Brendan O’Donoghue regained the Irish National Senior Championship after a 7-3 victory over Rodney Goggins at the Ivy Rooms on Sunday.

O’Donoghue, second from right, completed the hat-trick in Carlow. Photo credit: PJ Nolan

The Nenagh native had been one of the pre-tournament favourites after a strong season which saw him capture two out of the six previous ranking events this term.

After emerging from an extremely tight and tense semi-final tussle with Tom O’Driscoll 6-5, O’Donoghue recovered from a slow start in the final to claim his third domestic championship.

It places the 34 year-old, who enjoyed prior successes in 2003 and 2015, on a par with the likes of TJ Dowling, David Morris, and Vinnie Muldoon.

O’Donoghue is now one behind Martin McCrudden’s tally of four, which stands as the modern day record for most national crowns.

The former European Championship runner-up pocketed €1,000 for his efforts and also finished the season as the top ranked player in the country.

Goggins, national champion 17 years ago, had dispatched of defending champion Dowling in the last 16 before comprehensive thrashings of Colm Gilcreest and Philip O’Connor.

In the final showdown, Goggins established an early 2-0 lead but could only muster one additional frame as O’Donoghue took control.

Brendan O’Donoghue regained the Irish National Senior Championship after a 7-3 victory over Rodney Goggins at the Ivy Rooms on Sunday.

O’Donoghue, second from right, completed the hat-trick in Carlow. Photo credit: PJ Nolan

The Nenagh native had been one of the pre-tournament favourites after a strong season which saw him capture two out of the six previous ranking events this term.

After emerging from an extremely tight and tense semi-final tussle with Tom O’Driscoll 6-5, O’Donoghue recovered from a slow start in the final to claim his third domestic championship.

It places the 34 year-old, who enjoyed prior successes in 2003 and 2015, on a par with the likes of TJ Dowling, David Morris, and Vinnie Muldoon.

O’Donoghue is now one behind Martin McCrudden’s tally of four, which stands as the modern day record for most national crowns.

The former European Championship runner-up pocketed €1,000 for his efforts and also finished the season as the top ranked player in the country.

Goggins, national champion 17 years ago, had dispatched of defending champion Dowling in the last 16 before comprehensive thrashings of Colm Gilcreest and Philip O’Connor.

In the final showdown, Goggins established an early 2-0 lead but could only muster one additional frame as O’Donoghue took control.