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The Northern Ireland and Irish regional heat of Super Trowel, the ultimate bricklaying competition took place last month at Southern Regional College’s Greenbank campus. The competition saw 8 pro competitors along with their hod carriers and 7 junior competitors and hod competitors battle it out for a place in the UK national final.
The heat was the first of the 2026 regional heats to take place, with a further six heats due to take place between now and the UK national final. The top two pros placing will now be invited to compete at the national finals.
They were Chris Quinn in first place with 665 bricks laid and 593 bricks scoring after deductions, followed by Damien O’Neill in second place with 578 bricks laid and 553 bricks scoring.
Pro competitors had a pressurised 60-minutes to lay bricks with a following 20-minute jointing up period. No further bricks were allowed to be placed during this period. Both are now in with a chance to scoop a prize fund of £50,000 at the UK National competition and go forward to Vegas to compete in the SPEC MIX Bricklayer competition and represent the UK.
In the junior series, the top student was named as Arran Barr who claimed the win with 145 bricks laid and 135 bricks scoring in a 30-minute bricklaying competition followed by a 20-minute jointing period.
Gareth Mone, Curriculum Area Manager at Southern Regional College spoke of their delight at hosting the competition: “Southern Regional College were delighted to host the 2026 Northern Ireland and Ireland Regional Super Trowel competition. 2026 marks the second time the College has hosted this regional competition and we are looking forward to its return next year. The standard of competition was incredibly high and it was great to see both experienced professionals and the next generation of bricklayers showcasing their skills under pressure.”
The UK national final takes place on Friday 31st July and Saturday 1st August 2006 in Hertfordshire.
