January 19: TODAY in Irish History:
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Dennis Taylor
Snippets of Irish History by Conor Cunneen IrishmanSpeaks 
Conor is a Chicago based Motivational Humorous Business Speaker, Author and History buff.
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1949: World Snooker Champion Dennis Taylor is born in Coalisland, County Tyrone.
Dennis Taylor World Snooker Champ 1985
Taylor’s sole world championship victory in 1985 over world number one Steve Davis provided probably the most compelling moments in snooker history. In a final comprising of the best of 35 frames, Taylor lost all frames in the opening session to ultimately fall behind 8-0. A whitewash was on the cards as Davis was recognized at that time as possibly the greatest player to ever play the game.
Played over two days, Taylor fought back to level at 11-11 only to once again be close to knockout when Davis took a 17-15 lead, thus needing only one frame from the final three. He didn’t get that one frame! Taylor fought back to 17-17 and in a final frame lasting 68 of the most mesmirizing minutes ever in televised sports history, watched by 18.5 million BBC viewers* in the UK, and probably everyone in Ireland, Taylor finally potted the black for a most unlikely victory. It was the first time in two days of snooker, he led Steve Davis!
Taylor and Davis played a one frame game during the 2010 World Championship to commemorate the 25th anniversary of a piece of sports history.
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The Greatest Snooker Game Ever?
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* The BBC states: “A record viewing audience of 18.5 million were tuned to BBC2, the largest after midnight figure ever recorded and BBC2’s best ever figure. It was also, at the time, the largest British audience for a sporting event.”
In addition to being a world class snooker player, Taylor is an accomplished raconteur with wonderful comedic skills who now commentates on snooker for the BBC.
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READ: Bio of Dennis Taylor
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1988: Christopher Nolan Wins Whitbread Book of the Year
Christopher Nolan Whitbread Book of the Year
Twenty-two year old writer Christy Nolan, wins the Whitbread Book of the Year for Under the Eye of the Clock. Nolan suffered from severe cerebral palsy only able to write with the aid of a word-processing computer and a stick strapped to his forehead while his mother held his head. His normal means of communication was via eye signals.
In an acceptance speech read by his mother, Mr Nolan said: “I want to shout with joy. My heart is full of gratitude. You all must realise that history is now in the making. Crippled man has taken his place on the world’s literary stage.”
His prize-winning book tells how he was deprived of oxygen at birth leaving him unabe to talk, walk or use his hands.
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Want to learn more about Ireland? See these images and more in the acclaimed For the Love of Being Irish
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This history is written by Irish author, business keynote speaker and award winning humorist IrishmanSpeaks – Conor Cunneen. If you spot any inaccuracies or wish to make a comment, please don’t hesitate to contact us via the comment button.
Visit Conor’s YouTube channel IrishmanSpeaks to Laugh and Learn.
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Today In Irish History 