By Colm Griffin

All- Ireland Grade D Championships

One week after winning the Division 1 Kerry County Ladies Doubles Championship title for the first time Maeve Twomey (Killarney) and Elaine Hudson (Moyvane) are making the headlines again this week but this time for achievements at National level as opposed local level.

Played at Baldoyle Badminton Centre in Dublin rather strangely the Hudson and Twomey partnership faced fellow All- Kerry partnership Niamh Hickey (Killarney) and Patricia O Herilihy (Listowel) in their opening contest of the All-Ireland Championships. This proved to be a good three set contest with Twomey and Hudson winning 21-19, 16-21, 21-14.

They won their quarter final match 21-14, 21-18 before winning their semi-final clash 24-22, 21-16. But the final won’t be play until May 18th and it will take place at the new National Indoor Arena in Blanchardstown the same night the Kerry Badminton social takes place at the Rose Hotel in Tralee.

But Twomey was not finished at that. She teamed up with Paul Kingston (Cork) to reach the final of the Mixed competition also beating Donie Enright (Moyvane) and Ruth Concannon (Kingdom Castleisland) along the way. This sets up a nice chance of an All-Ireland double for Kerry in May and something extra to cheer about at the social.

Munster U-13 & u-17 Closed Championships

Kerry again enjoyed plenty of success at Juvenile level in Munster last weekend. Christopher O Donoghue (Moyvane) defeated Cathal Donovan (Annascaul) in the Boys U-17 singles championships before teaming up with him to win the Doubles title. Later in the day O Donoghue put up a spirited performance in a bid to win a treble on the day by reaching the final of the Mixed event but he and his partner Naoise Murtagh when down in the final to Mattie O Flynn and Sinead O Sullivan.

In the Girls U-17 event Listowel pairing Madison Carter and Deina Vesko reached the final. Indeed Vesko also reached the semi-final of both the singles event and the Mixed event with playing partner Jack McElligott (Listowel)

However the McElligott family were celebrating as younger brother Oscar won the Division 2 Boys U-13 Singles event. Credit most also go to Sinead Kelly (Listowel) who reached two finals in the U-13 Division 2 section. She lost the girls doubles final with Amelia Kiely and the mixed final with Conor Murphy.

CPC.ie Kerry County Doubles Championships

The Kerry County Senior Championships continue this Friday night (March 1st) when the  Division 2 and Division 4 Ladies and Men’s titles will be up for the grabs. The action gets underway at the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre from 7.30pm

Paddy Sugrue Badminton Tournament

The Paddy Sugrue Badminton Tournament takes place at Tralee Sports Complex in aid of the Chernobyl Children’s Trust Tralee and District branch this Sunday (March 3rd). Please enter through your club secretary or to Tom Clear, Gurrane, Listellick, Tralee by Friday March 1st. Division 5 starts at 12 noon. Division 4 at 2pm. Division 3 commences at 3.30pm and Division 2 at 4.30pm. Plate competitions are included.

Latest League Results

Suits Select Men’s League Div 1 & 2

Kingdom 7 Moyvane 2

CPC Mixed Leagues

Div 2

Killarney 5 Moyvane 2

Div 3

Listowel 6 Kingdom 1

Div 4

Listowel (B) 5 Killarney 2

Listowel (A) 7 Causeway 0

Killarney 4 Kingdom 3

Ashes Bar, Glenbeigh Div 5 League

Men’s League

Killarney 3 Listowel 1

Ballyheigue (B) 4 Listowel 0

Moyvane 0 Causeway 4

Ladies League

Moyvane (A) 4 Listowel (B) 0

Moyvane (B) 0 Ballyheigue 4

Killarney 4 Listowel 0

Upcoming Events (All Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre unless stated)

Friday March 1st Div 2 and Div 4 Kerry Ladies and Men’s Doubles Championships

Saturday March 2nd Juvenile Club Tournament

Sunday March 3rd Paddy Sugrue Tournament (Tralee Sports and Leisure Complex)

Saturday March 9th Juvenile Mixed Doubles

By Colm Griffin

Kerry Ladies and Men’s Doubles Championships

Friday night last was one of the busiest evenings on the badminton calendar in Kerry when the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre played host to the CPC.ie sponsored Division 1, 3 and 5 Ladies and Men’s Doubles Championships.

With 128 players signed up to play it was always going to be a long night in Killarney but it was great to see the buzz of a busy hall to paint the health of Kerry badminton in a positive light.

In the Ladies division 5 championship Listowel duo Laura Sheehan and Susie Rice progressed to final from the top side of the draw without dropping a set.

Meanwhile on the bottom of the draw Moyvane pairing Fiona Buckley and Charlotte Quinn didn’t have things so easy. In the quarter final they overcame Danielle Noonan and Cindy Walsh of Listowel 18-21, 21-19, 21-13. Then in the semi-final the overcame Sonia Smith and Tara O Shea of Killarney 21-23, 21-18, 21-12.

The fresher pairing of Sheehan and Rice were to come through in the final and win the Eileen Roche Perpetual Cup 21-17, 21-16. Sheehan and Rice will no doubt have to step up to Division 4 next season where both of their fathers James and Tom respectively are still very much to the fore as players.

The Men’s Division 5 doubles championship for the Junior Griffin Perpetual Cup was hugely competitive this year. Ballyheigue had two pairing in the semi-final but neither was able to get past that stage. Patrick Browne and Brian Hehir were beaten by Padraig Hanrahan & Radek Choromanski of Moyvane 21-12, 23-21.

On the other side of the draw Paraic Murray and Joe Carroll of Causeway must have felt they had one foot in the final already when they took the first set against Kyle Reidy and Alan O Halloran of Ballyheigue 21-7.

However Reidy and O Halloran showed huge spirit and great determination to make a brilliant comeback.

Eventually however Murray and Carroll pulled through in three sets  21-7, 15-21, 23-21. Murray and Carroll started the final well too taking the first set but Hanrahan and Choromanski settled and eventually took a good contest in three sets 15-21, 21-16, 21-18. This was a first county title for both these players at any level.

In reaching the final of the Ladies Division 3 Championship Samira Hayes (Killarney) and Michelle Beasley (Kingdom-Castleisland) had to overcome two pairs of Moyvane partners.

First they beat Francine Collins and Ciara Hudson 21-17, 21-13 before beating Bridget McCarthy and Denise Collins 21-16, 21-13.

On the other side of the draw Jeab Workman (Killarney) and Jill Redmond (Listowel) also reached the final without dropping a set overcoming Aoife Bowler (Moyvane) and Adele O Brien in the quarter final before beating Carmel Hudson and Jeanelle Griffin of Moyvane 21-13, 21-16.

Something had to give in the final but it was to be Hayes and Beasley that came out on top in two sets 21-12, 21-18. Hayes who took the singles title a few weeks back will now have an opportunity to win the treble when the mixed doubles championships takes place later in the season.

The Men’s Division 3 championship had the biggest field of the night with with 32 players taking part.

The final saw Listowel pairing Arthur Chute and Andy McMahon take on Kingdom Castleisland duo Jamie Elliott and Timmy Hanrahan. Hanrahan and Elliott were hoping it would be a case of three time lucky as they had been beaten in the final in both 2017 and 2018. But Chute and McMahon had seamlessly reached the final without every even looking like dropping a set and they won the final comfortably too 21-17, 21-11.

Edel Kenny (Kingdom Castleisland) had been half of a doubles partnership to win the Ladies Doubles Championship every year since 2015.

She partnered up with Sinead Galvin (Killarney) this year hoping for the 5 in a row. However they were to face stern competition from Maeve Twomey (Killarney) and Elaine Hudson (Moyvane) in which proved to be a thrilling semi-final.

Having brushed off the challenge of the Kingdom Castleisland pairing Ruth Concannon and Brid Murphy in the quarter final 21-11, 21-16 Twomey and Hudson got the better start in the final winning the first set 21-18.

The second set ebbed and flowed in both directions and featured brilliant rallies before Kenny and Galvin eventually took it 26-24. However Twomey and Hudson would not be denied although they did seem to encounter stage fright after establishing a 19-11 lead in the final set they eventually won 21-19.

The competition on the other side of the draw was just as intense as it took two three setters for Niamh Hickey (Killarney) and Saorcha Fitzgerald (Moyvane) to get to the final. First they beat Moyvane pairing Amanda Carmody and Niamh Flaherty 21-10, 18-21, 21-7 before beating Mary Falvey (Annascaul) and Jennifer Keane (Killarney) 22-24, 21-19, 21-19.

No matter what the result in the final two players were about to win their first ever Division 1 title. Twomey and Hudson settled better in the final and went on dominate as Hickey and Fitzgerald never really got into the game. It was all over in two sets as Twomey and Hudson won 21-15, 21-10.

Kingdom Castleisland pairing Tom Bourke and Eric Nelligan were going for seven Men’s Division 1 Doubles titles in a row last Friday night.

They easily brushed aside Brendan McGovern (Annascaul) and Aaron Tan (Kingdom Castleisland) 21-15, 21-8 in the quarter final an Moyvane pairing Donie Enright and Donnacha Moloney 21-9, 21-14 in the semi-final so people could have been forgiven for thinking the final might be a foregone conclusion.

However fellow Kingdom Castleisland players Alan Nelligan and Michael Crossan had other ideas. They first beat John Mulvihill and Timmy Noonan of Moyvane 21-15, 21-12 and then they beat Listowel pairing Fergal Hannon and Paddy Redmond 21-17, 21-15 for a tilt at the champions.

After a busy night in the hall it was close to midnight before this contest even gone underway but a large crowd had stayed on to witness what turned out to be a wonderful game.

Nelligan and Crossan took the first set 23-21 and it looked like a shock could be on the cards. However Bourke and the other Nelligan survived to take a close second set 21-19.

This seemed to burst the bubble of the underdogs and the third set never looked in doubt as Bourke and Nelligan won 21-12 to retain the cup for another year at least.

Other than Hayes in Ladies Div 3 Bourke is also now quite unusually the only other player with the chance of winning a treble come the mixed championships for these 3 divisions.

Munster Inter-County Championships 

Waterford Institute of Technology and Cappoquin Community Centre played host to the final Munster Intercounty Championships of the season last Sunday (Feb 17th). Kerry sent teams to the D grade competition in WIT and the F grade team in Cappoquin and will hopefully send a H grade team in the years to come.

Under the stewardship of Eric Nelligan many of this D team also featured on the C team that ran Cork very close the previous week so hopes were high that they would do well in this event.

First up the faced the challenge of Tipperary and Kerry were 3-1 ahead after the ladies and men’s doubles pairings with Elaine Hudson & Maeve Twomey, Paddy Redmond & Fergal Hannon and Sorcha Fitzgerald & Niamh Hickey all winning their games.

Sinead Galvin too Kerry a step closer to securing the win when she overcame her opponent in the Ladies Singles and Kerry then took two of the three mixed games with wins for Alan Nelligan and Maeve Twomey and Fergal Hannon and Niamh Hickey making it 6-3 to Kerry overall.

Next up Kerry faced a Waterford side that had been heavily defeated by Cork in the first round. This however turned out to be an extremely tough battle for Kerry.

It was 3-3 going into the singles as Hannon and Redmond and Hudson and Twomey won doubles again as did Galvin in the singles. Wins by Nelligan and Twomey and Hannon and Hickey got Kerry over the line 5-4

Kerry could now secure the title with a win over Cork. Kerry found themselves at 2-2 after the ladies and men’s doubles through wins by Hudson and Twomey and Nelligan and Hannon.

However Kerry lost both very close singles matches meaning at 4-2 down going into the mixed they were under extreme pressure.

Although Twomey managed to retain her impressive 100% record on the day with 6 wins when partnering Alan Nelligan Kerry were defeated in the other mixed game meaning Cork took the title 5-3 and Kerry finished as unlucky runners-up.

Meanwhile in Cappoquin the F team under the management of Ruth Concannon got off to a good start with a hard fought 5-4 win over Limerick. The Kerry wins came in both the Ladies Doubles through Carmel Hudson and Jeanelle Griffin and Ciara Hudson and Jill Redmond. Ciara Hudson and Cathal Donovan won both the singles and Carmel Hudson and Jamie Elliott won their mixed game.

Kerry then got off to a great start against the home side Waterford. They were leading 3-0 after wins in the Men’s Double by Jamie Elliott and Niall O Brien and Aidan Evans and Cathal Donovan. Carmel Hudson and Griffin made it 3-0 in the Ladies doubles.

Kerry added another point through a win by O Brien in the singles and when Carmel Hudson and Elliott took the first mixed Waterford were out and Kerry won 5-3.

Unfortunately for Kerry they came up against an extremely strong Cork side in what was effectively a semi-final after this.

At 4-0 down after the ladies and men’s doubles things were looking ominous for Kerry. Niall O Brien gave the Kingdom a glimmer of hope when he won his Men’s Singles game but Cork were 5-1 down and out after the ladies singles and Cork when through to the final where they were beaten by Tipperary.

Well done to the managers and all the players for the commitment they have given in training over the past few months. Kerry will hopefully be back winning Munster Inter-County titles next season and hopefully a few clubs, individuals and doubles partnerships can come good at Munster level before this season is out as there is still a long way to go.

Upcoming Events 

Sat Feb 23rd/ Sunday Feb 24th All Ireland Championships Grades A/D/G

Sun Feb 24th Munster Closed U-13 / U-17 Championships

Fri Mar 1st Ladies and Men’s Kerry County Championships Division 2 and Division 4

Sat Mar 2nd Juvenile Club Tournaments

Sat May 18th Kerry Badminton Annual Social – Rose Hotel, Tralee

By Colm Griffin

Kerry Juvenile Girls Singles Championships 

Over 60 juvenile girls took to the courts at the Kerry singles championship at the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre on Saturday 2nd February
Some great games were played out on the day and Listowel took 3 of the 4 titles on offer.
Finals
U11 Kate Nolan Listowel defeated Nicole Vesko Listowel 15/8, 15/14

U13 Jessica O’Loughlin Castleisland defeated Agata Niedzielska Listowel
21/16, 21/8

U15 Deina Vesko Listowel defeated Madison Carter Listowel 21/5, 21/9

U17 Valerie Guiney Listowel defeated Grace Guiney Listowel 21/15, 21/14

Plate results

U11 Basha Dolata Castleisland defeated Sameera Bhandari Sayers Annascaul

U13 Fiona O’Connor Listowel defeated Chloe McHugh Miltown

U15 Soairse Murphy Killarney defeated Ella Sheehy Dingle

U17 Adele O’Briene Killarney defeated Shonagh Doody Killarney

Munster Senior Grade C and Grade E Championships

A strong Kerry representation made the long trip to Wateford for the Grade C and E championships on Sunday last (Feb 3rd).

The Kerry players certainly didn’t disappoint either with Niamh Hickey (Killarney) having an amazing day winning the Ladies Grade E singles herself in three sets 17-21, 21-12, 21-17. She then partnered up with Helen Browne (Moyvane) in an all Kerry final in the ladies doubles against Amanda Carmody (Moyvane) and Samira Hayes (Killarney). This proved to be another difficult three setter but Browne and Hickey eventually prevailed 21-13, 17-21, 21-9. Later in the evening Hickey teamed up with Aaron McGee to win the mixed Grade E title and complete a very impressive treble.

In the C Grade Tom Bourke (Kingdom – Castleisland) reached the final and took the first set in it before eventually going down to Ben Mortlock 16-21, 21-16, 21-15. Edel Kenny also came up just short in the Grade C ladies double with playing partner Caroline Hayes. They went down in the final to Shauna Kennelly and Lucy Fox 17-21, 21-18, 21-18.

Upcoming Events (To be Played at Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre Unless Stated)

Friday Feb 8th Kerry Senior Singles Championships Division 2 and Division 4 7.30pm

Saturday Feb 9th Kerry Juvenile Singles Boys Championships 11am

Sunday Feb 10th Munster Inter County Grade C/E/G Championships (University of Limerick)

Friday Feb 15th Kerry Division 1, 3 and 5 Mens and Ladies Doubles Championships

Sunday Feb 17th Munster Inter County Grade D/F/H (Waterford)

By Colm Griffin

Munster Individual Championships Grades F, G and H

The University of Limerick was the venue for the first major badminton event involving Kerry badminton players last Sunday (Jan 6th) and the Kingdom was particularly well represented particularly in grades G and H.

Listowel duo Rita McCarthy and Valerie Guiney were the big winners on the day from a Kerry perspective as they captured the Ladies Doubles Grade G title in two sets 21-17, 22-20.

Honourable mention goes to Ciara Hudson (Moyvane) who reached the final of the Grade F Ladies singles, Breda Lane (Moyvane) and Valerie Guiney (Listowel) on reaching the Grade G Ladies singles semi-finals and Micheal Collins (Moyvane) on reaching the semi-final of the Grade G Mens singles.

Listowel Tournament 

The Listowel tournament which has been run annually since 1972 takes place this weekened. Unlike most club events in Kerry the Listowel tournament is played over two days and includes Masters Event for the over 45s as well as a Division 1 and 2 combined competition played on the Saturday (Jan 12th)

The action gets underway at 10.30am on the Saturday for the Division 1 and 2 players which is open to both Kerry players and those from outside the county. The Masters event will commence from 2pm.

On the Sunday Division 5 is scheduled to get underway from 11.45am, division 4 from 2.30pm and division 3 from 4pm. Entry forms have been distributed to each Kerry club secretary. For extra details contact Miss Margaret Healy at 087 9604361 or at mgthealy@hotmail.com

Senior Leagues

All the league fixtures in the Ladies Agri Auto Parts and the Mens Advanced Cleaning Supplies Division 3 and 4 leagues have now concluded and the finals will take place at the Tralee Sports Complex this Wednesday night (January 9th). We will have a full report next week in badminton news.

Ladies Div 3 Final Killarney V Moyvane

Mens Div 3 Final Listowel V Kingdom – Castleisland

Ladies Div 4 Final Listowel A V Moyvane

Mens Div 4 Final Ballyheigue V Listowel

Upcoming Events  

Wednesday Jan 9th Ladies and Mens Div 3 and 4 League Finals – Tralee Sports Complex

Thursday Jan 10th Kerry Schools Competition – Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre

Saturday Jan 12th / Sunday Jan 13th Listowel Tournament

Saturday Jan 19th Juvenile Doubles – Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre

Sunday Jan 20th Munster Senior 1 / Junior Championships – Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre

Sunday Jan 20th Ballyheigue Tournament

By Colm Griffin

Munster Closed Championships U-11 / U-15

Kerry were well represented at the Munster Closed Championships last weekend at the University of Limerick and our young Badminton players certainly made the county proud.

In the U-11s clubmates Nicole Vesko and Ben McElligott from Listowel both had double success. Nicole took the Division 1 girls singles title and Ben the Division 1 boys singles title before teaming up together to that the Mixed title.

Ben came close to triple success when he teamed up with James Burke of Castleisland in the Division 1 boys doubles but they were beaten in the final. Ben had earlier beaten James in the final of the boy’s singles.

In the U-15s Ethan Tritschler, another player from the Listowel club also took singles honours in Division 2 whilst Sara Hayes also of Listowel was runner up in the girls division 2 singles before teaming up with Ethan to capture the mixed title.

In Division 1 Ayrton Burke of Castleisland was runners up in the plate event and also part of a pairing in the boys doubles that finished runners up.

All-Ireland Championships Grades C & F

Four Kerry players travelled to Dublin last weekend for the All-Ireland Championships grade C competition in Baldoyle. All gathered valuable experience by taking part in competition at this level and this will stand to them in years to come. The highlight of the weekend from a Kerry perspective was Maeve Twomey (Killarney) playing with Paul Kingston (Cork) reaching the Mixed semi-final before losing out in a very close encounter 22-20. 21-19.

Kerry Schools Badminton 

The deadline for entering the Kerry Schools Badminton tournament is Dec 20th. The event is played in three different age categories U-14, U-16 and U19 and both the boys and the girls competition will be played on Thursday January 10th. The winners will go on to represent Kerry at the University of Limerick in the Munster Championship on January 24th. Each team consists of four players each playing singles and doubles in the order of their strength. For further details on entering please contact Carmel Hudson on 087 9267871 or carmelhudson@eircom.net

Senior Leagues

Fri Dec 14th

Men’s Advanced Cleaning Supplies Div 3 League

Killarney 5 – 1 Listowel

Wed Dec 12th

Suits Select Men’s Div 1 & 2 Combined League

Killarney 5 – 3 Kingdom-Castleisland

Ladies Agri-Auto Parts League Division 3

Killarney 5 – 1 Moyvane

Ladies Agri-Auto Parts League Division 4

Moyvane 2 – 4 Listowel

Men’s Advanced Cleaning Supplies Div 3 League

Kingdom-Castleisland 5 – 1 Killarney

Men’s Advanced Cleaning Supplies Div 4 League (Section B)

Listowel 3 -3 Moyvane (Listowel win 9 sets to 7)

Tues Dec 11th

Suits Select Ladies Div 1 & 2 Combined League

Ballyheigue 0 – 3 Moyvane

Men’s Advanced Cleaning Supplies Div 4 League (Section A)

Causeway 6 – 0 Killarney

Mon Dec 10th

Suits Select Ladies Div 1 & 2 Combined League

Listowel 4 – 2  Kingdom – Castleisland

Ladies Agri-Auto Parts League Division 3

Moyvane 5 – 1 Listowel

Upcoming Events

Sunday Jan 6th Munster F, G & H Individual Championships

Wednesday Jan 9th Ladies and Mens Div 3 and 4 League Finals

Thursday Jan 10th Kerry Schools Competition

Saturday Jan 12th / Sunday Jan 13th Listowel Tournament

By Colm Griffin

Haynes Shield

Three teams took part in the Haynes Shield event last Sunday in Kinsale including Kingdom Castleisland representing Kerry with the assistance of a couple of guest players from Listowel.

In the first match of the day Lakewood of Cork overcame Kilmacthomas of Waterford 7-5. The Waterford team then faced up to the Kerry representatives.

Kingdom tied the first Men’s Doubles pairing 1 set all (Fergal Hannon and Michael Crossan) but then when 3-1 up with Patricia O Herlihy and Ruth Concannon winning both sets in the first ladies doubles. It was 3-3 again after the second men’s doubles but the Patricia O Herlihy then teamed up with Niamh Hickey to win both sets in the second ladies doubles and restore a 2 point lead.

It was all down to the 2 mixed game now. Fergal Hannon and Niamh Hickey proceeded to give the Kerry outfit an unassailable lead by taking both sets in their encounter and Ruth Concannon and Paddy Redmond took a set in the final mixed meaning Kingdom won by 8-4 in the end and the Waterford outfit were eliminated.

Now it was down to a straight shootout between Lakewood of Cork and the Kingdom club for the title just a week after Kerry were heavily beaten by Cork opponents in the Butterfield Cup.

This would be a great chance for some of the Kerry Butterfield team to exact revenge and restore the pride of Kerry Badminton. Kingdom through Fergal Hannon and Michael Crossan got off to a great start taking both sets in the first men’s doubles and Patricia O Herlihy and Ruth Concannon retained the 2 point gap by taking a set in the first ladies doubles.

Kingdom were on fire now though and when Michael Crossan and Paddy Redmond took both sets in the second men’s doubles they were 5-1 up and on the verge of taking the title.

As it transpired it was not necessary for the mixed games to take place as Patricia O Herlihy and Niamh Hickey won both sets and Kingdom at 7-1 up could not be beaten and took the Haynes Shield title back to both the Kingdom county and the Kingdom club.

Moyvane Tournament

Moyvane was the place to be for top Kerry sports action last Sunday afternoon as not only did it play host the 33rd year of the annual Moyvane Badminton tournament it was also to play host to the North Kerry Championship final in Gaelic Football

As ever and despite it’s close proximity to Christmas the Moyvane Tournament attracted a big crowd and it was a great day of competition in all divisions.

The final of the Div 1 and 2 combined event was an all Moyvane affair with John Mulvihill and Helen Browne coming out on top as they overcame a strong effort from Christopher O Donoghue and Amanda Carmody.

In the Division 3 final experience overcame youth as William Flaherty and Rita McCarthy playing up from Division 4 overcame Cathal O Donovan and Ciara Hudson in two close sets.

In Division 4 Josie Gilbert continued an impressive start to the season when partnering Barry O Callaghan. The duo proved too strong for Grace Guiney and Padraig Barrett although they were pushed all the way in the second set.

In Division 5 Aimee Griffin and Paraic Murray overcame the challenge of Jennifer Murphy and Radek Choromaski in a tough 3 set affair.

Aimee and Jennifer had already had to overcome a very competitive ladies round robin competition to reach this stage as they pipped Eva Browne and Marella Murphy by just one point.

Results

Div 1 & 2 John Mulvihill (Moyvane)  & Helen Browne (Moyvane) Christopher O Donoghue (Moyvane) & Amanda Carmody (Moyvane) 30 –  22

Div 3 William Flaherty (Moyvane) and Rita McCarthy (Listowel) beat 21-17 21-16 Cathal O Donovan (Annascaul) & Ciara Hudson (Moyvane)

Div 4 Barry o Callaghan (Moyvane) and Josie Gilbert (Ballyheigue) 21-13 21-18 Padraig Barrett (Causeway) and Grace Guiney (Listowel)

Div 4 Men’s Plate Round Robin Winners Paul Hayes(Listowel) and Daniel O Connor (Killarney) 62 points

Div 5 Final Aimee Griffin (Moyvane) & Paraic Murray (Causeway) beat Jennifer Murphy(Listowel and Radek Choromaski (Moyvane) 21-11, 19-21, 21-15

Div 5 Men’s Plate Round Robin Winners Mike Donovan (Annascaul) and Philip Healy (Listowel) 60 points

League Results

Thurs Dec 6th

Ladies Agri-Auto Parts League Division 4

Ballyheigue 5 – 1 Killarney

Men’s Advanced Cleaning Supplies Div 4 League (Section A)

Ballyheigue 6 – 0 Kingdom – Castleisland

Men’s Advanced Cleaning Supplies Div 4 League (Section B)

Ballyheigue 0 – 6 Listowel

Wed Dec 5th

Suits Select Ladies Div 1 & 2 Combined League

Kingdom – Castleisland 2 – 4 Annascaul

Ladies Agri-Auto Parts League Division 4

Kingdom – Castleisland 0 – 6 Moyvane

Men’s Advanced Cleaning Supplies Div 4 League (Section A)

Killarney 0 – 6 Ballyheigue

Tues Dec 4th

Ladies Agri-Auto Parts League Division 4

Ballyheigue 1 – 5 Listowel

Monday Dec 3rd

Suits Select Ladies Div 1 & 2 Combined League

Moyvane 2 – 6 Listowel

Men’s Advanced Cleaning Supplies Div 3 League

Listowel 0 – 6 Killarney

Upcoming Events

Saturday Dec 15th Munster Closed U-11 / U-15 (UL, Limerick)

Saturday Dec 15th / Sunday Dec 16th All-Ireland Championships Grades C & F

CPC.ie Juvenile November Handicap 

Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre played host to the first major Juvenile tournament of the season last Saturday (Nov 24th) and with 155 players taking part from 10 different clubs across the county the future of badminton in Kerry looks to be in a good place.

Participants took part in girls and boys events throughout the day at age grades U-11, U-13, U15 and U-17 and the winners and finalists on the day were as follows.

Girls U11 Nicole Vesko Listowel and Aine Curran Annascaul defeated Darina Ellen Burke Miltown and Lily Falvey Annascaul 15/5, 15/3

Plate Juliette Gleason Abbeydorney and Sinead Kelly Listowel defeated Maggie Hickey Killarney and Aine Newsome Annascaul

Girls U13 Anne Hickey Killarney and Sarah Casey Annascaul defeated Bella Harmon Castleisland and Aoise O’Donoghue Killarney 21/17, 21/11

Plate Esme Graven Iveragh and Marie Tritschler Listowel defeated Maeve Ahern Moyvane and Mae Griffin Annascaul

Girls U15 Deina Vesko Listowel and Nicola Kennelly Moyvane defeated Madison Carter Listowel and Abbie Moriarty Annascaul 21/19, 21/16

Plate Maura Burke Miltown and Aine Hanafin Annascaul defeated Fia Spillane Annascaul and Sarah Hayes Listowel

Girls U17 Shonagh Doody and Ailbhe Gammel Killarney defeated Saidbh Murphy Killarney and Aisling Harty Ballyheigue on a round robin basis

Boys U11 James Kissane Moyvane and Sean Flahive Ballyheigue defeated Darius McCormack and Luke Kennedy Annascaul 15/11, 15/10

Plate Ben McElligott Listowel and Liam O’Connor Castleisland defeated James Burke Castleisland and Jessie McCarthy Dingle

Boys U13 Bobby O’Riordan Moyvane and Evan Lemass Killarney defeated Ayrton Burke Castleisland and Brayden Slattery Killarney 21/10, 21/17

Plate Padraig Moriarty Annascaul and Philip Daly Iveragh defeated Gearoid O’Sullivan Listowel and John Ryan Moyvane

Boys U15 Evan McCarty Annascaul and Muiris Harty Ballyheigue defeated Dara Newsome Annascaul and Oisin O’Regan Ballyheigue 21/20, 18/21, 21/14

Plate Tomas O’Sullivan Listowel and Ross Twomey Killarney defeated Navansh Johnson Killarney and Cathal Sweeney Moyvane

Boys U17 Adam Hayes Listowel and Oisin Quirke Miltown defeated Hasib Ahmmed Killarney and Michael Casey Annascaul on a round robin basis

Plate Darragh Crehan Killarney and Evan O’Sullivan defeated Cathal Donovan Annascaul and Michael Moynihan Castleisland

Mixed Senior Competition 

84 players took to the courts at Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre on Sunday last (Nov 25th) across Div 1 to Div 5 and the winners on the day were as follows.

Div 1 & 2 Combined Mixed Paddy Drummond Cup Final: Karen Farrell (Moyvane) & Aaron Tan (Kingdom-Castleisland) beat Elaine Hudson (Moyvane) & Aidan McCarthy (Kingdom – Castleisland) 23-21, 21-10

Div 1 & 2 Combined Mixed Plate Final Amanda Carmody(Moyvane) & Paddy Redmond (Listowel) beat Ruth Concannon (Kingdom – Castleisland)  & Donie Enright (Moyvane) 30-25

Div 3 Mixed Waterstone Cup Final Jeanelle Griffin (Moyvane) & Cian Liston (Listowel) beat Samaria Hayes (Killarney) & Aidan Evans (Annascaul) 21-19, 21-14

Div 3 Mixed Plate Final Sandra O Connor (Killarney & Jamie Elliott (Kingdom – Castleisland) beat Aoife Moloney(Listowel) & Niall O Brien (Killarney) 30-26

Div 4 Mixed Shield Final Adele O’Brien (Killarney) & Paul Hayes (Listowel) beat Fiona Casey (Causeway) & Mike Reardon (Listowel) 21-7, 21-16

Div 4 Mixed Plate Final Valerie Guiney (Listowel) & Jack McElligott (Listowel) beat Rita McCarthy (Listowel) & John McDonald (Ballyheigue) 21-13, 13-21, 21-15

Div 5 Mixed Junior Griffin Shield Final Eva Browne (Moyvane) & Christy Deane (Annascaul) beat Laura O Connor (Killarney) & C Radislaw (Moyvane) 19-21. 21/13, 21-13

Div 5 Mixed Plate Final Aine Knightly (Annascaul) & Daragh Crehan (Killarney) beat Danielle Robinson (Causeway) & Shane Gleeson (Listowel) 23-21, 13-21, 15-21

Div 5 Mens Plate Final Pauric Murray (Causeway) & Adrian Kenny (Ballyheigue) beat Philip Healy (Listowel) & Keith Newsome (Annascaul) 21/9, 21/18

Leinster Masters Open Success 

Three Kerry representatives Sinead Galvin, Michael Crossan and Tom Bourke (the new Chairperson of the Kerry Badminton Association) made the trip to Baldoyle in Dublin last weekend for the Leinster Masters Open and we are delighted to report that Tom came out on tops in the Men’s over 40s Singles event.

Butterfield Cup / Knockout Cup

Kerry has the great honour of hosting the prestigious Butterfield Cup this weekend as the top Division 1 players in the province go head to head in this inter county team event. Kerry under the stewardship of Billy Lacey will be looking to recapture a title they last won in 2014.

The event which will be hosted by the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre this Sunday and coincides with another team event called the Knock-Out Cup. This event comprises of teams of up to 4 Men and 4 Ladies.

Each team plays 2 men’s doubles against each other, 2 ladies doubles and 2 mixed doubles. The event is contested at Div 3, 4 and 5 level and is great practice for clubs intending to put Club teams together for the Mixed Leagues later in the season. The action gets underway in both competitions at 11am.

Upcoming Events 

Sunday Dec 2nd Butterfield Cup & Knockout Cup

Sunday Dec 9th Moyvane Tournament (Moyvane)

By Colm Griffin

Waterford Invitational Open

All roads led to Cappoquin last weekend for Kerry players in Grade C and Grade D (Kerry Div 1 and 2). Thankfully many of the players from the Kingdom were on song on the day as it proved to be a very successful event for the county.

Elaine Hudson (Moyvane) and Maeve Twomey (Killarney) not only claimed gold in the Grade D Ladies Doubles they were also managed to get to the final of the Grade C Ladies Doubles which was a great achievement for the pair.

Maeve then partnered with Paul Kingston (Cork) and claimed the D Mixed title beating the all Kerry partnership of Niamh Hickey (Killarney) and Fergal Hannon (Listowel) in the final.

League Results  

Agri Auto Parts Ladies Leagues

Div 3 Wed Nov 14th Moyvane 1 – 5 Killarney

Div 4 Wed Nov 14th Section A: Listowel (A) 6 – 0 Killarney

Div 4 Wed Nov 14th Section B: Kingdom-Castleisland 0 – 6 Listowel (B)

Advanced Cleaning Supplies Men’s Leagues

Div 3 Wed Nov 14th  Killarney 0 – 6 Kingdom-Castleisland

Div 4 Tues Nov 1th Causeway 6 – 0 Kingdom-Castleisland

Juvenile Competition 

The Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre plays host to the CPC.ie November Handicap event for Boys and Girls this Saturday (Nov 24th).  As this is the opening event of the season for Juveniles in Kerry a large number of entries is anticipated. The event caters for age grades U-11, U-13, U-15 and U-17. The action gets underway from 10.30am and there will be an open draw for partners.

Mixed Doubles Tournament 

The Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre will also host a big badminton event next Sunday when the Mixed Doubles event takes place. This event caters for all Divisions 1 to 5 inclusive.  The action gets underway for the  Div 4 shield event and the Div 5 Junior Griffin shield from 12.45pm.

The Waterstone Cup action for Div 3 players commences from 3pm as does the Paddy Drummond Cup for Div 1 and Div 2 players.

Butterfield Cup

Kerry players are in training at present for the Butterfield Cup. This inter-county grade C event is being hosted in Killarney this year on Sunday Dec 2nd. Given that the event in taking place in Kerry this year it is hoped that the team can put in a strong performance. The popular Knockout Cup will be played in Killarney on the same day so we hope to have a big crowd to cheer on the Kerry players.

New Website – Kerrybadminton.ie 

A new website has now been launched for the Kerry Badminton Association. It can be viewed at kerrybadminton.ie. A big thank you is extended to Mike Walsh from the Ballybunion Baseliners club for his assistance in getting this together.

The website is still very much a work in progress but we invite all clubs to submit news and photos to us and we will do our best promote them through coverage on the new website and the recently launched facebook page.

Upcoming Events ( All at Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre unless stated)

Saturday Nov 24th CPC.ie November Handicap for Boys  & Girls (U-11, U-13, U-15, U-17)

Sunday Nov 25th Mixed Double Shields, Waterstone Cup & Paddy Drummond Cup

Sunday Dec 2nd Butterfield Cup & Knockout Cup

Sunday Dec 9th Moyvane Tournament (Moyvane)

Badminton News by Colm Griffin

Sunday saw Kerry badminton season go into full flight with the hosting of the November handicap competition at Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre.

An impressive 110 players across the 5 divisions in the county participated in the event and competition was quite intense with 3 of the 4 finals on the day going the full three sets.

It was also refreshing to see 6 different clubs with representatives in the finals and indeed 6 clubs also can boast to having had a winner on the day.

The story of the day involved the Donovan family from Annascaul. Talented 15 Year Old Cathal was taking part in his first ever senior competition going straight in to Division 4 and whilst his father Mike took part on the other side of the hall in the Division 5 competition.

Both father and son reached the final of their respective events but whilst Cathal and his playing partner Josie Gilbert (Ballyheigue) won the first set of final comfortably (21-12) against Kevin O Mahony (Ballyheigue) and Rita McCarthy (Listowel) his Dad Mike playing with Eva Browne (Moyvane) was struggling and was well beaten by Padraig Hanrahan (Moyvane) and Tara O Shea (Killarney) (21-15).

However the second sets saw a reversal of fortunate with Cathal and Josie going down 21-14 whilst Dad, Mike and Eva survived a match point capturing the set 21-20.

Both third sets were close affairs with the young man and his partner prevailing 21-19 whilst his father and his partner won 21-17.

The division 3 final was also a close affair with Samira Hayes (Killarney) and Cian Liston (Listowel) coming from a set down (17-21) to win in three sets (21-19 and 21-16) against Kieran Crehan (Killarney) and Jeanelle Griffin (Moyvane)

The Division 1 & 2 (Combined Final) was the only 2 set affair on the day with Niamh Hickey (Killarney) and Eric Nelligan (Castleisland-Kingdom) overcoming Saorcha Fitzgerald (Moyvane) and Aaron Tan (Castleisland-Kingdom). (21-15), (21-16)

Upcoming Events

Best wishes to all the Kerry players taking part in the Waterford Open (Div 1 & 2) in Cappoquin this coming Sunday (November 18th)

The next big Kerry badminton events on home soil take place in a fortnight in Killarney with the Juvenile Tournaments on Saturday Nov 24th followed by the Mixed Doubles Tournament on Sunday November 25th

Division 3 and Division 4 Leagues

The Advanced Cleaning Supplies Men’s Division 4 League got underway last week with Ballyheigue A overcoming Kingdom – Castleisland 5-1 in Castleisland in Section A of the division.

League secretaries and captains are reminded to try to adhere to outlined dates and to contact Maurice O Shea in advance with fixture dates and in the immediate aftermath of match with the results. The more notice that can be given about fixtures and results the more publicity we can generate about the sport with the local press in Kerry and across social media platforms.

Kerry Badminton News 

By Colm Griffin

November Handicap

The Kerry Badminton season gets underway in earnest this weekend as the November Handicap takes place on Sunday in Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre.

It is hoped that a big contingent of players from throughout the county will take part in this official season opener.

The competition caters from players of all levels from Division 1 to Division 5. The action gets under way for Division 4 and 5 players from 1pm. Division 3 starts at 2.30pm and Division 1 and 2 at 3pm.

Ladies and Men’s Leagues

The draw has taken place for the Ladies and Men’s Division 3 and Division 4 Leagues.

Ladies Divison 3 League Sponsored by Agri Auto Parts

Killarney, Listowel, Moyvane

Men’s Division 3 League Sponsored by Advance Cleaning Supplies

Killarney, Kingdom – Castleisland, Listowel

Ladies Division 4 Sponsored by Agri Auto Parts

Section 1

Ballyheigue, Killarney, Listowel A

Section 2

Kingdom – Castleisland, Listowel B, Moyvane

Men’s Division 4 Sponsored by Advance Cleaning Supplies

Section 1

Ballyheigue A, Causeway, Killarney, Kingdom – Castleisland

Section 2

Ballyheigue B, Listowel, Moyvane

The first fixtures in each Division are scheduled to be played no later than Friday November 16th

Social Media and New Website 

An official page for Kerry Badminton is now live at www.facebook.com/kerrybadmintonassociation. We hope to keep this page up to date with all badminton news throughout the season. All Kerry clubs are encouraged to submit their own local news and photographs which will be promoted through the association page.

Work will also shortly commence on a new website for Kerry Badminton Association. This is a long term project but should be complete in the coming months.

Ballybunion Baseliners 

At a time when many sports clubs in rural Ireland are struggling to survive it is refreshing to see the re-establishment of a new badminton club in Ballybunion. A popular sport in the area until the club was disbanded back in the late 1990s is now back for the local community to enjoy under a striking new name. Huge credit to Chairperson of the new club Mike Walsh and all those that helped get it off the ground. Training times are Tuesdays and Thursday between 9pm and 11pm and Friday mornings 11am to 12pm at Ballybunion Community Centre. Anyone interested in joining the club can contact Ciara on 087 1469429 or contact the club through www.facebook.com/ballybunionbaseliners

Committee 2018/19

After 43 consecutive years of service at the helm as Chairman of Kerry Badminton Association the great Junior Griffin has made the decision to step down ahead of the 2018/19 season. Junior will however continue in his role with the Listowel Club and no doubt will be a regular at most Kerry badminton events for many years to come. Much gratitude is extended to Junior and the other members of the committee that served last year and some who served for many years on behalf of everyone associated with badminton in Kerry.

The committee for the 2018/2019 season is as follows

President:  Johnny Brosnan

Vice President: Ollie Conyard

Chairman: Tom Bourke

Vice Chairman: Tom Clear

Registrar: Fergal Hannon

Hon. Secretary & Juvenile Secretary: Carmel Hudson

Asst. Secretary: Samira Hayes

Competition Secretary and Radio PRO: Maurice O Shea

Treasurer: Edel Kenny

General Purpose Committee Officers

Mike Corridan and Paula O Sullivan

Juvenile Chairman: Billy Lacey

Coaching Secretary: Tom McElligott

Munster Grader: Peggy Horan

Munster Appeals Committee: Jennifer Keane

Munster Delegates:

Rita McCarthy, Eric Nelligan and William Flaherty

Print PRO: Colm Griffin

Photograph PRO: Tom Bradley

Key Upcoming Dates 

Sunday Nov 11th November Handicap Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre

Saturday Nov 24th Juvenile Tournaments, Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre

Sunday Nov 25th Mixed Doubles Tournament, Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre

BADMINTON

The University of Limerick Sports Arena was a hive of Badminton action on Sunday  last as this 12 court arena hosted the FG Forza sponsored  the All-Ireland Inter League Club Finals

From a Kerry perspective there was just the one representive this year and this was the Moyvane Grade E team who had recently won the Munster title at this Grade.

Their opponents on Sunday last  were Sligo City, the Connacht Champions and Meath’s Kilmessan the Leinster Champions.

Round 1 saw Moyvane take on Kilmessan It proved to be a heart-warming start tor the Kerry side as out of the first 4 games they won both singles and the mens doubles  bit a fight back by the Leinster Champions saw the sides level at 3 games each.

It was now all down to the second doubles tie to see who would save the day for their club and county. On duty for Moyvane were Amanda Carmody and Timmy Noonan, who both, incidentally, had won their respective singles matches earlier, and this pairing made no mistake as they won this important encounter in two sets, but what a wonderful exhibition of badminton that second set proved to be with the Moyvane pairing dovetailing together to forge a famous victory on the tie-break by just 25 to 23 which gave the Kerry  side

A deserved 4-3 first round victory.

In round 2 it was now Kilmessan, as 1st round losers, who were  up against Sligo  City.    It is well known in Badminton competitions that where there are just the three teams involved  that the side who gets the bye in round 1 are at a slight disadvantage  when they play their first encounter in round 2 as they are virtually going in cold and in a strange hall  it takes time to get acclimatized  to the new surroundings and so it proved to be for this Sligo side as Kilmessan forged their way to a 5-2 victory and on the day how important this score-line proved to be.

In round 3 it was now Moyvane up against Sligo City  and going by the previous 2 rounds it was looking good for the Kerry side but as the old adage proclaims “There is many a slip twixt the cup and the lip .

For some reason Moyvane never hit their first round form. Moyvane did come good in both the ladies singles and doubles encounters but Sligo levelled  at 2 games all with the 3 mixed ties remaining.

Once again the Moyvane 2nd mixed pairing of Amanda Carmody and Timmy Noonan  came good in 2 sets   but 3 of the Moyvane losses, the mens doubles tie and both the  first and third mixed doubles games were lost in 3 hard fought sets which saw Sligo coming good by 4-3. A victory in any of those matches would result in another All Ireland title for Moyvane, it was that close.

No doubt but two of the shining lights on this Moyvane team were Amanda Carmody who won all 4 games that she played and Timmy Noonan who was victorious  in his 3 encounters

On the day it was Kilmessan who garnished the Gold medals on  9 points with Moyvane bringing home the Silver on 7 points but strange to relate on the total points scored by the Kerry side in both of their matches they outscored their opponents.

Against the new champions, Kilmessan Moyvane scored a total of 325 points to 313 and although falling to Sligo City just outscored  the Connacht champions by the one point, 302 to 301.

The Moyvane panel was as follows;

Amanda Carmody, Helen Brown, Carmel Hudson, Denise Collins, Donie Enright, Donnacha Moloney, Timmy Noonan, Kevin Kennelly.

Kerry Rewards night

The Kerry Badminton Association rewards night and social will take place at the Rose Hotel, Tralee next Saturday night to commence at 8pm.

This is the night where all County Champions and County League winners will be presented with their hard earned  cups and trophies won over the 2017/2018 season and for all Kerry Badminton followers it is the one time that  all can meet up and mingle together away from the thrust of competition. Details can be got from Mike Reardon at 087 9494746

BADMINTON NEWS

By Junior Griffin

For most players throughout the country  the badminton season is well and truly over but for those involved in the winning clubs from the provinces of Munster, Connacht and Leinster the show is still going on.

The provincial winners of each grade  from C to H will battle it out in the UL  Arena of Limerick on Sunday next in the effort to capture that coveted honour of winning an All-Ireland Club title .

These competitions are over 40 years old but this is the first time that a Munster venue will host this event which over the years were held in either Dublin or Galway but the Limerick hall with its 12 badminton courts is an ideal venue to host this major end of season badminton competition.

The Kerry interest  on Sunday next will once again focus on the Moyvane Club as this hotbed of Kerry Badminton will have their Grade E team fighting the Kerry cause in an effort to capture this All Ireland Club title.

Many of this Moyvane panel have been  there before  as members of the Grade F team who won All Ireland Club honours just 2 years ago and in the heat of All Ireland battle no doubt but this experience should stand to the side.

Moyvanes opponents on Sunday next will be Sligo Town who will be representing Connacht and from Leinster come the Meath champions, Kilmessan.  Whilst Kerry in the past would have not much contact with Sligo badminton any team from Meath is a different prospect as both Kerry County and Club teams have had  some great battles with the representatives from the Royal County

Round 1 on Sunday will see Moyvane take on Sligo with the losers to play Kilmessan  in round 2 who then will play the 1st round winners in round 3.

The Moyvane panel for Sunday next  is as follows;

Amanda Carmody, Helen Brown, Carmel Hudson, Denise Collins, Donie Enright, Donnacha Moloney, Timmy Noonan, Kevin Kennelly..

The Kerry Badminton Association wish to extend best wishes to Moyvane and no doubt but they will do our County proud.

By Junior Griffin

The bell tolled  for the end of another Badminton competitive season last week with the completion of the CPC.IE sponsored mixed leagues over two nights in two separate venues and the playing of the Paddy Sugrue tournaments at the Tralee Sports complex on Sunday last.

Before one of the largest crowds ever seen at a  Kerry leagues finals night,   Ballyheigue was the venue for two league  deciders on Tuesday last April 3rd and this programme saw defending champions Killarney take on Moyvane  in the division 2 decider and the final pairing in division 5 saw Kingdom, Castleisland  take on Moyvane.

Each Badminton match  consists of seven games with whoever wins 4 games being declared the County Champions for that season.

The seven games are made up of 1 each ladies and mens singles,1 each  ladies and mens doubles and 3 mixed doubles.

A badminton encounter is played for 21 points but a game must be won by 2 clear points with the maximum score being 30 points which means that a game must conclude at the very most by 30-29.

Tuesdays nights division 5 decider saw Moyvane and Castleisland do battle after a long campaign over many months with clubs taking part from throughout the County

Moyvane got the winning start with Aoife Bowler coming good in 2 sets  but Castleisland levelled the encounter with Josh Horan winning a thrilling  3 set battle against Moyvanes Bryan Kiely.

Indeed the Moyvane man looked all set for victory when he took what looked like a commanding 3 point lead late in the third and final set but the Castleisland man showed great courage to fight back and  levelled  the set and  then forged to victory by 23-21.

That victory by Horan seemed to be a source  of inspiration to the rest of the Castleisland team and from there on they surged to victory despite the ladies doubles tie being another heart-warming 3 set battle but the next four games saw the Kingdom side come out on top to give the club an overall 5-1 success, their first County title in this grade since 2007.

The Castleisland manager was Tom Bradley with his daughter Maire being one of the winning team members and, incidentally, his wife Mary was one of the 2007 winning team so the badminton blood does run freely in this family. Teams as follows;

Kingdom, Castleisland; Catriona Browne, Mairead O’Connell (Capt),Maire Bradley, Josh Horan, Wilson Pais, Luke O’Loughlin, Dylan Browne. Team Manager; Tom Bradley

Moyvane; Erin Stack (Capt.) Aoife Bowler, Marie Nolan, Fiona Buckley, Brian Kiely, Padraig Hanrahan, Mariuz Jesco,  Radek Choromanski     Joint team managers; Amanda Carmody, Eileen Roche

The Killarney v Moyvane division 2 final turned out to be an absolute thriller despite  what the final score line might suggest.

The defending champions from Killarney  set a hot pace taking both singles and ladies doubles in two sets but what a feast of top class badminton was served up in the following three games, all of which had to go to three sets for the final decision  with Niamh Hickey and the evergreen Paudie Twomey clinching victory  for the champions to ensure that the title stayed in East Kerry with the final score giving Killarney a 5-2 victory over a  gallant fighting Moyvane side . Teams as follows;

Killarney; Peggy Horan (Capt.), Sinead Galvin, Jennifer Keane, Maeve Twomey, Niamh Hickey,  Paudie Horan, Paul Kingston, Mariuz Tsunski,; Team manager; Peggy Horan

Moyvane; Amanda Carmody, Saoirse Fitzgerald (Capt), Helen Browne, Carmel Hudson,   Timmy Noonan, Donnacha Moloney, Donie Enright,  Team manager; Donie Enright

The action switched from Ballyheigue to the spacious Castleisland Community  the following night, Wed. April 4thfor the division 4 league decider between Moyvane and Ballyheigue.

This talented Moyvane side have dominated this division for some time and were going for their 3 in a row. With 4 courts available in this ideal badminton venue, all courts were utilised from the start  with both singles and both even doubles commencing at the same time.

From the outset it was a Moyvane domination with the champions  winning all four games to guarantee their club the three in a row, but the mens doubles turned out to be a thrilling match  with the Ballyheigue pairing of  John McDonald and Colm Carroll  giving as good as they got but just losing out  in an explosive encounter to the experienced Moyvane  pairing of Padraig Kearney and Liam O’Connor by  21-9; 19-21; 17-21

Moyvane; Bridget McCarthy, Ciara Hudson, Louise Behan, Michelle Corridan Tim Flaherty (Capt), Padraig Kearney, Liam O’Connor, Barry O’Callaghan Joint Managers; Fran Collins and John Mulvihill.

Ballyheigue; Paula O’Sullivan, Kathleen Gilbride, Siobhan Corbett, Lilian Holmes, Kevin O’Mahony, Colm Griffin, John McDonald, Colm Carroll. Joint Managers; Edel Broderick and Patrick Corridon

PADDY SUGRUE TOURNAMENTS;

The Paddy Sugrue tournaments were played in the Tralee Sports Centre on Sunday last with all the proceeds, which realised almost €1200, being donated to the Tralee and District branch of the Chernobyl Childrens fund.

There was a great entry received on the day with the overall results as follows;

Div. 5 Mixed  Final; Eibhlis Brosnan (Castleisland) and Pat Browne (Ballyheigue) defeated  Marie Nolan (Moyvane) and Christy Deane (Annascaul) 16-21; 21-16; 22-20

Div. 4 Mixed doubles Final: Josie Gilbert (Causeway) and Mike Reardan (Iveragh) defeated Susan O’Connell (Iveragh) and Oliver Carmody  (Moyvane) 21-16; 21-12

Div  2&3 Mixed doubles Final;  Samira Hayes (Killarney) and Brendan McGovern (Castleisland)  defeated Catherine Hanrahan (Castleisland) and Patrick Corridon (Ballyheigue)  21-17; 21-15

The members of the Tralee Chernobyl Childrens committee wish to sincerely thank all badminton players who competed on Sunday last as well as those who gave private donations, all very much appreciated.

On the Munster Badminton front the Brewster Cup will take centre stage on Saturday next, April 14th to be played in a Tipperary venue which is as yet unnamed.

This competition was originally fixed for March 4th last but the snow at that time but paid to all sporting fixtures that weekend. Kerry , under the management of Billy Lacey, will be represented by the following selection;

Edel Broderick, Miriam Rohan, Maeve Twomey, Sinead Galvin, Elaine Hudson, Michael Crossan, Jonathan Keane, Fergal Hannon, Donie Enright, A.N.Other.

Best wishes extended to all involved.

Interprovincials;

The annual Interprovincials were played in Dublin last weekend and there was an unprecedented double Munster success over the two days as the Southern Province won, not 0ne, but two titles. These were the under 17 title on the Saturday and the junior title on the Sunday and there was a strong Kerry connection in both victories.

The under 17s on the Saturday proved to be a straight shoot-out between  Leinster and Munster which saw Munster take a 3-1 lead but Leinster drew level at 4 games each and the title was South bound with the Munster pair clinching  that vital rubber game to win this title 5-4 for the first time in almost 30 years and one of the vital cogs last Saturday last was Moyvane Club youth Chris O’Donoghue, who still only at the tender age of 15 years, would seem to be facing  a tremendous  badminton future having already been capped for Ireland at the under 13 level and is now on the under 15 Irish squad.

Never in the history of Irish badminton, which was founded in 1899, has a Munster team won a junior  Interprovincial title but the dawning of a new day came on Sunday last when history was made by this current Munster squad as they defied history and all the odds to defeat the kingpins of Irish badminton, both Leinster and Ulster,  on the one day and one of the shining lights of this team was Castleisland Club  girl, the recently married Edel Broderick.

Firstly Leinster were downed by 6-4 and then Ulster bit the dust by 7-2 with the Kerry lady excelling in her ladies doubles encounters.

So, heartiest congratulations to young O’Donoghue and Ms. Broderick. You both did Kerry Badminton proud in Dublin last weekend.

The Munster Club finals will take place in the UL , Limerick Arena on Sunday next with each of the Kerry League winners taking part. Best wishes are extended to  all our teams.

A reminder to all Kerry Badminton enthusiasts that the annual County Social and Rewards night will take place at the Rose Hotel Tralee on Saturday night May 19th. Tickets, at €35 each must be booked through your home club so it is advisable to book in good time.

By Junior Griffin

Competitive badminton returns to the Tralee Sports Centre next Sunday April 8th for the first time in 10 years with the staging of the Paddy Sugrue Tournaments which caters for divisions 2 to 5.

Mr Sugrue was former President of Tralee’s County Club and also the Kerry Badminton Association and Sundays events are being run to mark the 30th anniversary of Mr.Sugrues death  by some of his former County Club members

It has been decided that all proceeds of these tournaments will be donated  to the Tralee Branch of the Chernobyl Childrens Funds  which all will agree is a most deserving charity.

Since 1993 the  Tralee Branch have been bringing children from  the village  of Kozhan in a contaminated area in Southern Belarus to North Kerry  for 4 weeks in June/July for rest/ recuperation  and medical attention and to date the Tralee organisation has brought over 1000 children  to Kerry.

So, all Kerry Badminton  players and  enthusiasts are requested to support these tournaments next Sunday, even if not playing do come along and give your support in some form and, of course, the  non-badminton public are  more than welcome also, any time from 12 noon to 5 pm.

The badminton  programme times as follows; Div 5 at 12 noon; div. 4 at 2 pm; div. 3 at 3.30 and div 2 at 4.30 pm. Entry fee for each division is € 10 per player. Spot prizes more than welcome.

The final tournament of the 2017-2018  Kerry Juvenile Badminton programme under the direction of Juvenile chairman Billy Lacey and juvenile secretary Carmel Hudson  took place on Good Friday in the  Killarney Sport and Leisure Centre with a turnout of 115 children. Annascaul won the best club on the day and took home the club tournament shield. The following are the results.

U11 Girls Stephanie Reid Annascaul and Caoimhe O’Connor Moyvane defeated Maeve Ahern Moyvane and Aoise O’Donoghue Killarney 12/15, 15/12, 15/13

U13 Girls Molly O’Donoghue Killarney and Eilish Enright Castleisland defeated Lily McSweeney Castleisland and Maura Burke Milltown 21/17, 21/18

U15 Girls Madison Carter Listowel and Laura O’Connor Killarney were winners and Adele O’Brien Killarney and Danielle Moriarty Castleisland were runners up played on round robin format

U17 Girls Ciara Hudson Moyvane and Aoife Bowler defeated Olivia Wesoloska Killarney and Aisling Harty Ballyheigue on round robin format

U11 Boys Ruadhan Donovan Annascaul and James Horgan O’Brien Moyvane defeated Jack Lyne Annascaul and Eamon Bowler Moyvane 10/15, 15/11, 15/5

U13 Boys Odhran O’Neill Milltown and Tomas O’Sullivan Listowel defeated Ayrton Burke Castleisland and Patrick O’Connor Moyvane 21/14, 21/16

U15 Boys Cathal Donovan Annascaul and Ross Twomey Killarney defeated Muiris Harty Ballyheigue and Dara Newsome Ballyheigue 21/7, 21/9

U17 Boys Niall O’Brien Killarney and Oisin Moran Killarney defeated Seamus Knightly Annascaul and Dara Lawlor Killarney on round robin format

The plate results are as follows:-

U11 Girls Aoibhin McCarthy Moyvane and Chloe McHugh Milltown defeated Aobhadh Dillon and Katelyn Dillon Milltown

U13 Girls Marie Heffernan Milltown and Jessica O’Loughlin Castleisland defeated Nicola Kennelly Moyvane and Yen Leniston Killarney

U11 Boys Sean Scanlon Moyvane and Con Mahony Castleisland defeated David Brassil Moyvane and Evan Daly Iveragh

U13 Boys Jack O’Donoghue Moyvane and Conor O’Keefe Killarney defeated Abir Kazi Killarney and Martin O’Sullivan Listowel

U15 Boys Hasib Ahmmed Killarney and Peter Fitzgerald Ballyheigue defeated Tom Hoare Annascaul and Adam Dineen Ballyheigue

The following are the results of the art competition which is based on a Badminton theme . There was  29 entries with the overall standard being of an exceptionally high quality.

U10 Girls

1st Aine Newsome Annascaul

2nd Kate Harmon Castleisland

3rd Nicole Vesko Listowel

4th Kate Nolan Listowel

U10 Boys

1st Premyslaw Choromanski Moyvane

2nd Kian Lyons Moyvane

3rd Sean Scanlon Moyvane

4th Cillian Haugh Moyvane

U12 Girls

1st Grace Harrison Moyvane

2nd Aoife Curran Moyvane

3rd Sarah Casey Annascaul

U12 Boys

1st Shahir Rahman Killarney

2nd Safwan Rahman Killarney

U14 Girls

1st Yen Leniston Killarney

2nd Mary Casey Annascaul

U14 Boys

1st Ross Twomey Killarney

Kerry Badminton News from Junior Griffin

Friday night last, March 23rd, 2018 saw the final stages of the  closing programme of another Kerry Badminton Association, CPC.IE sponsored, County Championships at the Killarney Sports Arena and on the night it was the divisions 2 &4 mixed doubles championships that took to the courts.

In division 4 alone there were no less that 24 pairs competing and what a wonderful competition this proved to be

On the previous Monday night in Killarney also the ladies and mens doubles for the same 2 divisions held court in the refixed championships following the early March snowfall and in the div 4 mens doubles it was the Killarney pairing of Liam Barry and Ger O’Connor that scaled the heights to win that title and on Friday night last it was the same Ger O’Connor that collected County title number 2 within 5 days  after failing no less than 3 times in the past to garnish that coveted County crown.

O’Connor was partnered on Friday last with Listowels Jill Redmond who was herself competing in her first County final and  their opposition  were the talented Causeway pairing of Fiona Casey and James O’Mahony. In a close first set it was the Listowel/Killarney pairing that came out on top by 21-17.

Set number 2 saw the Causeway pairing take command from the outset and led at one stage by 12-4 and it was they who went to set point at 20-17 and it looked like that the third set would be the decider but Redmond/O’Connor never yielded and in no time at all the set was all square at 20 each  and amazingly they  went on to win the set and County title by 22-20 after that trail blazing finish

Though playing out of Killarney the gallant O’Connor is a Valentia native and makes that long journey for training to Killarney at least twice a week  that would cover over 100 miles per trip. Surely such dedication to any sport like that is worthy of a County All Star selection.

The division 2 decider proved to be an all Moyvane confrontation which saw Sorcha  Fitzgerald and Donnacha Moloney take on Elaine Hudson and Donie Enright.

Like O’Connor in the division 4 decider the brave Moloney also won his second County title within the 5 days as he had captured the division 2 mens title , also with a Listowel partner, James Leane  whilst Ms Fitzgerald was a finalist in the ladies div 2 final the previous Monday. In a close 2 setter Fitzgerald/Moloney came good over Hudson/Enright by 21-17; 21-17

The Ladies & Mens division 5 finals sponsored by the Sea Lodge Restaurant, Waterville,  plus the Masters tournaments, sponsored by Ashes Bar, Glenbeigh, finals were played in Moyvane on Thursday night last and a large crowd witnessed some fine badminton.

In the ladies div 5 decider it was an all Moyvane confrontation with the A side having the better of the B side. In the mens decider it was victory for Annascaul over Moyvane.

In the ladies Masters the combined Listowel/Moyvane under the stewardship of Jeanelle Griffin overcame the Kathleen Gilbride Ballyheigue  selection  after the sides finished level at 5 games each  but the Listowel/Moyvane combination  came good on the count back of aces by 192 to 185

In the Mens Masters the William Flaherty Moyvane selection  overcame the Listowel James Sheehan’s side by 5-3

Forthcoming events include the County Masters tournaments, over 40, to take place in the Killarney Presentation Gym on Friday night next march 30th to commence at 8 pm. All interested are reminded to enter not later than this Wednesday,

The County leagues which commenced in November are now nearing completion. The div 3 league had just the three clubs competing, namely Castleisland, Killarney and Moyvane and this was played on the home and away round robin basis and it was Moyvane who came out on top there.

The division 2 league campaign is  running behind time and no clear picture has emerged as who will qualify.

The division 4 final will see Ballyheigue do battle with Moyvane whilst in div 5 Moyvane are once again in another decider where their opponents will be Castleisland.

These finals will take place  over 2 nights on April 3rd & 4th  with venues to be decided.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Paddy Sugrue, former Tralee County Club chairman and president and also former Kerry President, former County Club members will revive the Paddy Sugrue tournaments to be played on Sunday April 8th at the Tralee Sports Centre.

Entry fee will be €10 per player with all proceeds to be donated to the Tralee and District Chernobyl Childrens Fund who are doing such wonderful work since 1993 , so badminton players from throughout the County are requested to support these tournaments.

Whether playing or otherwise your presence and support for this worthy cause would be much appreciated. Entry forms are now with each club.

The Munster singles and doubles winners finals took place in the UL , Limerick on Sunday last and there were notable successes for Kerry players.

At Grade C which would be the senior Grade, Moyvanes James Flaherty  won out the mens singles section whilst in the ladies Grade C section Castleislands Edel Broderick and Miriam Rohan captured the ladies doubles title with Tom Bourke and Eric Nelligan runners up in the mens doubles final.

Grade D  saw Killarneys Maeve Twomey and Moyvanes Elaine Hudson win out the ladies Grade D doubles final with Sinead Galvin of Killarney being the ladies singles runner up. In  the Grade E doubles decider Brendan McGovern and Aidan McCarthy of the Castleisland Club  were worthy winners of the mens doubles title.

The Grade G competition saw double gold coming to Kerry.    The ladies doubles title was captured by the Moyvane/Ballyheigue combination of Ciara Hudson and Paula O’Sullivan  and this grade also saw the mixed doubles title being won by Listowels Jill Redmond and Ger O’Connor representing the Killarney Club. All in all, a most rewarding day for Kerry Badminton

Juvenile Badminton

Saturday last in the Killarney Centre saw the close of the Kerry Badminton juvenile  season where well over one hundred girls and boys competed in the mixed doubles championships for the age groups of under 11/13/15/17. Results as follows;

U11 Stephanie Reid and Ruadhan Donovan Annascaul defeated Darina Ellen Burke and Diarmuid Quirke Milltown 15/12, 15/10

U13 Ava MacKay and Tomas O’Sullivan Listowel defeated Mary Casey and Liam Newsome Annascaul 21/11, 21/11

U15 Adele O’Brien Killarney and Christopher O’Donoghue Moyvane defeated Ciara Knightly and Cathal Donovan Annascaul 21/14, 21/7

U17 Aoife Bowler Moyvane and Niall O’Brien Killarney defeated Ciara Hudson Moyvane and Luke O’Loughlin Castleisland 19/21, 21/15, 21/9

U11 Plate Megan Brosnan and Jack Lyne Annascaul defeated Grace McGovern and Jack Burke Castleisland

U13 Plate Ellie Ava Liston Listowel and Jack O’Keeffe Killarney defeated Molly O’Donoghue and Abir Kazir Killarney

u15 Plate Deina Vesko Listowel and Navansh Johnson Killarney defeated Ella Galvin and Darragh Crehan Killarney

U17 Plate Fiona Galvin and Oisin Moran Killarney defeated Olivia Wesolowska and Dara Lawlor Killarney

The refixed Kerry doubles championships for both ladies and men for divisions 2&4 took place last Monday night in the Killarney Sports Arena.

For a Bank Holiday night there was certainly a great turnout and the many onlookers were certainly treated to all that is good in the game of badminton.

Results as follows: Division 2 Mens Doubles- James Leane, Listowel and Donnacha Moloney, Moyvane won 21-12; 21-16 v Aidan McCarthy, Kingdom Castleisland and Brendan McGovern of Annascaul .

In the Division 2 Ladies Final Maeve Twomey, Killarney and Elaine Hudson, Moyvane won v Helen Browne and Saorcha Fitzgerald 21-14; 21-11.

In Division 4: Paula O’Sullivan, Ballyheigue and Ciara Hudson, Moyvane won in 2 sets v Michelle Corridan and Bridget McCarthy of Moyvane  21-15; 24-22.  Liam Barry and Ger O’Connor of Killarney were Division 4 Mens winners v Brendan Carroll of Causeway and Listowel’s Paul Hayes. 21-16; 21-10.

The CPC.IE  sponsored Kerry Badminton County Championships will conclude on Friday night next, March 23rd in the Killarney Sports Centre and the final swansong of another good championship season will see the mixed doubles championships for divisions 2&4. The games commence at 7.30 and all involved, players and court helpers are requested to report on time.

At a meeting of the Munster Council last week it was decided to refix the 2018 Brewster Cup for  Saturday April 14th at a Tipperary venue yet to be decided

The juvenile Kerry championships will conclude the same weekend with the Mixed doubles for all age groups , these are also to be played in Killarney.

The annual juvenile art competition will also take place the same weekend

BADMINTON NOTES

On the home badminton scene  last weekend the programme was dominated by the CPC.IE mixed doubles championships for divisions 1,3 &5 and  for the second time in 3 weeks these 3 divisions certainly brought a huge crowd of Badminton followers to the Killarney Sports Arena on Friday last  and the action and drama supplied  on the night  was out of the top drawer and  worthy of the occasion.

The senior division 1 decider  saw Castleislands Tom Bourke once again in the final fray with new partner, club colleague Miriam Rohan and they were confronted by the 2016 champions the talented  Moyvane  sister and brother pairing of Niamh and James Flaherty. Despite all four players producing many quality top class badminton strokes, the overall  game did not live up to expectations and the final outcome saw the Castleisland pairing come good in 2 sets by 21-14; 21-15 and this gave Bourke his 9th Kerry mixed doubles title but it was  a first for his partner Ms. Rohan.

The division 3 final was an all  Moyvane confrontation  which saw 3  times title holder Carmel Hudson pair off with Kevin Kennelly and their opponents were Tarberts Mags O’Donnell who plys  her Badminton trade with  Moyvane,  and she was partnered with former Feale Rangers football star John Mulvihill.

Despite 2 heart-warming semi-finals in this competition the final itself fell rather flat  except for a close second set but it was the O’Donnell/Mulvihill  combination that scaled the heights to capture the County title in 2 sets by 21-6; 21-17.

On the night, however, it was the division 5 final that stole the show  and what a wonderful 3 set decider this proved to be. In one corner was the Ballyheigue pairing of Laura O’Sullivan and Frankie O’Flaherty  while in the opposing corner was the recent singles winner and ladies  doubles finalist  Listowel club member Karen Lawlor, who incidentally is a Ballyheigue native, and she was partnered by Causeway club member  Niall O’Hanlon.

In the opening set it was the Listowel /Causeway pairing that looked to be in control  as on two occasions they held a six point lead and yet, it was the battling Ballyheigue pairing that took the set by  21-16. Again Lawlor/O’Hanlon led through the second set but a brave comeback by the Ballyheigue pair saw them level at 16 all  but Causeway/Listowel  levelled the match at 1 set each when they snatched victory by 21-18 What a titanic battle  that final set proved to be  with the sides  exchanging score for score. During that set the Causeway/ Listowel pairing looked set for victory as they held a three point lead late in the game but O ’Sullivan/O’Flaherty proved to be worthy adversaries and the Cup and title was bound for Ballyheigue  as they clinched victory by 21-18.

Credit to all four players in this final for their exemplary sportsmanship throughout this wonderful contest and, indeed, their more illustrious colleagues at the higher levels could learn a lot from these division 5 combatants on the true merit of what sport is all about.

There are two more championship rounds to be played off in this 2017/18 season and these concern divisions 2 &4. The ladies and mens doubles for both of these divisions which were called off due to the recent snowfall will now be played in the Killarney Arena on Monday March 19th and all concerned are requested to note the change of time to 7.30 pm and the final championships of the season, divs. 2&4 mixed doubles is fixed for Friday night March 23rd also in Killarney at the starting time of 7.30 pm Entry forms are now with clubs.

All clubs are requested to note that the Kerry Badminton Associations annual Social and rewards night will be held in the Rose Hotel, Tralee on Saturday night May 19th and it will be hosted this year by the Iveragh Badminton Club.

Class C Inter Counties

The Munster section of the Grade Munster  C Inter County Championships took place in Killarney on Sunday last. Tipperary were a last minute withdrawal which left Counties Kerry, Cork & Waterford do  battle to represent Munster in the All Ireland series in the coming weeks. Round 1 saw Kerry take on Waterford and with 4 courts in  action simultaneous  Kerry got the ideal start by winning the second mens doubles tie but, unfortunately  that was as  good as it got for the Kingdom as they became a cropper in the 8 remaining games. However, in those nine games contested, five of these went to the third set for decision and Waterford captured  4 of these.

Round 2 saw Kerry take on the Rebels but if Kerry hearts were down beat after the Waterford encounter it did not show  on court as the Kingdom put in a much improved  performance to overcome a fancied Rebel side by 6-3.

For round 3 it was Waterford up against Cork and in fairness to Cork they did  put in a noble battle before going down by 5-4 to the Decies outfit. The final score then saw Waterford on top with 13 points and Kerry and Cork were level on 7 points each but by virtue of the fact that Kerry had overcame Cork in their round 2 encounter it was the Kingdom that collected the silver medals which gives them a chance of being selected later into the All Ireland series as one of the best losers.

The vagaries of the scoring in the game of badminton was very epitomized in that contest on Sunday last with Waterford inflicting that heavy defeat on Kerry and were very lucky to defeat Cork and yet Kerry were convincing winners over the rebels.

The Kerry panel were as follows;  Edel Broderick, Mariam Rohan, Sinead Galvin, Saorcha Fitzgerald , Eric Nelligan (player-manager), Tom Bourke, Gio Gaudino, Fergal Hannon, Alan Nelligan

Cappoquin played host to the Munster singles finals on Sunday last and there was outright success in the Grade F section for Kerry where five Counties competed with Clare being the only absentee and it was  Moyvanes Amanda Carmody that ruled the roost on the day as she won both sets against Counties Waterford, Cork and Limerick and shared the spoils with Tipperary to make her a convincing winner with 7 points out of a possible  8 which was a wonderful achievement.. The Grade E competition saw Kerry involvement and In this Killarney’s Niamh Hickey brought the silver medal to Kerry after putting up  a sterling performance also.

Juvenile Inter County

From a Kerry badminton perspective the performance of the weekend came from the County’s under 11 team who played in the Provincial Inter County series in the U.L Arena in Limerick on Sunday last  which saw Counties Cork, Clare, Kerry, and Waterford  competing in that age group. It did not look too good for Kerry as they fell to Cork 12-8 in their first game of this round robin series.  it was Clare up in the next match for the Kerry team but their opening round defeat was quickly forgotten as they overcame the Banner County by 11-9. Next step up was Waterford and what an  engrossing game this proved to be as Kerry hung on to defeat the Decies side by the tightest of margins, 11-9.

With the two top teams now to contest the Munster final it meant that it was Cork that was awaiting Kerry in the decider. Would Cork do the double over Kerry.?

This brave Kerry side had other ideas. They had learned their lesson from that opening match and they made sure that lighting would not strike a second time.

This was indeed a super show performance by these Kerry boys and girls as they were on top in most quarters and were very deserving winners  of this Munster crown on the score line of    14-6 to prove once again that the good wine does come last.

This talented team is as follows; James Burke, Daris McCormack, Michael O’Sullivan, Ben McElligott, Samira Sayers, Darina Burke, Grace McGovern, Emer Bradley,

Katie Nolan. Team manager and coach; Billy Lacey; Team helpers ; Carmel Hudson, Mary Falvey, Tom McElligott

The Annascaul Badminton  Club hosted their annual tournaments on Sunday last which catered for divisions 2 to 5 and after a long days play the overall results are as follows

Div 5

Ciara Knightly (Annascaul) & Christy Deane (Annascaul) beat Eileen McGovern (Annascaul) & Padraig Murray (Causeway) in 2 straight sets. 21 – 15, 21 – 19

Div 4

Fiona Casey (Causeway) & Mike Reardan  (Iveragh) beat Susan O’ Connell (Iveragh) & James Sheahan (Listowel) also in 2 sets. 21 – 17, 21 – 19

Div 2 & 3 Combined

Brid Murphy (Castleisland) & Aaron Tan (Castleisland) beat Ruth Concannon (Castleisland) & Aidan Evans (Annascaul) in another 2 setter. 21 – 17, 21 – 14

Even though it’s  an indoor sport,  the snow fall of last week certainly  put paid to the sport of badminton  as well as most of the  other sports last weekend  as travelling was just out of the question  and the health and safety  of all participants must always be the first priority.

So the Kerry badminton programme of the division 2&4 doubles championships and the juvenile tournaments  as well as the Munster Brewster Cup competition which was fixed for Roscrea all fell by the wayside.

The re-fixtures of last week’s  Kerry programme is as follows; Division 2&4 ladies and mens doubles will now be played in Killarney on Monday March 19th to commence at 6 pm. The juvenile tournaments have been refixed for Good Friday, March 30th also in Killarney, to commence at 11am  The Brewster Cup Munster competition is yet to be rescheduled.

With the snow now gone, hopefully, the Badminton programme for this coming weekend will centre around the first phase of the CPC.IE sponsored mixed doubles County Championships to be played in the Killarney Sports arena this coming Friday night  to commence at 7.30 and will feature divisions 1,3&5.

As this is generally a large programme to work with, all players , court helpers and coordinators are requested to check in on time

Sunday next will also see the progressive Annascaul Club host their annual tournaments in the local Sports Hall and this will cater for divisions 2 to 5 .The programme is as follows;

Division 5 will open the proceedings to commence at 12 noon; div.4 at 2.30 pm. Divs 2&3 combined at 4 pm. Entry forms are now with each club secretary but contact can also  be made with Lisa Sayers at 085 2734648 or email to lisasayers@gmail.com.

Hopefully all of the other Kerry Clubs will give great support to the Annascaul Club  on their venture as these club tournaments are generally most enjoyable events away from the serious aspect of league and championships competition  where players can partner and meet up with those from other clubs  and yet  the honour of winning a club tournament is high on the list of each competing player. So, do support Annascaul which is one of the  strongholds of Kerry Badminton in recent times

Munster Competitions

Munster competition on Sunday next will focus on both Cappoquin and Killarney. The Waterford venue will host the Munster singles finals, a competition which sees the singles winners from each County meet up  in each division to play off for the honour of being the overall  Munster champion in each division. Best wishes is extended to all Kerry competitors taking part.

The Killarney Sports Arena will host the Munster Grade C inter County team championships and 4 Counties will compete in this, namely Kerry, Cork, Tipperary and Waterford. Round 1 will see Cork v Tipperary with Kerry taking on Waterford. Round 2 will have winners v losers from round 1.  Play is due to commence at 10.30 am

BADMINTON NOTES

The main badminton activity of last weekend was the Munster Grade E team event which took place in Waterford on Sunday last.

Originally, 4 Counties had entered, namely Cork, Kerry, Tipperary and Waterford but the home County withdrew on Saturday evening which left it a 3 tier contest. The opening tie saw Cork being convincing 7-2 winners over Tipperary, so for  round 2 it was the Kingdom taking on the Premier County.

The Kerry ladies certainly put the Kingdom into the driver’s seat when  they won both ladies doubles, however the Tipperary men were on top in their encounters and drew level at 2 games all,  but after that it was a Kerry take away. Tipperary did win the first mixed doubles tie but Kerry finished up as 6-3 winners.

It was now winner take all  as Kerry took on the  Rebels in the Munster decider and what an enthralling start there was to this final with the four doubles being divided.

Kerry captured both the first ladies and second mens games but Cork took both the first mens and the second ladies to level the match but that second ladies encounter  was absolutely mesmerising  with the intensity that it was played in.

In the Kerry corner was Samira Hayes from Killarney and Michelle Beasley from Castleisland  who were representing their County at this level for the first time and this 3 set encounter was a baptism of fire for both.

At the end they did lose out but it was by 27-25 in that engrossing third set. The singles were divided with Cork taking the mens but Killarneys Niamh Hickey again levelled for Kerry when she came good in another 3 set battle.

It was now 3 games all with the 3 mixed doubles ties left to see who would represent Munster in the All Ireland series proper, but inexplicably, the Kerry bubble burst and the dreams of possible All Ireland honours had to be put on ice for another year.

Cork captured all 3 mixed games to  forge  a 6-3 victory but both the second and  third ties had to go to the third set for decision and considering that the second ladies doubles was just a heartbeat away, it was indeed a gallant performance from Kerry and will surely give hope to all for the future.

All Ireland Grade D

The All Ireland Grade D championships were played in Dublin on Sunday last and there was notable success for Kerry players as both gold and silver medals winged their way back to the Kingdom.

Recent Munster ladies Junior doubles winners Maeve Twomey (Killarney) and Elaine Hudson (Moyvane )  battled their way to the ladies final but lost out in a close battle  but they did bring home the silver medals.

The Gold was captured by Fergal Hannon (Listowel) who played with Cork’s Ben Mortlock and this was a notable achievement with the Cork man going on to win the treble on the day

Forthcoming Fixtures

This coming weekend promises to be another busy one  on the badminton front with Killarney and Tipperary being the main focus of attention.

The second phase of the even doubles CPC.IE sponsored Kerry County Championships will take place in the Killarney sports arena on this Friday night which sees both ladies and mens doubles take the floor for both divisions 2 &4.

And if the action and excitement  that will be provided is anything near to that wonderful day of two weeks ago when divisions 1,3 &5 gave an exhibition of all that is good in the game of badminton then the shuttlecock enthusiasts are indeed in for a treat.

Please note that the  starting time is 7.30 sharp.

On the following day, Saturday 3rd the Killarney Arena will again see another huge turnout of what is hoped to be the future of Kerry Badminton when the juvenile committee will host their 2nd round of club tournaments which will cater for all four age groups played within the County, namely under 11/13]15/17.

Commencement time here is 11 am  and all concerned are requested to check in not later than 10.45 am.

The Tipperary town of Roscrea will be the venue for the Munster Brewster Cup competition on Sunday next which is open to all 6 Munster Counties and is due to commence at 10am

This competition commenced in 1951 with Kerry losing out to Cork in that first final but the Kingdoms first success came just two years later on March 7th in 1953 and, incidentally, the last Kerry success was 50 years later in 2003

The commencement of the 21st century saw Kerry having a good run in this very prestigious event.

The Kingdom garnished ultimate honours in 2001 under the management of Conor McGuire a former Killarney club member and even though all of that team were ineligible to play Brewster for the following 3 years, but a  Kerry team under the management of Listowels Tom McElligott were back in the winners enclosure in 2003 when Castleisland Club man, Billy Lacey won that vital singles encounter to ensure victory for Kerry, and strange to relate, it is that same Billy Lacey who manages the Kingdom on Sunday next.

Hopefully, that 15 year old gap will be bridged on Sunday . In the intervening years between 1953 and 2003 Kerry were also successful in 1962, 1984 as well as 2001

The Kerry team for Sunday next is as follows; Edel Broderick, Maeve Twomey, Elaine Hudson, Sinead Galvin, Miriam Rohan, James O’Flaherty, Jonathan Keane, Michael Crossan, Fergal Hannon, Donie Enright

BADMINTON NOTES

The Kerry even doubles badminton County Championships, again sponsored by CPC.IE commenced in the Killarney sports Centre on Sunday last and which catered for divisions 1,3 & 5 and what a huge turnout there was over the day which saw no less than 6 County titles decided.

In division 1 it was a case of “as you were” as both pairs of defending champions retained their crowns. In the mens final it proved to be  a repeat of last year’s decider which saw  the experienced Castleisland pairing of Tom Bourke and Eric Nelligan  taking on the youthful pairing of James Flaherty (Moyvane) and Jonathan Keane(Castleisland).

Last year’s decider  saw the teenagers capture the first set but it was not to be on Sunday last as the champions retained their title in two sets 21-16;21-16

Bourke won his first senior doubles with Billy Lacey in 2003 whilst Nelligan first win was with Gio Gaudino in 2006 but Sunday last saw this talented badminton pairing win their sixth title in a row as a partnership.

The ladies title race saw the defending  champions wearing the Castleisland colours of the recent singles winner, Edel Broderick  and Miriam Rohan take on the Aunt/Niece partnership of Mary Falvey and Maeve Twomey.

Indeed Mrs Falvey is a many times winner of this crown with her first win being in 1987 with her sister, Helen O’Donoghue who is the mother of Miss Twomey who was contesting her first senior decider.

It was the defending champions, however,   who were always in control of this final winning in two sets 21-10; 21-10

The division 5 ladies final saw the recent singles winner, Listowels Karen Lawlor team up with Castleislands  Mairead O’Connell and they were opposed by the Castleisland pairing of Marie  Bradley  and Eibhlis Brosnan.

For Miss Lawlor it was her second season in a row reaching this decider as she lost out to a Causeway/Ballyheigue pairing last year  and, unfortunately for her, she was to suffer the same fate this year but what a great 3 set final this proved to be with the Castleisland pairing winning by 21-14;22-20;21-17

The mens division 5 decider saw the singles winner, Killarneys Daniel O’Connor team up with Moyvanes Mirsolan Jesko and this pairing came good in a two set decider over the ever trying Ballyheigue/Causeway pairing  of Frankie Flaherty and Padraig Murray  by 21-14;21-17

What a spell binding thriller the div 3 final proved to be. On the one side you had the Moyvane pairing of the recent division 3 singles winner Amanda Carmody who teamed up with her club colleague Bridget McCarthy who just over a week ago won the division 4 singles title.

The gallant opposition was provided by Killarneys Jeab Workman who teamed up with Castleislands Michelle Beazley. Both sets were close hard fought encounters with the title going North to Moyvane by 21-18;23-21

What a fairy tale year it has been for Ms Carmody as she recently also reached the div.2 singles final.

If the div 3 ladies final was exciting, so was the division 3 mens decider which saw Moyvanes John Mulvihill and Kevin Kennelly take on Castleislands Timmy Hanrahan and Jamie Elliot who, incidentally, were club mates of Kennelly/Hanrahan up to last season.

It was the Castleisland pair who edged out a nail biting first set by 22-20  but showing nerves of steel the Moyvane turned the table around and captured the County title by winning the two remaining sets by 18-21;18-21 but what a contest it was.

After two rounds of the championships 3 players are now on course to win the three titles within their own division, namely Edel Broderick at division 1; Amanda Carmody at division 3 and Daniel O’Connor at division 5

The next Kerry championship  fixture will be the division 2&4 doubles for both ladies and men which will take place in Killarney on Friday  March 2nd. Entry forms are now with each club.

A reminder to all that the Annascaul Club will hold their annual tournament on Sunday March 11th which will cater for divisions 2 to 5. Entry forms for Annascaul have now been distributed.

All involved in badminton are requested to note of a forthcoming  badminton tournament which is not listed on the Kerry fixtures list and is to be played in the Tralee Sports Centre on April 8th with all of the proceedings going to the Tralee District Chernobyl Children’s  Fund. Watch this space for further news.

Forthcoming Fixtures

Another busy week of activity is facing the Kerry badminton enthusiast  with Munster events being the main focus of attention. The Kerry Class E team, which would relate to the old division 2 status will travel to the WIT sports centre in Waterford City to do battle in the Munster section of this All Ireland series

This panel of players have put in a lot of time training in the Tralee Complex under the supervision of the joint managers; Ms Marion O’Neill  and Ms. Catherine Hanrahan.

The starting ten will be selected from the following panel; Brid Murphy, Lisa Sayers, Mairead O’Regan, Helen Browne, Niamh Hickey, Samira Hayes, Jeab Workman, Michelle Beazley , Donie Enright, Donnacha Moloney, Timmy Noonan, Aidan McCarthy, Michael O’Connor, Brendan McGovern and Marius Tusinski

By Junior Griffin

THE second phase of the County Kerry Badminton  singles County  Championships programme , again sponsored by CPC.IE, Ltd,  took place at the Killarney Sports Centre on Friday night last and which catered for divisions 2 &4 in both ladies and mens singles.

The entries received in both ladies events as well as the mens div. 2 championships were somewhat disappointing  but the mens division 4 c/ships did have a good entry.

In the ladies div 2’s only 5 entries were received, but strange to relate, the fare provided by these 5 ladies was of the highest quality.

Take the case of Moyvane’s Amanda Carmody, the recent division 3 singles winner which was 33 years after her first ever County title. On Friday last Ms Carmody was drawn against Killarneys Samira Hayes and won in 2 sets and in the semi-final she met up with her club colleague and top seed, Saorcha Fitzgerald.

In modern badminton a game is for 21 aces and the winner must win by 2 clear points but the game must conclude at 30 points.

The two Moyvane ladies served up an absolute  spectacle with Ms Carmody winning  in 2 sets by 27-25;30-28. What a cracker it was.

The second semi-final saw Killarneys Niamh Hickey take on Castleislands Ruth Concannon. Strangely enough these 2 players would too  have  a common link.

Last season saw Miss Concannon capture 2 Munster graduate titles and only Sunday week last Miss Hickey achieved the same distinction. On Friday night last it was the in-form Hickey  who battled her way to the final after 3 hard fought sets in the decider the sides were level at both 6 all and 10 all  but it was the Killarney girl who took set number 1 by 21-17.

The second set saw Ms Hickey having the dream start and for most of the set she was Lord of all she surveyed as she took a 19-6 lead. It looked all over but never write off that Moyvane fighting spirit.

Ms Carmody broke serve and suddenly she began to score ace after ace and now she was within 4 points of Ms Carmody, 19-15, but that is where the fairy-tale ended. A break of serve by the Killarney girl saw her regain her composure and the County title was hers by 21-15.

What a week it has been for the Miss Hickey,. Two Munster titles and a Kerry County title, not a bad seven days at all.

The mens division 2 decider proved to be an all Moyvane confrontation  between Donie Enright and Donnacha Moloney. Enright, the defeated Munster graduates singles finalist the previous Sunday set a hot first set pace which he captured by 21-16.

It was a fighting Moloney in the second set in which he came to set point at 20-18 and looked like tying the encounter but the brave Enright fought back to level at 20 each.

The sides were again level at 23 points but the pendulum swung the way of Enright as he captured those 2 vital scores to garnish a 25 -23 win and it was indeed some consolation for the previous Sundays loss.

The mens division 4 contest was the competition of the night with many engrossing encounters but the last two standing were the experienced Timmy Flaherty of Moyvane and the Killarney 17 year old teenager Niall O’Brien, who is only in his second year of adult competition.

Despite the gallant effort of Flaherty,  youth had its triumph as young O’Brien captured  his first adult title in two sets by 21-19;21-11

The ladies division 4 final was the only 3 set final of the night which saw Moyvanes Bridget McCarthy taking on Christine Quirke of the Iveragh club.

It was the South Kerry’s girl second year in a row to contest this decider as last year she fell to another Moyvane girl, Denise Collins, and unfortunately for her, history was about to repeat itself.

The Moyvane girl captured a thrilling first set by 21- 19 but the South Kerry girl came good in the second by 21-10 but it was Miss McCarthy’s name that was to appear on the Cup as she won another tight set by 21-17.

Miss McCarthy’s delight was exuberating, as this Killeedy, Co. Limerick based school teacher has been playing badminton since she was a juvenile and this was her first ever County success at any level.

Inter Counties

The Munster Badminton Association hosted the Inter Counties series for Grades B/D/F/G  in the Limerick UL Arena on Sunday last and Kerry had teams involved  in the latter 3 grades.

In Grade D, which in Kerry would  include both division 1&2 players Kerry took on Tipperary in round 1. The Kingdom had their chancers but it was the Premier County that forged a narrow 5-4 victory. Cork had defeated Waterford in round 1 so it was the Rebels up next for Kerry.

One of the highlights in this match was the victory by  the Kerry mixed doubles pairing of Maeve Twomey and Jonathan Keane who were led in the third set by their Cork  opponents 17-6,but staging a fighting  comeback the youthful Kerry pairing showed wonderful  badminton maturity  beyond their years to forge a classic 21-19 victory that in no small way helped their team to a 5-4 win over the Cork side.

In round 3 it was Kerry v Waterford and buoyed by their Cork win it was Kerry all the way with a 6-3 win. However the final table saw Cork with 17 p0ints; Kerry 15 points; Waterford 12 points and Tipperary  on 10 points.

So now it will be Cork that will go forward to represent Munster in the  All Ireland series proper and yet the Kingdom had inflicted defeat  upon them. Such is the great uncertainty of sport.

In Grade G with all 6 Counties competing the series was divided in two pools of 3 Counties each, with Kerry facing both  Cork and Limerick.

Showing that their hard training over recent weeks had paid off  this Kerry side showed great mettle to defeat Cork by 5-4 and Limerick by 6-3.

It was Tipperary that came good in the second pool and, unfortunately, the honours went to the Premier County but in the 3 games that Tipperary won, Kerry lost out in each, in very close 3 set encounters

Once the draw for the Grade F competition was made Kerry mentors knew it would be a tough battle as the Kingdom were to face  up to Counties Cork, Limerick and Tipperary competition .

From the results in  recent individual and the Munster Graduate competitions both Cork and Limerick players were very much to the fore for ultimate honours and that’s the way it turned out on Sunday last with Cork edging out Limerick for Munster glory  but the Kingdom players did give their all.

For all 3 teams on duty on Sunday last there is no doubt that the extra training put in by their managers and selectors in recent weeks has increased the enthusiasm and commitment amongst all the squads  and that in time should reap  rich dividends.

Next on the badminton championship scene will be the commencement of the doubles campaign in Killarney on Sunday next where the divisions 1,3 and 5 ladies and mens doubles will take place, commencement time at 1 pm. As this is a long programme all players and court helpers are requested to attend on time.

This coming Friday night the Kerry Badminton Association will hold their annual table quiz. Patrons are requested to note that the venue has been changed to the Meadowlands Hotel, Tralee with the start time of 8 pm. Kerry Badminton President, Mr Johnny Brosnan wishes to advise all members that the County annual raffle will take place on the coming Sunday in Killarney so all cards to be returned to him in good time.

Juvenile results.

The juvenile singles badminton County Championships were held in the Killarney Sports arena on Saturday last for both boys and girls for the 4 relevant age groups. Up to 150 players competed and no doubt the future looks bright for Kerry Badminton.

Great credit is due to the main organisers, Mrs Carmel Hudson and Mr Billy Lacey for the time and effort they give to the promotion to the sport of badminton within the confines of Kerry. Last Saturdays programme alone took over 6 hours to complete.

Overall results as follows

U11 Girls Stephanie Reid Annascaul defeated Kate Nolan Listowel 15/2, 15/9

U13 Girls Ava MacKay Listowel defeated Jessica O’Loughlin Castleisland 21/11, 17/21, 21/13

U15 Girls Deina Vesko Listowel defeated Ciara Knightly Annascaul 21/10, 21/12

U17 Girls Ciara Hudson Moyvane defeated Valerie Guiney Listowel 21/11, 2nd set walk over Valerie pulled out down 18/10 at the time with wrist injury.

U11 Boys Ruadhan Donovan Annascaul defeated Ben McElligott Listowel 15/5, 15/11

U13 Boys Eddie Healy Listowel defeated Evan McCarthy Annascaul 21/13, 21/8

U15 Boys Christopher O’Donoghue Moyvane defeated Seamus Bradley Castleisland 21/11, 21/4

U17 Boys Niall O Brien Killarney got a walk over from Dara Lawlor Killarney who pulled out injured with ankle, down 10/4 in 1st set