Thomas Kirby (21 January 1947 – 1 December 2008) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

professional

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, missiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dar ...

player who competed in the

Professional Darts Corporation The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World ...

members in the 1990s and 2000s. His nickname was The Kidney Breather.

Career

Kirby was the first Irishman man to join the

(then known as the World Darts Council) and entered its inaugural

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 1994, where he won Group 7 by set difference ahead of

John Lowe John Lowe may refer to: Sports * John Lowe (darts player) (born 1945), English darts player. * John Lowe (footballer) (1912–1995), Scottish football player * John Lowe (rugby league), English rugby league footballer * John Lowe (cricketer) (18 ...

to reach the quarter finals, losing to eventual winner

Dennis Priestley Dennis Priestley (born 16 July 1950) is an English former professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC (now PDC) world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively. He is ...

. Kirby also reached the quarter finals of the 1994 WDC UK Matchplay, beating

Cliff Lazarenko Cliff Lazarenko (born 16 March 1952) is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed "Big Cliff" due to his height (193 cm / 6'4") and weight (over 127 kg at his peak), he is known for being a colourful character on and off the stage ...

in the first round before losing to Jamie Harvey. Kirby made two more appearances at the World Championship in 1995 and 1996 but lost out in the group stages. He also played in three World Matchplays, losing in the first round in 1994 and 1996 to Phil Taylor. Kirby won his first round match in 1995 against

Sean Downs Sean Downs (born February 6 1967) is an American former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Career Originally from Oregon, Downs first competed in the BDO World Darts Championship in 1993, wher ...

before losing in the second round to John Lowe. Kirby then quietly disappeared from the sport but resurfaced in 2002, entering UK Open regionals. He then played in the 2003 UK Open, but lost in the preliminary round. In 2004, Kirby reached the quarter finals of the Irish Masters where he lost to

Peter Manley Peter David Manley (born 7 March 1962) is an English former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events from July 1996 until 2017. He won one major title, the Las Vegas Desert Classic, in 2003, and twic ...

. Kirby then returned to the UK Open the same year, reaching the third round where he lost to Colin Lloyd. He also reached the quarter finals of the Northern Ireland Open, a WDF ranked event. Kirby qualified for the 2005 World Grand Prix in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. Despite a brave effort, he lost in the first round to then-reigning champion Lloyd. Good performances in the regional finals of the 2006 UK Open earned him a spot in the third round proper but lost to Andy Callaby. Kirby left the PDC in January 2007.

Death and legacy

Kirby died in

Blanchardstown Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern Counties of Ireland, county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchards ...

from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

aged 61. A PDC tournament, the Irish Matchplay, was renamed the Tom Kirby Memorial Trophy in his honour.Obituary: Tom Kirby
/ref> The winner of the event qualifies for the

PDC World Darts Championship The PDC World Darts Championship, known for sponsorship purposes as the Cazoo World Darts Championship, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), is a World Professional Darts Championship held annually in the sport of darts. The PD ...

World Championship Results

PDC

* 1994: Quarter Finals: (lost to

2–4) (sets) * 1995: Last 24 group: (lost to Dennis Smith 1–3) & (lost to

Alan Warriner-Little Alan Warriner-Little (born Warriner; 24 March 1962) is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed The Iceman, he is a former World Grand Prix champion and a former runner-up at the World Professional Darts Championship. Darts car ...

2–3) * 1996: Last 24 group: (lost to Dennis Smith 1–3) & (lost to

1–3) * 1997: Preliminary round: (lost to Paul Lim 2–3)

References

External links

Profile and stats on Darts Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirby, Tom 1947 births 2008 deaths Irish darts players Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in the Republic of Ireland Professional Darts Corporation early era players Sportspeople from County Kildare People from Maynooth