O'Hanlon won the Tailteann Games on second and third occasions, in 1928 and 1932. He played for Ireland in unofficial and official Chess Olympiads in France at Paris 1924, Warsaw 1935 and Buenos Aires 1939. Just after the war, he won a prize at the Zaandam tournament in Holland in 1946. At the time of his passing, John O'Hanlon was preparing and practising his techniques with plans to make a comeback the following July.