The Irish Masters was a professional snooker tournament. It was founded in 1978, but only became a ranking tournament from the 2002/03 season. Up until 2000 it was played at Goffs, Co.Kildare. But after Benson & Hedges were banned from sponsoring the tournament in 2001, the tournament got a new sponsor, The Irish Government, as well as a new venue at The Citywest Hotel, Saggart, Co.Dublin.
In 1998, Ken Doherty claimed the title despite losing in the final 9 frames to 3 after his opponent, Ronnie O'Sullivan, failed a subsequent drugs test.
In December 2005, the governing body of snooker, World Snooker, announced that the competition would not appear on the 05/06 calendar. They confirmed that this was because they had failed to reach an agreement with The Citywest Hotel and RTÉ over the dates on which the tournament could be held.
Finals[]
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner Up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Template:Flagicon John Spencer | 5 | Template:Flagicon Doug Mountjoy | 3 |
| 1979 | Template:Flagicon Doug Mountjoy | 6 | Template:Flagicon Ray Reardon | 5 |
| 1980 | Template:Flagicon Terry Griffiths | 9 | Template:Flagicon Doug Mountjoy | 8 |
| 1981 | Template:Flagicon Terry Griffiths | 9 | Template:Flagicon Ray Reardon | 7 |
| 1982 | Template:Flagicon Terry Griffiths | 9 | Template:Flagicon Steve Davis | 5 |
| 1983 | Template:Flagicon Steve Davis | 9 | Template:Flagicon Ray Reardon | 2 |
| 1984 | Template:Flagicon Steve Davis | 9 | Template:Flagicon Terry Griffiths | 2 |
| 1985 | Template:Flagicon Jimmy White | 9 | Template:Flagicon Alex Higgins | 5 |
| 1986 | Template:Flagicon Jimmy White | 9 | Template:Flagicon Willie Thorne | 5 |
| 1987 | Template:Flagicon Steve Davis | 9 | Template:Flagicon Willie Thorne | 1 |
| 1988 | Template:Flagicon Steve Davis | 9 | Template:Flagicon Neal Foulds | 4 |
| 1989 | Template:Flagicon Alex Higgins | 9 | Template:Flagicon Stephen Hendry | 8 |
| 1990 | Template:Flagicon Steve Davis | 9 | Template:Flagicon Dennis Taylor | 4 |
| 1991 | Template:Flagicon Steve Davis | 9 | Template:Flagicon John Parrott | 5 |
| 1992 | Template:Flagicon Stephen Hendry | 9 | Template:Flagicon Ken Doherty | 6 |
| 1993 | Template:Flagicon Steve Davis | 9 | Template:Flagicon Alan McManus | 4 |
| 1994 | Template:Flagicon Steve Davis | 9 | Template:Flagicon Alan McManus | 8 |
| 1995 | Template:Flagicon Peter Ebdon | 9 | Template:Flagicon Stephen Hendry | 8 |
| 1996 | Template:Flagicon Darren Morgan | 9 | Template:Flagicon Steve Davis | 8 |
| 1997 | Template:Flagicon Stephen Hendry | 9 | Template:Flagicon Darren Morgan | 8 |
| 1998 | Template:Flagicon Ken Doherty | w/o | Template:Flagicon Ronnie O'Sullivan | |
| 1999 | Template:Flagicon Stephen Hendry | 9 | Template:Flagicon Stephen Lee | 8 |
| 2000 | Template:Flagicon John Higgins | 9 | Template:Flagicon Stephen Hendry | 4 |
| 2001 | Template:Flagicon Ronnie O'Sullivan | 9 | Template:Flagicon Stephen Hendry | 8 |
| 2002 | Template:Flagicon John Higgins | 10 | Template:Flagicon Peter Ebdon | 3 |
| 2003 | Template:Flagicon Ronnie O'Sullivan | 10 | Template:Flagicon John Higgins | 9 |
| 2004 | Template:Flagicon Peter Ebdon | 10 | Template:Flagicon Mark King | 7 |
| 2005 | Template:Flagicon Ronnie O'Sullivan | 10 | Template:Flagicon Matthew Stevens | 8 |