Cork darts stalwart John O'Shea says he's really enoying playing the game after his recent spell of success saw him claim the INDO Gold Cup crown.
The former World Masters champion is now top of the pile in the new INDO rankings season as he prepares for a busy few months ahead, both on the oche and with his growing youth academy.
O'Shea claimed the INDO Gold Cup with victory over his Modus International Pairs partner Shane McGuirk last Sunday, as he said the standards in Ireland continue to improve.
He told Darts In Ireland: "We've always had very good darts players here in Ireland, playing at a high standard, but they didn't always get the recognition for it.
"Im not sure when I won the World Masters back in 2019 that I got the recognition I should have got for that achievement and I think it was even the same for Shane last year when he won the WDF World Championships.
"Irish players have so often being overlooked but we have great players here who are achieving great things."
O'Shea said that he would love to see the PDC bring its popular World Series of Darts to Ireland, but he fears this country gets overlooked due its close proximity and ties to the UK.
He added: "Imagine having the top eight ranked players in Ireland coming up against the top eight in the PDC, it would be an automatic sellout.
"But I just think it is easy for the PDC to ignore Ireland for that as they pretty much see us as part of the UK.
"It's even that way for Q-school with the Irish players having to play in the UK qualifiers while the rest of the EU play their own qualifiers in Germany.
"Yet Ireland is part of the EU. Our players should be just as entitled to play in the EU qualifiers as people from Germany, Holland or Poland. We are as much a part of the EU as they are."
Despite this, O'Shea said he will be returning to Q School himself next January in a bid to try regain his PDC tour card.
In the meantime he will have a busy schedule, playing in the Modus Super Series again this week and competing at big INDO and ADC events across Ireland.
He said: "I'm really enjoying my darts at the moment and it's also great to have the youth academy up and running as I can now put my attention into the kids and less focus on myself and that is actually proving to be a help.
"I had a good weekend at the INDO Gold Cup, winning that and getting to the semi-final of the other ranked event that weekend.
"It's great when it goes that way for you, but I never turn up at an event or walk into a hall expecting to win anything. I just concentrate on the first game and take it from there."
The 16 ranking points that O'Shea picked up at the Gold Cup means he's the early leader in the new INDO ranking season.
If he was to remain up in the top four or five over the course of the season, O'Shea would gain a spot on the Republic of Ireland team for the 2026 Six Nations Cup and Europe Cup.
He said that is something he would very much savour.
He added: "I've loved playing for Ireland over the years as I think the greatest honour you can have in any sport is to represent your country.
"The INDO under Kevin Devaney is doing a fantastic job now bringing Ireland teams to all these tournaments around the world, and they are getting success at them too.
"I would love to be a part of that."
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