Europe at under 21 level.
Next weekend Noel & Mark Gleeson will be in action again in the U18 and U21 qualifiers for the World Snooker Championships to be held later on this year.
The boys would like to thank all those who sponsored them, from family, neighbours, friends and businesses in Nenagh and surrounding areas for helping to get them to the European Championships which is a stepping stone to further their careers.