Trophies & Cups

The following awards are presented at the Annual General Meeting each year:

• For Contest Results (20 awards)
• For Service to the Society or to Amateur Radio (6 awards)
• For Other Achievements (5 awards)

In general, these awards are available to IRTS members only.  However, “Awards for Service to the Society or to Amateur Radio” may be made to members or non-members.

Awards to IRTS members for Contest Results

For Contest Awards, the station must have been operated from EI or GI

IRTS DX Trophy

This is the oldest of the IRTS awards.  The cup was purchased by special subscription of the members shortly after the foundation of the Society in 1932.  The late Jack Smith GI5OX first won the trophy in 1935. Originally awarded to the leading EI station in the single operator, all band section of the ARRL DX CW contest, it is now awarded to the leading EI single operator in the annual IOTA contest.

Hal Hodgens Trophy

The trophy is in memory of Hal Hodgens EI5F who taught in the then Kevin Street Radiotelegraph School.  He was very actively involved in the establishment of experimental radio in EI and was a founder member of the IRTS.  He was President of the Society in 1938.  The trophy was constructed by Jim Bartlett EI2BB and Roy Cookman EI7H and in particular commemorates Hal’s proficiency as a CW operator by incorporating his morse key.  (Incidentally, Roy EI7H’s grandmother was a Jameson and was married to Marconi.)  Originally awarded to the leading EI station in the single operator QRP section of the ARRL DX CW contest, the Trophy is now awarded to the highest scoring EI station in the 12 hour CW section of the IOTA contest.  This trophy was first awarded in 1989 to Tom Cocking EI4DQ.

IRTS IOTA Trophy

Paul O’Kane EI5DI presented this trophy to the Society.  Paul was President of the Society from 1997 to 2000 and is a keen contest operator.  It is awarded to the leading island (EJ) DX-pedition station in the annual IOTA contest.  The trophy was first awarded in 2000 to the East Cork Group, EJ7M.

Pete Daly Memorial Cup

This cup is in memory of the late Pete Daly EI5G, who like Hal Hodgens was very involved in the establishment and development of experimental radio in EI.  Pete was one of the early Editors of a printed Newsheet.  The late Bill McIlwaine EI9F, who was secretary of the Society for many years and was its President in 1966 and 1967, presented the cup to the Society.  Bill devoted a night every week for a long number of years, in 91 Lower Bagott Street, teaching morse code and radio theory to people wishing to obtain an experimenters’ licence.  The cup is presented to the winning station in the open section of the IRTS CW Field Day, an event in which Pete Daly was an active participant over many years.  The trophy was first awarded in 1962 to Ian Morris EI6U/P.

Paddy Smyth Memorial Cup

Presented to the Society by the family of the late Paddy Smyth EI9J to honour his memory.  Paddy was a prolific CW operator and was one of the world-renowned topbanders having worked over one hundred countries on that band.  It is awarded to the leading station in the restricted section of the IRTS CW Field Day.  The cup was first awarded in 1993 to Paul O’Kane EI5DI.

Paddy Daly Microphone

Paddy Daly EI6CP constructed this trophy.  Paddy is noted for his skills in home construction and in particular for his attention to detail and high quality work in the restoration of classic receivers and transceivers.  Paddy acted as QSL Manager of the Society for many years.  This trophy is awarded to the winning station in the open section of the IRTS SSB Field Day.  It was first awarded in 1989 to the East Cork Group EI7M.

IRTS HF Shield

Presented to the leading station in the restricted section of the IRTS SSB Field Day.  The shield was first awarded in 1989 to the Wicklow Wireless Society EI2WW.

Tom Donnellan Cup

The Limerick Radio Club presented this cup to the Society in memory of the late Tom Donnellan EI9BG.  As Tom was a keen CW operator the cup is awarded to the leading EI station in the CW single operator section of the CQWW DX contest.  It was first awarded in 2001 to Tim Makins EI8IC.

Lough Boffin Shield

The Shannon Basin Club presented this shield to the Society.  It is awarded to the leading SWL in the Winter 80m Counties Contest. The shield was first awarded in 2010 to Shauna Baynes EI1588.

Lough Ree Shield

The Shannon Basin Club presented this shield to the Society.  It is awarded to the leading entrant in the SSB Portable section of the Winter 80m Counties Contest. The shield was first awarded in 2010 to Mayo Radio Experimenters Network EI7MRE.

Lough Allen Shield

The Shannon Basin Club presented this shield to the Society.  It is awarded to the leading entrant in the SSB Fixed section of the Winter 80m Counties Contest. The shield was first awarded in 2010 to Roland Byrne EI4GYB.

Lough Boderg Shield

The Shannon Basin Club presented this shield to the Society.  It is awarded to the leading entrant in the SSB/CW Portable section of the Winter 80m Counties Contest.

Lough Derg Shield

The Shannon Basin Club presented this shield to the Society.  It is awarded to the leading entrant in the SSB/CW Fixed section of the Winter 80m Counties Contest. The shield was first awarded in 2010 to Paul Martin EI2CA.

EI5AJ Memorial Cup

The cup was sponsored by Limerick Radio Club and presentated to the Society by the family of the late Eamon Cassidy EI5AJ; It is awarded to the leading entrant in the SSB/CW Fixed section of the Summer 80m Counties Contest. The shield was first awarded in 2010 to Niall Foley EI4CF.

Thomond Trophy

Donated by the Limerick Radio Club to promote activity on the VHF/UHF bands.  It is awarded to the winning station in the open section of the IRTS VHF/UHF Field Day.  It was first awarded in 1971 to IRTS Region 1 EI9ONE.

Shandon Trophy

Formerly the "IRTS VHF Shield", the new Shandon Trophy was presented to the Society by the Cork Radio Club in 2006.  It is awarded to the winning station in the restricted section of the IRTS VHF/UHF Field Day.

SDR Trophy

This is awarded to the leading station in the 50 MHz / restricted section of the IRTS VHF/UHF Field Day.  The trophy was presented to the society by South Dublin Radio Club.  It was first awarded to Oleg Solovyov EI7KD in 2013.

Oriel Trophy

This is awarded to the leading station in the 70 MHz / restricted section of the IRTS VHF/UHF Field Day.  The trophy, which was fabricated in the Louth Men's Shed in Seatown Dundalk, was presented to the society by Peter Grant EI4HX and was first awarded to Tom McDermott EI9CJ in 2013.

Slievenamon Shield

The Tipperary Amateur Radio Group presented this shield to the Society to encourage the use of the 70cm band.  It was originally awarded to the leading EI station operating FM on the 70cm band during the month of July; it is now awarded to the leading station on 70cms in the restricted section of VHF/UHF Field Day.  The shield was first awarded in 2002 to Hugh O’Donnell EI2HI.

Dermot Cowley EI2AK Memorial Cup

The Dundalk Amateur Radio Society presented this perpetual cup to the Society in memory of the late Dermot Cowley EI2AK.  Dermot was an innovative constructor and experimenter in the VHF and later the Millimeter bands. He has done much to progress the use of microwaves by amateurs in Ireland and encouraged all newcomers to this cutting edge of the hobby by his tireless help and example. The cup is awarded to the winning station in the 1.2GHZ restricted section of the IRTS VHF/UHF Field Day. It was first awarded in 2010 to Dundalk Amateur Radio Society EI7DAR

Awards for Service to the Society or to Amateur Radio

Awards in this section may be made to members or non-members

Arup Cup

The Arup family in memory of their son EI3M who died at an early age donated this cup to the Society.  The cup is beautifully crafted in Danish silver and is awarded for exceptional service to the Society or to Amateur Radio.  The cup was first awarded in 1948 to Howard Coombs EI6J.

Michael Collins Memorial Trophy

The late Harry Wilson EI2W donated this cup to the Society in memory of the late Michael Collins EI3N.  The cup is awarded for exceptional service to the Society or to Amateur Radio.  Michael, who worked in the then Department of Posts and Telegraphs, was tragically electrocuted in his shack at his home at Ashdale Road, Terenure in Dublin in June 1952.  Harry EI2W who donated the trophy was president of the Society from 1961 to 1963.  He was a well-known VHF operator holding many records and he held the first 50MHz licence in Europe.  He travelled in the course of his business and, in association with this, represented EI many times at IARU Region 1 Conferences when the Society was not financially in a position to send a representative.  The trophy was first presented in 1960 to Pat Conway EI3Z.

Pat Conway Perpetual Memorial Trophy

Kathleen Conway donated this magnificent cup to the Society in memory of her late husband Pat Conway EI3Z.  Pat, who was born in Wicklow, moved to Athlone in the early fifties as an engineer at the Athlone (Moydrum) Radio Eireann (now RTE) transmitter.  Pat read the Society’s Radio News on AM from his shack in Athlone for many years.  The cup is awarded for exceptional service to the Society or to Amateur Radio.  The trophy was first awarded in 1982 to Jimmy Upton EI8Z.  As a matter of interest, Shannon Basin Radio Club has secured permission to use the callsign EI3Z as their club call.

Sheila Piper Cup

The cup was presented to the Society by Jim Piper in memory of his late wife Sheila.  The cup is presented for service to the IRTS News Service.  The trophy was first awarded in 1995 to Ciaran McCarthy EI7DIB.

EI3AV Perpetual Cup

The cup was sponsored by Limerick Radio Club and presentated to the Society by the family of the late Pat Maher EI3AV; The cup is awarded for service as the leading IRTS Regional Representative.  The trophy was first awarded in 2011 to Ger McNamara EI4GXB.

The President’s Cup

This cup is presented at the discretion of the President of the Society, and was first awarded in 1997 to Sean Donelan EI4GK.

Awards to IRTS members for Other Achievements

Folan Shield

Professor Enda Folan EI6W, who was President of the Society from 1958 to 1960, presented this shield to the Society.  It is awarded for home constructed equipment built to the highest standard and a technical write-up including the specification of the item is required.  The shield was first presented in 1959 to T.J. McCrossan EI7A.

Kevin Freeny Trophy

The Fingal and North Dublin Radio Clubs donated this trophy to the Society in memory of the late Kevin Freeny EI9BMB.  The trophy is awarded for proficiency in equipment construction.  It was first awarded in 1988 to Dave Redmond EI2GB.

Ian Morris Memorial Trophy

The South Dublin Radio Club, in honour of the late Ian Morris EI6U, donated the trophy to the Society.  Ian was a member of the committee of the Society for many years and was a very proficient CW, Field Day and contest operator.  The trophy is awarded to the shortwave listener with the highest number of DXCC entities confirmed in the previous year.  The trophy was first awarded in 1989 to David Burt EI982.

EI7IQ National 6 Metre Shield

John Corless EI7IQ donated this shield to the Society and it is awarded to the leading EI/EJ IRTS member for 6 metre activity in the previous calendar year.  The shield was first awarded in 2001 to Charles Coughlan EI5FK.

EI7IQ National 4 Metre Shield

John Corless EI7IQ donated this shield to the Society and it is awarded to the leading EI/EJ IRTS member for 4 metre activity in the previous calendar year.  The shield was first awarded in 2003 to Dave Court EI3IO.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to all who contributed to the production of this page, and in particular to Sean EI7CD, who collated much of the background information on the history of the cups, and to Dave EI4BZ and others who collated the historical data on cup winners.  Also, thanks to Peter EI4HX who looks after maintaining and engraving the cups and ensuring that they turn up each year at the AGM.

If you have suggestions for changes or additions to these web pages, or any problems viewing them, please tell the Web Editor