AODHAGAN O'NEILL has won a Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship place following his victory in Sunday's Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay.
Cavan-based O'Neill overcame Limerick's William O'Connor 7-3 in the final of the event, held at the Green Isle Hotel in Newland's Cross, Dublin.
He also overcame two of Ireland's top young players, Jason Cullen and Sean McArdle, in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Benny Grace won through to the other semi-final, where he went down 6-3 to O'Connor, who had also whitewashed Mark Willis and defeated Sean Marshall in the last eight.
Grace won a play-off to take third place in the tournament, which was named in memory of former professional Tom Kirby, who passed away last year.
A total of 149 players entered the event, with O'Neill now taking a place in the preliminary round of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship in December.
Tickets for the 2010 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship are now on general sale, with prices starting at £15.
To book or for further information, call 0871 220 0260 or visit www.seetickets.com/darts. For VIP Hospitality Packages, call 08712 501 180.
2009 Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay
Last 16
William O'Connor 5-0 Mark Willis
Sean Marshall 5-4 John Paul Kinsella
Mervyn Robinson 5-2 Mark Kinsella
Benny Grace 5-4 Andrew Coulter
Brendan Dunne 5-3 Stephen Andrews
Sean McArdle 5-4 Jamie Shearer
Aodhagan O'Neill 5-3 Terry Meehan
Jason Cullen 5-4 Michael Mansell
Quarter-Finals
William O'Connor 5-3 Sean Marshall
Benny Grace 5-2 Mervyn Robinson
Sean McArdle 5-3 Brendan Dunne
Aodhagan O'Neill 5-3 Jason Cullen
Semi-Finals
William O'Connor 6-3 Benny Grace
Aodhagan O'Neill 6-2 Sean McArdle
Final
Aodhagan O'Neill 7-3 William O'Connor