Local Faces: Brian Doherty

Darts is now the second most-watched TV sport in Ireland, and this week’s ‘Face of the Community’ is Brian Doherty, a man guiding the next generation of Irish stars of the oche, writes Ken Doyle.

Brian is a senior coach at Fettercairn-based Hornets Darts Academy, and, as he will tell us, the talent pool in our area is incredibly deep.

The next Luke Littler may be about to burst on the scene from our own suburbs.

He is also the a Director of JDC (Junior Darts Corporation) Éire, and we spoke to Brian in the aftermath of the Junior European and Irish Open competitions, which were held in Fettercairn Community Centre, an honour Brian was delighted to tell me about.

“We hosted two very prestigious events that weekend, which attracted the best young players from all over Ireland and Europe.

The players were all between the ages of 10 and 18, and the standard was amazing, not least from our own kids.”

Brian himself had a decent career at the oche before he moved into coaching.

He tells me, “I’ve always played, really and I took it up seriously when I had to stop playing football when I was younger.

‘I was playing a pre-season friendly for St John Bosco against Rangers in Bushy Park. I got a horror injury and I couldn’t play my first love anymore.”

“When I was much younger, I played at a youth club in Walkinstown and that’s where I started competitive darts.

‘When football was over I still had the competitive urge so I started playing again.”

“I improved and got reasonably good and I played for the Roadstone darts team. I just loved playing the game and the competition was always fierce.”

Unfortunately Brian’s top level darts career was about to end with a series of dreadful medical issues and he found himself having to re-evaluate his life entirely. As it turned out, the game drew him back in.

“I was in the Roadstone club one night when I was approached to take on the role I have now, which was the director of the Junior Darts Corporation here in Ireland.

‘I jumped at the chance and we opened the academy in Fettercairn soon after.”

Brian could not be more dedicated to the development of the sport and he’s also extremely keen on the welfare of our young people.

“I’d really like to see every child in the country have the opportunity to play darts. It’s good for them socially and we’re hoping to get the game into schools so they can benefit from the maths training they learn from the game.

‘It’s really brilliant for maths and we intend to follow a model which is currently running in some parts of the UK where the game is part of the school curriculum.”

“The children at our academy might not be into football or other sports but in darts they could potentially find something they love.

‘We’d like to encourage as many people from the ages of 7 to 17 to come down and give it a try.”

As for local talent, Brian is enthusiastic about the boys and girls who come down to Hornets.

“Well we’ve had Keane Barry and Katie Sheldon through the academy and they’ve gone on to become top professional players.

‘We have some great players coming through. I’m reluctant to name any individual, but I hope to see a lot more of our youngsters following Keane and Katie’s example.”

What’s even more impressive about Brian and his fellow coaches is that they don’t get paid a cent for what they do. It’s all about teaching the children the right way, to play and conduct themselves.

“We want them to have fun, but we also want to instill a sense of sportsmanship in them.

‘They’re a great gang of kids and I’m proud to coach them.”

“I’m also blessed to have the support of the other coaches at the academy who make it run and are every bit as important  as I am. Joe Doherty, Ethan Wills, Warren Redmond and Thomas Keane are their names and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for everything that they do.”

Brian, a married father of three, sees himself as just getting started in his evangelical approach to people taking up the sport of darts.

“The game is huge now and getting bigger all the time.

‘We want to increase the Irish presence in the professional ranks going forward.”

As our chat comes to a close, I mention that I used to throw a bit of tungsten myself in my younger days and I ask for a tip on what to do when I take it up again.

“Dedication and practice equals results,” he says.

I’ll remember those words the next time I put an accidental hole in the wall.