ANALYSIS | Irish Tour Card hopes precarious: O’Connor safe, but pressure mounts on Barry, Slevin & Lennon

Ireland enters the latter stages of the 2025 season with four PDC Tour Card holders — matching last year’s tally — and sits eighth on the nationality leaderboard. Only England (43), the Netherlands (21), Germany (12), Scotland (8), Belgium (6), Wales (6), and Northern Ireland (5) currently have more.

But while the numbers remain static, the performances of Ireland’s quartet paint a more nuanced picture. With the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship on the horizon, only one Irishman appears safe, while the rest are locked in a tense fight to retain their place on the Pro Tour.

William O’Connor remains the clear Irish number one, currently sitting 47th in the world rankings. The 39-year-old from Limerick — a Tour Card holder since 2011 — has carved out a consistent if unspectacular career on the circuit, typically residing between 30th and 60th in the Order of Merit.

His standout moment remains a semi-final run at the 2022 UK Open, where he pushed Danny Noppert all the way in an 11-9 defeat. It was a rare deep major run for ‘The Magpie’, whose tournament performances tend to lack the firepower of the sport’s elite. That said, O’Connor is no stranger to the winner’s circle: he claimed his maiden Players Championship title in 2019 with an 8-4 victory over Nathan Aspinall.

Later that year, he came agonisingly close to major silverware at the World Cup of Darts, finishing runner-up alongside Steve Lennon after falling 3-1 to the formidable Scottish duo of Gary Anderson and Peter Wright.

Quietly consistent and rarely one to make headlines, O’Connor looks on course to comfortably retain his Tour Card. In fact, on the provisional Order of Merit — which includes expiring prize money and starting bonuses from upcoming majors — he’s projected to climb to 44th. Barring an unlikely collapse, his Pro Tour spot for 2026 is all but guaranteed.

Keane Barry, currently ranked 52nd, finds himself in a far more precarious position. The 23-year-old, long touted as one of darts’ brightest young talents, broke through by winning the JDC World Championship and claimed his PDC Tour Card in 2021.

A year later, he enjoyed his best major performance to date, reaching the UK Open semi-finals before being beaten 11-6 by Michael Smith. Since then, however, his progress has stalled. While he reached the last 16 at the 2022 Players Championship Finals, he’s struggled for consistency in the majors — often either failing to qualify or suffering early exits.

This inconsistency is at the heart of Barry’s current predicament. While his A-game is capable of troubling the sport’s best, he too often veers between brilliance and frustration. He’s now made six appearances at Alexandra Palace, but has never progressed beyond the second round — falling at that hurdle three times, including a straight-sets loss to Gerwyn Price last time out.

His most notable result this year came at the World Cup, where he and O’Connor reached the quarter-finals. Despite losing to China in the group stage, they rallied before being eliminated 8-5 by eventual champions Northern Ireland.

Currently 64th on the provisional Order of Merit — the cut-off for Tour Card retention — Barry needs results, and fast. He has the talent to pull it off, but time is running out. It’s very much red alert for "Dynamite."

Just outside the top 64, Dylan Slevin sits 65th in the world and 70th provisionally — a concerning position for a player in the final year of his two-year Tour Card. The 21-year-old, who impressed many with his rapid rise in 2023, now finds himself under serious pressure.

Slevin has yet to qualify for a single major this year — including the World Championship — and that’s left him overly reliant on results in the Players Championship events. Without a significant run or two in the back end of the season, his place on the tour is in serious jeopardy.

A little further down the rankings is Steve Lennon, currently 76th in the world. He lost his Tour Card at the end of 2023 but regained it immediately at Q-School in early 2024. Since then, though, results have been underwhelming.

Lennon, of course, has pedigree — a World Cup finalist in 2019 alongside O’Connor and a player who has proven he can live with the game’s best on his day. But at present, he’s still some way off Tour Card safety. He is, however, currently qualified for Ally Pally — and with it, a lifeline. A win or two there could be just enough to sneak him over the line. For now, he remains unqualified for the other autumn majors, further heightening the stakes.

Of Ireland’s four Tour Card holders, only O’Connor looks a lock to return next year. Barry is right on the bubble, while Slevin and Lennon are both outside the crucial top 64 and scrambling for results.

If things don’t improve — and quickly — Ireland could head into 2026 with a reduced presence on the professional circuit. For a nation with so much emerging talent, that would be a significant step backwards.