Aidan ready for more Ireland glory

Published on 25 April 2025 at 09:28

YOU can tell how well things are going for Tipperary darts star Aidan O'Hara by the amount of games he's playing on big tournaments days.

Every time Darts In Ireland tried to catch him for an interview on the final day of the INDO Irish Darts Singles weekend he was busy playing a match.

The Irish Boys Europe Cup winning captain went into that final day needing to win the final event to stand any chance of making the Ireland Boys team for the WDF World Cup.

That's exactly what he did as he beat Donegal's Shane Porter in the final of the Irish Boys Trophy, which placed him into a play-off against the same player to decide who would join Jack Courtney on the Ireland Boys for the World Cup in South Korea.

Aidan kept his nerve to win that play-off too and book his spot on the plane to Korea.

Meanwhile, he was also busy taking down some big scalps in the INDO Men's Irish Trophy on the same day, where he made it as far as the quarter finals before losing out to the eventual winner Gerard McGlynn.

Speaking to Darts In Ireland, Aidan said he enjoyed that busy final day, even if it was tiring by the end.

He said: "I went into the final day fifth in the Boys rankings, so I knew that I really needed to win that event outright and luckily I managed that.

"I was playing a lot of games that day as I was in the Men's tournament, too, and I really enjoy playing in them as I feel I raise my game more than I do when playing in the Boys events."

His run to the last eight of the Men's Irish Trophy saw Aidan beat the likes of Irish international Dale McCarthy and Cork's JohnPaul Dowdall, showing that he's well capable of competing at that level.

Aidan added: "I eventually lost to Gerard McGlynn but the way he was playing that day I don't think anybody was going to stop him.

"So I was very pleased with how I performed in that, even if it was a bit tiring by the end."

Aidan says he can't wait to get back out playing for the Ireland Boys team again, with the WDF Europe Cup coming up in Holland in June and then the WDF World Cup in September.

He was the captain for the Ireland Boys team that won the Europe Cup in Slovakia last year, an achievement he says he has yet to better.

Aidan said: "Nothing beats the feeling of playing for Ireland at these tournaments.

"Last year was especially good last year as I was the team captain when he won the Europe Cup and that is the best achievement I've had in darts so far.

"We have a great team again this year, as do the Men's, the Ladies and the Girls, so all the Ireland teams will be going into those competitions with confidence.

"The standard in Ireland now is very good and we will compete against the best out there."

Speaking of standards, Aidan is also now taking his game on to a new level by competing on the PDC Development Tour.

He's had a strong start to his Development Tour season, sitting in the top three of Irish ranked players alongside Dylan Quinn and Dylan Dowling.

Aidan currently sits at number 24 on the PDC Development Tour Order of Merit, out of over 160 players, and he says this has given him a good target to aim for now.

He said: "I'm enjoying playing at that level and had a really good first weekend on the PDC Development Tour when I was in the top 20.

"Your goals can change throughout the year but now that I'm up around there I'd like to try finish in the top 20, which would be great for my first year playing on it.

"It's another great experience and it's great to see so many young Irish players taking it on and doing well too."

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