JERSEY’S leading darts players will head to Ireland this weekend for the fourth and final staging of the Islands International Darts competition.
The Island’s top men and women travel to Treacys West County Hotel in Ennis, County Clare, where they will take on Guernsey, the Isle of Man and hosts Republic of Ireland across two days of singles action, with the 2026 Islands International title up for grabs.
All three visiting nations have previously hosted the tournament, leaving Ireland to stage the curtain-closer of a competition that has become a firm favourite among players.
Jersey hosted last year’s event at the Royal Hotel, where the Irish side dominated to claim overall honours, with the Isle of Man finishing second and Jersey third.
The tournament is played entirely in singles format, with 13 men per nation competing in best-of-five-leg matches from 501.
Action gets under way on Saturday at midday with the women’s competition. Jersey, captained by experienced campaigner Ema Love, will open against the Isle of Man on board two, while Ireland face Guernsey on the main stage.
The men begin their campaign at 3pm, also against the Isle of Man, before the women return at 6pm to take on the hosts on the main stage.
Sunday’s play starts at midday with the men facing Ireland, before the women contest their final fixture against Guernsey on board two. The competition concludes at 6pm with the men’s clash against the Sarnians.
Confidence is high within both Jersey squads. Despite travelling with a reduced women’s team of six players, Love believes she has a strong group capable of building on last year’s third-place finish.
The Irish women’s side is made up entirely of full-time professionals, but Jersey remain the only team to have taken points off them in recent years.
The men will be looking to improve on a difficult home tournament in 2025, when they finished fourth in a competition that produced some outstanding individual performances, including a 93.41 average from Ireland’s Gerard McGlynn.
Jersey’s Lewis Bell was the Island’s top performer, finishing seventh overall with an average of 76.82.
Having previously finished runners-up in Guernsey, Jersey’s men will be hoping for a resurgence, boosted this year by the inclusion of 15-year-old prospect Olly Mulcahy, whose emergence adds fresh energy and excitement to the squad.
Jersey Darts Squads
Men’s team: Craig Quemard (c), Steve Eusebini, Gareth Le Monnier, Mark James, Stuart Moon, Olly Mulcahy, Dave Parlby, Nigel Greenwood, Sid Bell, Lewis Bell, Taylor Greechan, Craig Brolly, Mark Buckingham
Women’s team: Ema Love (c), Hope Hopwood, Donna Le Clercq, Casey Lodwidge, Andrea John, Caz Hillion
