Ireland celebrated two gold medals and two promotions at the 2026 ESF European Team Division Championships in Amsterdam.
Heading into Saturday’s finals day, both men’s and women’s Irish teams had already secured places in Division 1 for 2027 by reaching their respective Division 2 finals at the majestic 21-court Frans Otten Stadion.
But both went one step further by winning those finals emphatically to fly back to Dublin as champions.
Women’s Division 2 final
Ireland’s women — who were promoted from Division 3 in 2024 and won Division 2 bronze medals last year in Wroclaw — went up against Hungary, who in reaching the final had themselves sealed two successive promotions, having been Division 3 champions last year in Malta.
Breanne Flynn kicked off by defeating Hungarian no.2 Gabriella Csókási 11-3, 11-4, 11-8.
Irish no.1 Hannah Craig, the world no.60, finished the job with a 13-11, 11-7, 11-4 victory against Trinity College scholar Hannah Chukwu.
Craig, who heads to Cairo on Monday for the World Championships, said: “We’re feeling elation. It’s a historic moment for both of our teams to get back to Division 1.
“It speaks volumes for the work being done behind the scenes. There’s so many good things happening. The support we have now is very different to how it looked 10 years ago.
“Scott [Graham], the CEO, has really turned things around. There’s amazing people working with us. We’re very grateful for that support and it’s been showing on the court for the last few years and especially this week.”
Division 2 men’s final
Ireland’s men beat Israel 4-0 in their gold medal match to join the women in Europe’s top tier at next year’s ETC.
Irish no.3 Oisin Logan overcame Segev Rome 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5 and Sam Buckley, the world no.99, put the Irish firmly in command with a 11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 11-2 win against Daniel Poleshchuk.
Michael Creaven polished off victory by securing a 11-8, 11-9, 11-5 triumph over Yali Shass. With the match won, Conor Moran’s clash with youngster Elad Robenshtok was curtailed at 12-10, 11-6 up.
Ireland coach Derek Ryan (the former world no.7 who played in 24 European Team Championships) said: “We really wanted to get promoted and face the stronger teams and I think we’ll hold our own next year.
“This gives everyone a boost in Irish squash. We’ve got a good bunch of young players who are studying in the US, will finish in the next year or two and who are hungry to go on the tour. So we have two solid teams with back-up on the way.
“They want to give themselves a chance to get to the Olympics in two years. Obviously numbers are tight because of the criteria, but they’re really hard working bunch of players who are really easy to work with.
“The junior scene in Ireland is healthy, some good coaches have come on board in the last few years, the structure in Squash Ireland is good with a really good CEO. There’s fresh impetus all round.”
Elsewhere in Division 2…
Sweden were men’s bronze medallists by virtue of a 4-0 win over Austria. Norway and Slovakia were relegated to men’s Division 3 for 2027 after respective 3-1 defeats to Denmark and Portugal meant they finished bottom of the position 5-8 play-off group.
Portugal were bronze medallists in women’s Division 2 after beating Sweden 3-0 in the 3/4 play-off. Romania and Slovenia will play Division 3 squash next year after they finished bottom of the 5/8 position play-off group.
Check out all the images from finals day at the Frans Otten Stadion
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