Tír Chonaill Cubing 2024

The 3x3x3 Cube final at Tír Chonaill Cubing 2024 boiled down to the absolute wire in Donegal, Ireland, as South Africa's Daniel Rush secured the marquee title with a blistering 6.53 average. Rush stood firm against Ireland's Ciarán Beahan, who posted a 6.94 average, and Oscar Green, who rounded out the podium at 7.04. Over two days from November 16 to November 17, The Central hotel hosted 78 competitors across 12 events and 20 rounds, delivering intense speedcubing drama across every format.

Across the main Rubik's Cube rounds, Rush set the benchmark with the fastest single solve of the entire bracket at 6.19 seconds. The 3x3 results capped an action-packed schedule featuring 75 entrants in the premier category alone, requiring three rounds of fierce competition to determine the champion. Beyond his two-handed mastery, Rush also demonstrated extraordinary concentration in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline, taking the top spot with a single solve of 1:16.50 over Irish contenders Cillian Hainbach and Ciarán Beahan.

While Rush captured the flagship hardware, Ciarán Beahan emerged as the dominant force in the big cube categories throughout the weekend. Beahan swept all four multi-layered events, winning the 4x4x4 Cube with a 24.12 average, the 5x5x5 Cube in 41.83, the 6x6x6 Cube in 1:16.31, and the 7x7x7 Cube in 1:57.14. His remarkable command across the larger puzzles kept the podium standard exceptionally high, consistently finishing ahead of Rush and Hainbach across all four disciplines.

In the short-format puzzles, the action at this WCA competition was just as fiercely contested. Oscar Green topped the 2x2x2 Cube final with a 2.59 average, edging Australia's Jonathan Charlesworth who delivered a 2.63 average, alongside a 3.52 from Lucas Patrick Dowling. Charlesworth rebounded in Megaminx, taking victory with a 44.20 average. Ronan Finke captured the Skewb title with an impressive 2.51 average, while Dowling claimed the Pyraminx crown with a 3.49 average. Rían Burke enjoyed a double triumph of his own, winning Clock in 5.31 seconds and Square-1 in 9.65 seconds.

Beneath the top podium finishes, this speed cubing gathering featured remarkable milestones from competitors across the field. Aidan Judge entered seven events at Tír Chonaill Cubing 2024, posting a 4x4x4 debut of 3:07.77, a Skewb debut of 10.10, and cutting 65.3 percent off his 2x2x2 personal best down to 5.66. David Jose tackled 11 different events, earning a 6th place finish in Clock while recording his first official attempts in 5x5x5 Cube at 1:32.82, 6x6x6 Cube at 3:15.46, and 7x7x7 Cube at 5:43.02. Fintan Birmingham made his Clock debut in 13.05 and slashed his Pyraminx mark by 54.9 percent to 6.00, while Olivier Konsek achieved a 39.4 percent reduction in his 3x3x3 personal best down to 56.71.

The surge of personal breakthroughs continued across every bracket in Donegal. Connell Quinlan placed 14th in Skewb while improving his personal best by 48.3 percent to 4.48 and recording a new 4x4x4 mark of 2:30.33. Ruairi Donnelly registered his first Clock mark at 23.76 while carving 41.5 percent off his Skewb standard to finish in 7.33. Tommy Roulston reached 8th place in Skewb, added Megaminx and 5x5x5 debuts to his ledger, and lowered his 4x4x4 record to 56.42. Liam Butler tackled nine events, achieving a Square-1 debut of 1:08.88 alongside a 39.5 percent improvement on 3x3x3 to reach 22.07.

The 2024 edition highlighted the broad appeal of the sport, drawing both seasoned medal collectors and newcomers eager to register their first official times. Across all disciplines, competitors from Ireland claimed 24 podium placements, followed by South Africa with eight and Australia with four. The breadth of formats, from rotating geometric layers to mechanical clock faces, showcased the complete spectrum of solving talent.

As the final timers were cleared at The Central hotel, Tír Chonaill Cubing 2024 concluded having delivered an unforgettable showcase of competitive focus and community spirit. From decisive final solves to individual personal bests across the leaderboards, this cubing competition in Donegal confirmed the vibrant momentum within the community heading into the next competitive season.