West of Ireland quartet Declan Harte, Margaret McCarthy, John and Mary Bourke capped a successful season when winning the team championship and Johnny Kiely trophy at the national intermediate and novice congress in Cork at the weekend.
The quartet overtook early leaders Freddy Murphy, Anne Hegarty, Tess O’Hara, Anne Barry-Murphy in the final rounds. Karen and Liam Magnier, Nora O’Driscoll, Deirdre O’Connor were third. Carmel Murphy and Jane Ross won the intermediate A pairs (New Ireland trophy) from Pat Twomey, David Sheehan with Dermot Lucey, Noelle O’Leary third.
Intermediate B (Kervick trophy): 1. Joanna Gill, Theresa Murphy; 2. Magnier and Magnier; 3. James Bourke, Christopher Paul. Mixed (Jim Fitzgerald trophy): 1. Noreen O’Connell, Tony Fitzgerald; 2. Norah O’Neill, Dermot Lucey. Gala pairs: 1. Catherine Neary, Gay Conroy; 2. Ann Byrne, Jennifer Van Hoppe
In Dublin, Rory Egan and Jason Doyle beat a small but quality field to win the pairs tournament at the Bankers’ congress. Marcin Rudzinski and Wojciech Gorczyca were second; John Noonan and Carol-Ann Cummins came third. The mixed pairs competition went to mother and son partnership, Mamie and Thomas MacCormac who won from Patricia Kelly and Colm O’Driscoll, with Adrienne and Martin Purdy third.
For flax sake: why is the idea of a new flag for Northern Ireland so controversial?
The secret loves of property writers: Our top 10 favourite homes of 2024
Peter Pan review: Gaiety panto takes off with dizzying ensemble numbers and breathtaking effects
Sally Rooney: When are we going to have the courage to stop the climate crisis?
Martin Brady, David Dunne, Paul Delaney and Tomás Roche took the lead in the team tournament before halfway and held off challenges from Peter Goodman, BJ O’Brien, Antoinette McGee and Aoife MacHale, who were second. Conor Boland, Peter Stewart, Sandra Newell and Michael McAuliffe came third.
England won both the youth and junior home-international championships in Manchester. Ireland’s youth team finished third and its juniors fourth in the respective events.
Dublin South County club Ballyroan is celebrating its golden jubilee. For many years the biggest club in the country, Ballyroan has produced a number of national championship winners, international players and leading officials at every level of the game.
Mark Moran, John Carroll, Tommy Garvey, Adam Mesbur, Tom Hanlon and Frederic Volcker with non-playing captain Gráinne Barton will compete in the Lederer Trophy tournament in London on Saturday and Sunday next. The same team has come safely through the second round of Great Britain’s gold cup competition.
Tralee international congress will take place next weekend at the Rose Hotel. Mixed, intermediate B and novice pairs competitions will be decided on Friday, two-session pairs on Saturday and teams on Sunday, ending with a competition in aid of the SVDP Society at 7.30pm. Contact Nicky Fitzgibbon on 066 7185471