Elaine Dunne

The Irish under-17 team was announcement at the end of December and included local Taghmon star Elaine Dunne.  Elaine travelled to Milton-Keyes with the squad for the home international series on the weekend of the 14th, 15th and 16th of January.  While Elaine’s place on the team was almost guaranteed after her dominance of the doubles events during the season, her selection is still a great honour for the Taghmon star and for Wexford Badminton.  A measure of the standard of players that are selected at this level can be gauged from the fact that her Irish colleagues include Erin Keery has already been capped on the Irish senior team and Gemma Richie has played with the Ulster senior team.  This will not phase the Taghmon star however as Elaine has already played for the national side at under-15 level with many of the same players. 

Wexford Class 2 Bridge 16-year Gap

A 6-3 victory over Munster rivals Kerry gave Wexford only it’s 3rd ever class 2 All-Ireland title at the BUI inter-counties championship in Galway .  The significance of last weeks result means that the slaney-siders will be competing with the countries elite in division 1 in next year’s competition for the first time since 1989.   Heading into the finals Wexford were dealt a double blow with the loss of Gavin Smith with a calf muscle injury sustained while playing with the class 3 team on Saturday and the withdrawal of Colm Byrne in the week leading up to the final with a knee injury.  Ralph Stone was promoted from the bench to partner Donal O’Keeffe at 2nd men with the rest of the team remaining as selected.  Wexford began with an opening encounter against Meath and for the first time in recent meetings the Royal County were defeated on a 6-3 score-line.  Against the odds Wexford now faced old rivals Kerry for the class 2 title, Kerry had themselves won their opening game 6-3.  Liam Sinnott settled some of the pre-match nerves when he took the men’s singles 15/10, 15/9 against Seamus Watt.  The ladies singles was a really tense affair with Elaine Dunne struggling against her gritty Kerry opponent Eileen O’Connor.  Wexford took the opening game 11/4, but Kerry fought back to take the 2nd set 11/6 and it was looking bad for the Taghmon star when she trailed 9-3 in the 3rd set.  It was at this point that the Wexford star dug deep and Elaine recovered to lead 10/9, but Kerry levelled at 10-10 to force the game to13.  Despite suffering from a stomach upset Elaine kept her composure to finish out the game by achieving the narrowest of victories 13/12 and thereby giving Wexford a crucial 2-0 lead.  This was extended to 3-0 after the opening men’s doubles with Edward Cousins and Philip Walsh continuing their good form when winning 15/6, 15/4 against David Sheedy and Tom Burke.  Wexford were within a point of overall victory after the ladies doubles when Siobhan and Deirdre Kehoe defeated Eileen O’Connor and Helen Twoomey 15/11, 15/7.  Kerry were not yet ready to surrender and they reduced the arrears to just 2 points with victories in the 2nd men’s and 2nd ladies doubles games.  Eric Nelligan and Gio Gaudino overcame Donal O’Keeffe and Ralph Stone 11/15, 15/13, 15/10 and Mary Foley and Breda O’Connor defeated Gillian Murphy and Brideen Lynch 15/4, 15/6, but the victories still left Kerry needing to win all 3 mixed doubles games to deny the Leinster side victory.  All three games started together and the Wexford camp was the one in happier mood after the opening sets with Edward Cousins and Siobhan Kehoe winning their 1st set 15/4 against Breda O’Connor and David Sheedy.  Deirdre Kehoe and Philip Walsh won their opening set 15/9 against Helen Twoomey and Tom Burke, but Kerry took the opening set in 3rd mixed with Mary Foley and Eric English taking it 15/6 against Elaine Dunne and Donal O’Keeffe.  Kerry won 3rd mixed 15/6, 15/8, to leave just one point between the sides and there were some anxious moments for the large Wexford following when the kingdom began fighting back in the 1st and 2nd mixed doubles matches.  Edward Cousins and Siobhan Kehoe had lost their earlier momentum and were now tied at 14-14 in the top game, while Deirdre Kehoe and Philip Walsh were under pressure in 2nd mixed to hold on to a slender lead.  As it transpired the honour of crossing the finish line and secure the precious 5th game went to team captain Philip Walsh and partner Deirdre Kehoe who held out in their game to win 15/13, and a few minutes later Edward Cousins and Siobhan Kehoe also held on to win their game 17/15.  A sixteen-year wait had finally come to an end and Wexford were once again back in Badminton’s top flight.  The past two years have been a period of unprecedented success for the county and for manager Michael Murphy and Coach Mary Dinan it was their 2nd year in a row guiding Wexford to an All-Ireland title having secured the class 3 title last season after a seven year absence.  Team panel:  Elaine Dunne, Siobhan Kehoe, Deirdre Kehoe, Gillian Murphy, Brideen Lynch, Karen Hennessy, Rosemary Burke, Liam Sinnott, Edward Cousins, Philip Walsh, Donal O’Keeffe, Ralph Stone and Gavin Smith.

Cork upset Wexford in Class 3 semi-final

The All-Ireland weekend was a weekend best forgotten for the class 3 team as they went under 5-0 on Saturday in the class 3 semi-final to Cork. Already without Alan Mackay, Laura Lynch and Pat Lynch the model county immediately suffered another blow in the opening men’s singles when Gavin Smith had to retire in the 2nd set of his singles with a calf muscle injury.  Gavin was a set up at the time and the Wexford management were furious with Cork when they refused to allow a substitute to be used instead of Gavin in the men’s doubles.  While Cork were within their rights according to the rules of the competition it was the first time that any county had ever refused to allow a sub to be used in the case of an injured player and Wexford considered the gesture extremely unsporting and not in keeping with the spirit of the competition.  This situation left Wexford trailing 2-0 and they went further behind after the ladies singles when Edel Doyle lost her game 11/0, 11/2.  They were 4-0 down when Karen Hennessy and Rosemary Burke lost the opening ladies doubles 15/4, 15/12 and their ambitions to retain the trophy ended when Seamus Creane and Jimmy Sinnott lost their match 15/9, 15/9.  Other members of the panel were Donal O’Keeffe, Vincent Mackay, Sandra Dunne, Ailish O’Hanlon and Miriam Butler.

Double for Cork 

A slick and well-prepared Cork side ensured it was heartbreak once again for the Wexford class 4 side at the All-Ireland finals in Salthill.  For the Wexford squad it was to be the agony of a 3rd loss in 4 years at the Galway venue.   The day’s proceedings had begun brightly for the Leinster side with a semi-final victory over the defending champions Sligo .  The singles was split with Sligo taking the opening game with the most impressive Paula McDonagh overcoming Jennifer Sinnott 11/1, 11/3, and Wexford taking the boy’s singles with Vincent Mackey defeating Daniel Dolan 15/13, 15/3. Jimmy Sinnott and Philip Wadding gave Wexford the lead when they took the opening doubles game 15/4, 15/11 against Andrew Gamby and Stephen Noblin. Sligo restored parity immediately when Martina Feeney and Paula McDonagh overcame Jennifer Sinnott and Edel Doyle 15/6, 17/14.  John Joe Murphy and Frankie Morrissey restored Wexford’s lead with a 15/4, 15/7 victory over Larry Culk and Joey Bin.  The slaney-siders 2nd ladies pairing of Ailish O’Hanlon and Sandra Dunne then gave Wexford a decisive 4-2 lead when they defeated Geraldine Long and Clare Higgins 15/5, 15/11.  Wexford now needed just one point from the 3 mixed doubles game to progress to the final and this they achieved comfortably with victories in the 1st and 3rd mixed.  Jimmy Sinnott and Ailish O’Hanlon won an exciting 1st mixed doubles 15/3, 17/14 over Andrew Gumby and Clare Higgins, and Sean Chapman and Doris Doyle won 3rd mixed 15/7, 15/7.  Wexford faced Cork in the afternoon decider and were 2-0 down to the Rebel County after the opening singles. Vincent Mackay lost in 3 sets to Paul Buckley 15/9, 5/15, 7/15 and Jennifer Sinnott lost to Clodagh FitzGerald 13/11, 11/3 in the ladies singles.  Cork continued to pile on the pressure and went 3-0 up after the opening men’s doubles when Jimmy Sinnott and Philip Wadding lost 15/8, 15/8 to Donacha Crowley and Kevin Boyd.  The 1st ladies pairing of Edel Doyle and Jennifer Sinnott put Wexford on the scoreboard when they overcame Clodagh FitzGerald and Idaio Murphy 15/6, 15/8.  Cork stretched their lead to 4-1 when Robert Patterson and David Nyhan defeated John Joe Murphy and Frankie Morrissey 15/11, 15/7.  Wexford now needed to win all 4 remaining games and they managed to pull the score back to 4-2 when Ailish O’Hanlon and Sandra Dunne won 2nd ladies 15/7, 15/13.  Unfortunately for Wexford, Cork secured their 2nd title of the weekend when Paul Buckley and Joyce Murphy defeated Jimmy Sinnott and Ailish O’Hanlon 15/13, 15/3.  Wexford team:  Jennifer Sinnott, Edel Doyle, Sandra Dunne, Ailish O’Hanlon, Doris Doyle, Vincent Mackay, Jimmy Sinnott, Philip Wadding, John Joe Murphy, Frankie Morrissey, captain Sean Sexton and manager Jimmy McDonald.

BUI U15 National Championships

New Ross star Laura Lynch won her first national title at the BUI All-Ireland Finals played over the weekend in the National Sports hall in Lisburn, County Antrim .  Laura and partner David Tutty secured the All-Ireland title with a masterful display in the under-15 mixed doubles final against Tony Stevenson and Caroline Davis.  The Leinster pairing totally dominated the final with powerful attacking play to overwhelm their Ulster opponents 15/3, 15/1.  Seeded number 2 the Wexford/Dublin partnership cruised through the early rounds on Saturday morning, but received a real fright in the quarterfinals against Norma McIntyre and David Doherty.  The unorthodox play of the Dublin/Cavan pairing seemed to unsettle the 2nd seeds and they were all at sea when losing the opening set 15/6.  In a nervy 2nd set for both pairings the favourites just about etched out a victory to win 15/13, but having secured the set they went on take the 3rd set and the match 15/3.  Having survived the quarterfinals Laura & David upped their game considerably for Sunday’s semi-final against Chris Scott and Emma Calow ( Ulster ), which they won 15/1, 15/9.  David and Laura had already lost 2 open finals this season, but were in no mood to make it a hat trick in the nationals and they started the final in blistering fashion with powerful rear court play from David and Laura dominating the net.  Try as they might their Ulster opponents could not get a foothold in the game and the number 2 seeds won very convincingly 15/3, 15/1.  Laura also reached the doubles and singles semi-finals and indeed was a whisker away from a second final appearance in the ladies singles when she led the number 2 seed Norma McIntyre 7-1 in the 3rd set in the semi-final.  Unfortunately the Wexford star seemed to lose her away at this point and eventually went down 4/11, 11/7, 7/11.  In the ladies doubles Laura and partner Norma McIntyre were not at their sharpest in the semi-final when losing 15/12, 15/9, to Emma Calow and Ciara Pender.

On Irish U-15 team

New Ross star Laura Lynch has been chosen on the Irish under-15 team for the Home Counties quadrangular tournament to be held in the Baldoyle Badminton Centre on the 30th April and 1st May.  Laura’s is one of only three Leinster players to make the squad that features seven Ulster players and a sole representative from Munster.  Her selection on the team comes after a successful season on the national circuit and a series of impressive performances on the Leinster under 17 and under 15 sides in the provincial challenge, the Nottingham inter-counties tournament and the Pan-Celtic tournament.  Having narrowly lost out on selection last season Laura has shown considerable improvement this season under the direction of local high performance coach Liam Sinnott and her Dad and will get the opportunity to fulfil her dream to play with the national side when Ireland take on England, Scotland and Wales at the BUI headquarters next weekend.  Laura who is a pupil in St. Mary’s Secondary school is the 1st player from the long established New Ross club to be selected on a national team and is the 2nd member of the Wexford Regional Development squad to achieve international honours this season with Elaine Dunne (Taghmon) capped on the under-17 side in January.

2004/05 Charity Finals

The finals of the 2004/05 County Charity Tournament took place in Ramsgrange Community School on the 12th December.  The event  has raised several thousand euros in recent years for local charities and the 2004/05 competition was again well supported by the local players with 31 finals decided in 7 separate divisions.  Siobhan Kehoe continued her dominance of the ladies badminton iwith a double gold medal success in the division 1 ladies singles and mixed doubles events.  Siobhan totally overpowered Elaine Dunne in the singles final and teamed up with Stewart O’Toole to add the mixed doubles title to her long list of county honours.  There was also double gold for new kid on the block Donal O’Keefe who won the top men’s singles and doubles titles.  Ironically while Donal won the division 1 title with a close 3 set victory over Gavin Smyth he lost his division 2 crown to Alan Mackay (Taghmon). Elaine Dunne overcame her division 1 disappointments to secure a double gold medal success in division 2 in the ladies singles and with partner Orla Deegan in the ladies double event.  There was also a double winning performance from Pat Lynch who chalked up a men’s doubles title with Ralph Stone and a mixed doubles title with wife Brideen.  In the 3rd division there was also double success for Frankie Morrissey and Neill Barrett.  They teamed up to win the men’s doubles title, and Frankie won his second gold in the men’s singles.  Neill picked up his second title in the mixed doubles final with Celine Hayes.  They overcame last season’s final disappointment with a 2 sets to 1 victory over Jennifer Sinnott and Fin Rooney .  Craig Healy is the top man in the 4th division with double gold in the men’s singles and in the mixed doubles with partner Karen O’Keefe.  There were no double winners in division 5 with the medals distributed evenly among the finalists.  The most exciting game of the night was the mixed doubles decider which saw Olynna Dunne and Dan Rossiter just edge out Karen O’Keefe and Richard Millar 18/17, 15/13.  Laura Butler won the division 6 ladies singles and doubles title, while club colleague Michael Power repeated that success in the men’s finals. Indeed there was a little bit of history created in this grade when the Davidstown club made a clean sweep of the gold medals, which has never been achieved before. Kevin Plunkett secured the only double success in division 7 with a men’s doubles victory with Brian Healy and a mixed doubles title with partner Frances Hayes.  Full list of results can be found in the results page in the archives:

Club Person of the Year 2005

It was refreshing to see such a large number of sporting organisations present at the BUI Club and Club Person of the Year Awards held in the White Sands Hotel Portmarnock on Saturday the 2nd April.  Guests included Fiona Coyne - Irish Sports Council, Pat Hickey - Olympic Council of Ireland, Brian McCargo - Sports Council for Northern Ireland , Pauline Gilsenan - Fingal Sports Partnership plus members of the BUI Executive.  At the ceremonies Pat Lynch was the recipient of the Stein Travel National Club Player of the Year prize for his work on behalf of the New Ross Badminton Club and his efforts in promoting the sport of badminton over the past twenty-five years.  When receiving his award from the BUI president Craig Casey, Pat thanked the New Ross club and club chairman Ralph Stone for nominating him and Stein Travel for their generous sponsorship of the national and regional prizes.  He complimented Mary Browne and the BUI executive for their foresight in organising an event of this type.  He was extremely honoured to be selected for such a prestigious award as he felt that any one of the nineteen nominees would have been equally wordy of the honour, but he was delighted to have been selected from among such dedicated and hard working club members.  He never considered his work for the club or the promotion of the game he loved as a chore and he was only too happy to introduce the sport to as many people as possible.  He wished the BUI continued success with the awards which he felt could only go from strength to strength.   Hopefully Pat will now find some free time in his busy schedule to avail of the prize of a week’s holiday in Salou, Majorca, or Portugal which was presented by Stein Travel.

Wexford club Olympic BC was also honoured as one of 15 clubs nominated for the Yonex Club of the year award in a competition that was won by the Skerries club, with Carlow Lawn Tennis Club picking up a regional prize.

Class 4 Leinster Final

Carlow and Wexford came through the same qualifying group and both made it to the final after wins over Meath and Wicklow respectively in the morning semis. Wexford were impressive as they accounted for neighbours Wicklow 4-1 while Carlow accounted for Meath 4-3 in a much closer encounter. In the final the sides shared the singles with Craig Healy proving too strong for David Glynn when winning 15/10, 15/1.  In the ladies encounter Carlow’s Ann Farrell came from a set down to overcome Ailish O'Hanlon 8/11, 11/6, 11/7 in what was a first class singles game. Wexford got a great start in the men’s doubles when Seamus Redmond and Richard Miller won the first set 15/2 against Cathal Doyle and Colm Byrne.  The Carlow pair got back into the match however to take the next two sets 15/3, 15/11.  Carlow now piled on the pressure and when Ann Farrell and Kate Roche came from a set down against Sandra Dunne and Ailish O’Hanlon to win 11/15, 15/9, 15/6 it was looking ominous for the defending champions.  Wexford were not yet finished and the experience of Doris Doyle and Seamus Redmond was an advantage to the slanyesiders when they defeated Kathleen Snoddy and Cathal Doyle 15/12, 15/12. The recovery was complete after the 2nd mixed doubles when Sandra Dunne and Craig Healy defeated Niamh Nolan and David Glynn 15/5, 15/9 to tie the match at 3-3.  Just as in the other two grades it was all down to the third mixed doubles game to decide the title.  The Carlow pairing of Kate Lynch and Colm Byrne had seen them through in the decider in the morning against Meath and both players were undefeated all day. The Wexford pairing of Helen Butler and Richard Miller were not needed in the morning, but were now required in the most tense of situations.  The final game was a battle royal with Carlow winning the first set 15/8 but the second set was filled with tension as Wexford fought to stay alive and Carlow looked to seal the victory. Unfortunately for Wexford it was Carlow who got across the line when they narrowly took the second set 15/13 to give them their first provincial title at this level.

Taghmon win Leinster Club Title

Having dominated Wexford badminton in recent years Taghmon took a step further in 2005 when they achieved their ambition to become Leinster club champions with an impressive victory over Carlow Y.M. in the final.  In a high quality game played before a large attendance at the Leinster Badminton Headquarters in Terenure, Taghmon erased the memory of last years final loss when recording a 5-1 victory in the division 1 decider over the current Carlow champions.  Philip Walsh and Stewart O’Toole put the Wexford club on the road to victory with a 15/11, 13/15, 15/10 defeat of Carlow’s top pairing of Willie Stevenson and Audrey Cox.   Siobhan and Deirdre Kehoe stretched the Taghmon lead when they won the top ladies match 15/4, 15/7 against Ellen Cassells and Barbara Jordan.  The Carlow side briefly hit back to take the 2nd men’s doubles with Tom Hardgroves and George Collier defeating Alan and Vincent Mackay 15/4, 15/12. Taghmon quickly restored their 2 points advantage when Elaine Dunne and Gillian Murphy won a close 2nd ladies doubles game 15/12, 10/15, 15/8 against Sylvia Campion and Maureen Dunne. Taghmon were within a point of their 1st Leinster division 1 title when Philip Walsh and Deirdre Kehoe took the opening mixed doubles game 15/7, 15/7 against Willie Stevenson and Ellen Cassells.  The honour of securing the final point fell to Taghmon team Captain Siobhan Kehoe and partner Stewart O’Toole when they defeated George Collier and Sylvia Campion 15/11, 15/6 to take the cup to the model county for the 1st time.