By Colm Griffin

Ladies and Men Division 5 Finals

With four different clubs represented it was not a great surprise that a large crowd showed up in Moyvane for the Ashes Bar, Glenbeigh Ladies and Men Division 5 final last Tuesday night (April 2nd).

Those in attendance were certainly treated to two very entertaining matches. Both encounters seesawed one way and then the other before the winners eventually emerged.

In the Ladies final the hosts Moyvane entertained neighbours and local rivals Listowel. In the first game the recently crowned Division 5 Ladies doubles pairing of Laura Sheehan and Susie Rice got off to a great start taking the first set 21-18. However the Moyvane pairing fought back strongly winning the second set 21-12.

The Moyvane pairing then went on to take the third set and the game 21-16 much to the delight of the home crowd who cheered them on loudly.

When Trish O Donoghue and Michelle Woods of Moyvane took the first set of the second game 21-14 things were looking quite bleak for Listowel. But it was at this point that the great fightback began with Molly McElligott and Cindy Walsh taking both the second and third sets on the score of 21-16 to tie the match up at 1-1 in games and 3-3 in sets.

Susie Rice then paired up with Molly McElligott of Listowel to take their game against Eva Browne and Trish O Donoghue in 2 sets. But Moyvane were not finished yet and when Charlotte Quinn and Michelle Woods took the first set of their tie against Laura Sheehan and Cindy Walsh 21-13 it looked like it might all go down to points. For this to happen the Moyvane pairing needed to win the second set also but the Listowel duo composed themselves to take the second set and thus the title on a score of 6-4 in sets.

The men’s final also threw up a contest between neighbours and local rivals as Ballyheigue faced Causeway. County Men’s Double Finalists Joe Carroll and Paraic Murray of Causeway defeated Kyle Reidy and Adrian Kenny in two sets 21-11, 21-18 but on the adjacent court Ballyheigue’s Alan O Halloran and Aidan Reidy ensured the scores were tied at 1-1 and 2-2 in sets going into the second round of games as they overcame Liam Harty and Mike Mulvihill 21-13, 21-12.

Joe Carroll and Liam Harty made sure it was advantage Causeway as they overcame Kyle Reidy and Alan O Halloran 21-19, 21-18 but like the Ladies final it also looked like the Men’s encounter might all go down to points when Aidan Reidy and Adrian Kenny (Ballyheigue) won the first set against Paraic Murray and Mike Mulvihill on a scoreline of 21-12.

However the Causeway pairing got off to a great start in the second set and were leading 8-1 before the Ballyheigue pairing pulled it back to 9-7. Try as they may they could never get ahead in the set though and the Causeway duo clinched the set and the title when they took the set 21-19. The teams played out the final set with Causeway winning to complete a 3-1 victory overall which was perhaps a slightly unfair score line on Ballyheigue overall.

Tom Clear and Olly Conyard of the Kerry Badminton Association made presentations to the winning captains Joe Carroll of Causeway and Laura Sheehan of Listowel and both losing teams at least have the consolation of knowing they will face off against either other in the final of the Mixed Division 5 league in a few weeks’ time.

Irish Inter-provincial Championships 

Six Kerry youngsters represented Munster at the Irish Inter-Provincial Championships which took place in Baldoyle in Dublin on Saturday (April 6th).

In the U-13s Ruahran Donovan (Annascaul) was the sole Kerry representative in a team that went down to Ulster and a very strong Leinster side.

The U-15 team which featured Ayrton Burke (Kingdom – Castleisland) and Ethan Tritschler (Listowel) also found the going difficult at this level losing out against both Ulster and Leinster respectively.

However the U-17 team which featured no fewer that three Kerry players had a more successful day. Kerry pairing of Cathal Donovan (Annascaul) and Christopher O Donoghue (Moyvane) got the province off to the perfect start on the day when they took their boys doubles contest against a Connacht pairing in two sets. O Donoghue added another point for the province when winning the boys singles contest in two sets.

The third member of the team from Kerry was Deina Vesko (Listowel) who is still under 16. She lost out narrowly in her girls double game 21-18, 21-19 and then also lost her mixed game very narrowly with Donovan 22-20, 21-14.

Despite this Munster still emerged victorious overall 6-3 meaning they had a straight shoot out with Leinister for the title of All-Ireland Champions. Unfortunately for this very taleneted Munster team they ran into an even more talented Leinster side. All the Munster players gave everything in this contest but ultimately they were to lose out 8-1 and finish Inter-Provincial runners-up.

Well done to all involved and playing games at this high level will no doubt allow our young Kerry talent to progress as players.

Mixed Division 2 and Division 4 Kerry County Championship

The CPC.ie Mixed Division 2 and Division 4 Championship will bring the Kerry County Senior Championship season to a conclusion this Friday night April 12th at the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre. Players are asked to please try to arrive no later than 7.15pm as the action is due to get underway from 7.30pm sharp.

Killarney will also play host to the Munster Doubles Final this Sunday (April 14th). Hopefully home advantage can help inspire plenty of Kerry pairing into achieving Munster success at the event this year. Best of luck to all participants.

Upcoming Events

Friday April 12th Division 2 & Division 4 Mixed Doubles County Championships – Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre 7.30pm

Sunday April 14th Munster Doubles Finals – Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre – Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre 10am

Friday April 19th Kerry Masters Tournament – Presentation School, Killarney