By Colm Griffin
Kerry Division 2 and Division 4 County Singles Championships.
Killarney was the badminton focal point last Friday night as the CPC.ie sponsored final four singles titles of the season where played out in the senior Ladies and Men’s Championships.
With four titles on offer it was nice to see four different clubs celebrating at the end of the night as the titles were evenly spread across the geographic region of Kerry.
In the Division 2 Ladies singles Saorcha Fitzgerald (Moyvane) overcame clubmate Helen Browne in the semi-final whilst Maeve Twomey (Killarney) overcame the challenge of Amanda Carmody (Moyvane). The final itself was a good contest with some great rallies but Twomey eventually prevailed 21-16, 21-18. Fittingly the prize on offer for the winner was the Peggy Horan Perpetual Cup. Peggy who is and continues to be a great stalwart of Kerry badminton for many years was on hand to present the cup to Maeve who happens to be her niece which made for a lovely family moment in the hall.
In the Division 2 singles for Men Brendan McGovern (Annascaul) had to overcome two very tough three set battles to reach the final. He first beat Niall O Brien (Killarney) 23-21, 20-22, 21-12.
He then overcame the challenge of Noel Gilbride (Ballyheigue) 21-17, 15-21, 21-16. On the other side of the draw Timmy Noonan (Moyvane) overcame James McDonnell and then Cathal Donovan (Annascaul) in three sets 20-22, 21-17, 21-17. Although Noonan was able to ensure the final was not an all Annascaul affair he was unable to win it. McGovern took it in two close sets 21-17, 21-19.
In the Ladies Division 4 Championships Valerie Guiney (Listowel) overcame Josie Gilbert (Ballyheigue) and Adele O Brien (Killarney) to reach the final while on the other side Breda Lane (Moyvane) had to overcome two clubmates Aoife Bowler first and then Marie Kennelly in a tough three set battle.
The final was a good contest but Guiney was always on top and eventually took the title 21-16, 21-16.
The Men’s Division 4 Championships had by far the largest field on the night and turned out to be a very competitive event.
Kevin O Mahony (Ballyheigue) has been knocking on the door of a county title for a few years now but he certainly didn’t have an easy run of it in order to get to the final. He first overcame Padraig Barrett (Causeway) before defeating the new Division 5 singles champion Oisin Moloney (Listowel).
Then he defeated the Division 3 finalist Jack McElligott (Listowel). Meanwhile Paul Hayes (Listowel) overcame Colm Griffin (Ballyheigue) and Niall O Hanlon (Causeway) before facing a tough challenge from clubmate Mike Riordan in the semi-final but he prevailed in all games in two sets.
At 1 set up and 19-17 up in the second set things looked very good for Hayes in the final. However O Mahony showed great composure and nerves of steel to take the set 22-20 before going on the win the title in three sets 16-21, 22-20, 21-17.
Kerry Boys Singles Championships
76 boys took part in the Boys Juvenile singles championships in Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre last Saturday (Feb 9th). It proved to be a wonderful day for the Annascaul club as the captured 3 of the four titles on offer.
Results:-
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11 Oscar McElligott Listowel defeated Ben McElligott Listowel 15/12, 15/14
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U13 Ruadhan Donovan Annascaul defeated Gearoid O’Sullivan Listowel 21/17, 11/21, 21/17
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U15 Evan McCarthy Annascaul defeated Tomas O’Sullivan Listowel 21/14, 22/20
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U17 Cathal Donovan Annascaul defeated Seamus Bradley Castleisland 13/21, 21/13, 21/14
Munster Inter-County Championships
The University of Limerick hosted the Inter County Championships for Grade C, E and G last Sunday (Feb 10th)
The Grade C event was a straight shoot-out between Kerry and Cork. Things were looking fairly ominous for Kerry after they lost the first and second Men’s doubles and the first ladies doubles but then through Maeve Twomey (Killarney) and Elaine Hudson (Moyvane) the Kerry fight back began. They took the second ladies doubles after a tough three set contest.
Tom Bourke (Kingdom) won the Men’s singles match makin but Cork took the ladies singles making the score 4-2 going into the mixed. Kerry now needed to will all 3 mixed games to beat Cork and they certainly put up a great fight but unfortunately came up just short losing 5-4.
The first opponents for the Grade E team was Waterford and it was a thrilling battle. Kerry were tied 2-2 with opponents after the Ladies and Mens doubles through wins in the first Ladies Doubles Niamh Hickey (Killarney) and Helen Browne (Moyvane) and the second Mens Doubles Aaron Tan (Kingdom) and Aidan McCarthy (Kingdom). Through Brendan McGovern (Annascaul) and Hickey Kerry were 4-2 ahead after the singles games. Waterford fought back though and it was 4-4 going into the final mixed game which was a three set thriller. McGovern and Sam Hayes (Killarney) eventually got Kerry over the line 22-20, 20-22, 21-19.
Next up for Kerry was Cork in a game which was effectively a semi-final. It was 1-1 after the first round of Men’s and Ladies doubles with Browne and Hickey keeping their 100% record intact. Unfortunately the Kerry challenge waned after that against very strong opponents. The final score was 5-1 to Cork.
The Grade G team came up against Co Clare in their first match. It was 2-2 after the Men’s and Ladies doubles with both Valerie Guiney (Listowel) and Breda Lane (Moyvane) and Kevin O Mahony (Ballyheigue) and Niall O Hanlon (Causeway) winning their games for Kerry. Through the young Listowel stars Jack McElligott and Valerie Guiney Kerry were 4-2 up after the singles. Wins for Paul Hayes (Listowel) with Lane (Moyvane) and O Mahony (Ballyheigue) with Louise Behan (Moyvane) clinched a 6-3 win for Kerry overall.
Next up for Kerry was Waterford and this proved to be a tight battle from start to finish. Hayes and McElligott took the first Men’s doubles but Kerry were 3-1 behind as the suffered defeats in the other three Men’s and Ladies doubles. However it was 3-3 when both McElligott and Guiney once again won their singles matches and Kerry were on the brink of victory when Hayes and Lane won the first mixed but it wasn’t to be with Waterford taking both the second and third mixed games to complete a narrow 5-4 victory and knock Kerry out.
Although none of the Kerry teams won their respective events great credit must go to all the players, coaches and managers of the three teams for the time and commitment they have all given over the past few months. Kerry and Cork were the only counties to field a team in all 3 grades which reflects positively on the health of the game in the county and we can look forward to capturing plenty of Inter County titles in the future.
Next Weekend
Friday Feb 15th Ladies and Men’s Doubles Championships, Killarney (7.30pm)
Sunday Feb 17th Munster Inter County Championships Grade D, F & H, Waterford
