Malta Team Tournament

On their first tournament abroad the Wexford under-17 team picked up a silver medal in the Malta under-18 International team tournament in Valetta.  The Wexford squad finished in 2nd spot behind a strong Northern Ireland team, with the home team taking 3rd place.  Most of the excitement for the Wexford team was contained in their final match against the Maltese side with both teams knowing that a victory would secure them the runner-up spot.  Team captain Laura Lynch got the Wexford side off to the best possible start when she defeated her Maltese opponent Maria Borg 11/4, 8/11, 11/7 in a gruelling singles game played in extremely difficult conditions for the Wexford player.  Malta fought back and levelled the match when their top player Samual Cali overcame Dimitri Panagopoulos 15/13, 15/11 in the boy’s singles.  Wexford again took the lead when Laura Lynch and Laura Butler won the girls doubles 15/10, 17/15, but Malta fought back to take a close boy’s doubles game with Alan Nolan and Bobby O’Keeffe losing 15/10, 17/15 to Samual Cali and Anver Vella .  Wexford’s fate now rested on the Taghmon mixed doubles pairing of Alan Nolan and Aoife Dunne.  In a nervy opening set the Wexford pair won narrowly 15/13.  The 2nd set was equally close, but despite leading 14/11, the Maltese pair hung on to eventually win the set 17/16 and take the game into a 3rd and final set.  With so much at stake the play was again nervous from both partnerships, but the Wexford pair held their nerve to win 15/11.  Wexford panel:  Laura Lynch, Laura Butler, Marie Kelly, Aoife Dunne, Terence McSweeney, Bobby O’Keeffe, Alan Nolan, Dimitri Panagopoulos.

Wexford Team Tournament

A Wexford selection backboned by the majority of the Wexford class 1 inter-county panel were the dominant team in the 1^st Horse and Hound Inn Hotel and Wexford Badminton Association sponsored Wexford Invitation Team tournament held on Saturday last in Ramsgrange Community Centre.  Both local teams met in the opening round; with Wexford taking on New Ross and Carlow Y.M. playing Dublin side Raheny.  In a recent friendly between the two local sides Wexford were slow off the mark and lost both the opening singles.  This time around however the county selection got off to a blistering start in both games.  Elaine Dunne defeated Orla Deegan 12/10, 11/3 and Liam Sinnott overcame Donal O’Keeffe 8/15, 15/5, 15/3.  Wexford continued to pile on the pressure and went 4-0 ahead after the doubles with Siobhan and Deirdre Kehoe defeating Brideen Lynch and Ellen O’Neill 15/7, 15/3 while Edward Cousins and Philip Walsh got the better of Gavin Smith and Colm Byrne 15/8, 15/2. It looked like it could end up a whitewash for the New Ross side when Edward Cousins and Siobhan Kehoe defeated Colm Byrne and Ellen O’Neill 15/13, 15/6 to put Wexford 5-0 ahead, but the New Ross side recovered to take final two mixed doubles games.  Donal O’Keeffe and Brideen Lynch combined well to give them their 1^st points in a 15/13, 15/6 victory over Philip Walsh and Deirdre Kehoe.  Gavin Smith and Oral Deegan then combined to take the last game 15/9, 1/15, 15/13 against Liam Sinnott and Elaine Dunne to leave the final score 5-2 in favour of Wexford.  The meeting of Raheny and Carlow was a rip roaring encounter with the Dublin side taking the honours by virtue of a narrow 4-3 success.  After a break for lunch Wexford faced neighbours Carlow Y.M. while Raheny took on New Ross. Again the Wexford side were dominant and took all points against their neighbours to win 7-0 and almost assure themselves of the title with one round of games still to play.  It was much closer between New Ross and Raheny in the other match on court with the Dublin side involved in a second marathon game in a row, but his time they were on the receiving end of the 4-3 score line. The opening singles games were split with New Ross substitute Ralph Stone who was deputising for the injured Colm Byrne losing out to Barry Dixon 13/15, 17/14, 15/13 in an exciting men’s singles, but Orla Deegan won her game 11/2, 11/4 against Olivia Brady.  Raheny took both the doubles to lead 3-1 with Lincoln Nelson and Conor Doyle defeating Donal O’Keeffe and Gavin Smith 13/15, 15/8, 15/12 and Jean Denihan and Denise Byrne overcoming Ellen O’Neill and Brideen Lynch 8/15, 15/12, 15/13.  It was the strong mixed doubles pairings that turned the match around in favour of New Ross who won all three games.  Ralph Stone and Ellen O’Neill defeated Lincoln Nelson and Jean Denihan 15/11, 15/5, while Donal O’Keeffe and Brideen Lynch overcame Conor Doyle and Olivia Brady 15/6, 15/8.  The 3rd game was won by Gavin Smith and Orla Deegan 15/8, 15/10 to secure the win for New Ross, but Raheny still held on to 2^nd spot in the tournament by virtue of a single point behind runaway leaders Wexford.  In the final series of games played late in the evening New Ross defeated a tired Carlow Y.M. side 6-1, and with Wexford also defeating Raheny in their game by the same score-line it meant a one-two for both local teams with Wexford picking up the winners cheque and New Ross taking the runners up position.  Wexford panel:  Siobhan Kehoe, Deirdre Kehoe, Elaine Dunne, Sandra Dunne, Edward Cousins, Philip Walsh, Liam Sinnott and Stewart O’Toole.  New Ross: Donal O’Keeffe, Gavin Smith, Colm Byrne, Ralph Stone, Ellen O’Neill, Brideen Lynch and Orla Deegan.

Exciting win in Lisburn for Laura

Sixteen year old New Ross star Laura Lynch added an under-17 All-Ireland mixed doubles title to her badminton C.V. when she and partner David Tutty secured their 2ndAll-Ireland title at the National Badminton Centre in Lisburn on Sunday last.  Victors of an under-15 championship at the same venue last year the Leinster pairing moved up an age group at the start of the season, but despite the step up in class they had been performing well in the major tournaments.  They were in fine form again throughout the weekend which culminated with a dramatic victory in Sunday’s afternoon final against the home favourites Sinead Chambers and Tony Murphy.  A measure of the achievement of the Leinster pairing can be gauged from the fact that not alone was their victory the only event which was not won by an Ulster player, but they were the only non-Ulster combination to even make the finals.   Laura and David began their quest on Saturday afternoon with a tough opening game against the Northern Ireland pairing of Andrew McGee and Judith Brennan.  The game was a classic mixed doubles match between two talented mixed doubles pairs, which resulted in a victory in three sets 15/9, 5/15, 15/7 for the New Ross/Dublin partnership.  It was a little more comfortable in the quarter-finals where they defeated a fellow Leinster paring of Crona Rooney and Owen Marron 15/9, 15/7.  The semi-finals on Sunday morning started badly for the Southern pairing when yet another Ulster combination of Gavin McCauley and Catherine McGladdery took the opening set 15/11, with Laura and David were finding it difficult to cope against the deceptive McCauley in particular.  In the remaining games however they adopted a more attacking approach which gave the Ulster pair less time to place the shuttle and they won the remaining two games 15/11, 15/5 to progress to the final.  Sunday’s afternoon final drew a good home crowd and with many of the Leinster players and supporters also staying to watch it led to a good atmosphere for the event.  In the final Laura and David faced a fancied Northern partnership comprising of recent under-19 international player Sinead Chambers and regular partner Tony Murphy.  In their previous encounters the Ulster pairing had the upper hand and were in fine form on their way to the decider.  The opening set would do justice to any senior tournament as all four players put on an exhibition for the appreciative crowd.  Good placement of the shuttle and excellent court coverage from the Dublin star blended nicely with fine net play from Laura and gave the Leinster pairing a narrow 15/13 opening set victory. If the 1^st set was exciting the 2^nd was real edge of the seat stuff with the Leinster pair leading 14/12, only for the Ulster combination to recover and force the set to a tie break.  Chambers and Murphy went 16/14 in front, but Laura and David got the game back to 16/16.  Each side now had several opportunities to get the elusive final point before a flick serve from Murphy caught Tutty by surprise and it was one game each.  The start of the 3^rd set was crucial and it was the Leinster players who were quickly into their stride as they raced into a 5-0 lead.  From there they kept the pressure on the two Ulster stars to win the set and title a little easier than expected with what had gone before on a 15/5 score line.  Also appearing at the finals was under-15 star Laura Butler.  Laura who was only just back from injury gave a good account of herself in the ladies singles despite losing 11/4, 11/7 to the top seed Joanne Flanagan.  In the doubles however she and regular partner Kate McDonald never got going against the impressive pairing of Joanne Flanagan and Jenny Irvine and lost 15/4, 15/2.

People Newspapers - Permanent TSB Awards

Laura Lynch picked up a special achievement award at the prestigious People Newspapers-Permanent TSB Sportsperson of the year Awards ceremony in the Ashtown Park Hotel on Friday the 27th January.  Laura was one of sixteen nominations from a range of sports who were commemorated for their achievements in 2005.  Laura has been playing badminton since she was nine year’s old and competing on the national circuit since she was eleven.  She is coached by her father Pat and is part of the Wexford Regional Development squad where she has benefited greatly from the influence of BUI high performance coach Liam Sinnott.  2005 was her most successful year to-date with an under-15 All-Ireland mixed doubles title secured in Lisburn in February and international success in Malta in October when she won the ladies singles title.  On the Irish Badminton circuit she won an Ulster open girls doubles title and both the doubles and mixed doubles title in the Leinster U15 Juvenile Close Championships.    Laura picked up International caps with the Irish under-15 team playing both doubles and mixed doubles.  Laura has also played with the Irish under-17 team where she has just returned with the squad from Glasgow.  Laura was capped at provincial level for Leinster at under 15, 16 and 17 level.  She made her 1st appearance with the Leinster under-17 team in the prestigious Harrods sponsored Nottingham Tournament in April 2004.  Barring injury she is likely to be making her 3rd consecutive appearance at the Tournament in April 2006.  Laura was also a member of the Wexford under-15 and 17 county teams and was captain of the team that finished in the runner-up spot behind White-Abbey (N.I.) in the Malta under-18 International Tournament in October.  On the adult scene there was a double success in May in the Leinster Senior Individual championships when she won both the grade-3 ladies singles and doubles titles and a Wexford division two and three mixed double title in February.  Laura played with the Wexford senior team that reached the All-Ireland class-3 semi-final in Galway and had an unbeaten record during the qualifiers playing singles and mixed doubles.  With her club side she was a member of the team that was beaten in the Leinster Inter-club grade 2 final and was voted the club player of the year for the 2nd time in the past three seasons.

Rare Success for New Ross.

 New Ross were the surprise winners of the division 1 shield title when they overcame the current champions and title favourites Taghmon in last Sundays final.  Despite the absence of the injured Edward Cousins, Taghmon were expected to continue their recent dominance over the barrowsiders and chalk up their 2nd team title of the year.  New Ross started well however and took the opening men’s doubles game with Ralph Stone and Pat Lynch winning a trilling three sets encounter against Philip Walsh and Stewart O’Toole.  Taghmon took the lead with Siobhan and Deirdre Kehoe defeating Brideen Lynch and Ellen O’Neill 15/6, 15/6 to give the Wexford district side a 3-2 advantage.  New Ross responded by taking both the singles games.  Orla Deegan defeated Elaine Dunne 13/10, 11/9 and Alan Carton overcame Philip Wadding 15/3, 15/5.  Taghmon reduced the deficit to a single point when Philip Walsh and Deirdre Kehoe won the opening mixed doubles game against Ralph Stone and Ellen Cassells 15/7, 15/9 to leave the score 6-5 in favour of New Ross.   Pat and Brideen Lynch extended this lead to 8-6 when they won another tight game against Siobhan Kehoe and Stewart O’Toole 15/5, 5/15, 17/16.  New Ross now needed to take just one more set to record a rare success and this they achieved when Orla Deegan and Alan Carton won the opening game 15/5 of their mixed doubles against Philip Wadding and Elaine Dunne to leave the final score at 9-6 in favour of the underdogs.

St. Martin’s take the division 5 title.

After a marathons day play in the division five event it was the St. Martin’s Club who emerged victorious after a long but enjoyable days play.  In the 1st round St. Martin’s played Taghmon, but it was Taghmon who were victorious by a 9-7 margin in an exciting game. The victory put Taghmon directly into the semi-finals, but consigned the Piercestown outfit to battle it out in the losers section.  St. Martin’s next played defending champions Clonard knowing that another defeat would send them home for an early dinner.  St. Martin’s got an ideal start by winning both singles which gave the team a much needed confidence boost and by the time the mixed matches were played the team was in a dominant position and were declared winners on a 8-3 score line.  Next up was Ballycogley and both teams knew that a victory would secure a spot in the evening final.  Another tough game ensued for the Piercestown outfit but they came away with a 9-6 victory and against the odds had made into the final.  Ironically they now faced their 1st round conquers Taghmon who had defeated Davidstown on a count back of aces having draw their semi-final match 8-8.  St. Martin’s reorganised their forces and Liz Martin stepped in to play the ladies singles which she won in three sets to give them a 2-1 lead. Ken Furlong increased this lead to 4-1 with a 2-0 victory over Michael O’Gorman.  Both the doubles matches were shared with St. Martin’s taking the men’s and Taghmon winning the ladies to leave the score at 6-3 to the Martin’s with the three mixed doubles games remaining to be played.  St. Martin’s needed only one chance however and with Seamus Redmond and Helen Butler winning the opening mixed doubles and Ken Furlong and Liz Martin taking the opening set in the second game it ensured victory and will give further cause for celebrations at the St. Martin’s clubs Christmas social night. St. Martin’s team: Séamus Redmond, Ken Furlong, Ger Turner, Helen Butler, Orla Scallan, Karen O’Keefe and Liz Martin.

Galbally win Div 6 title

Galbally were the winners of the final team event of 2005 when they narrowly pipped Clonard for the division 6 shield title in a most exciting competition.  Six teams started on Sunday morning with play taking place in two qualifying groups of three teams, with two to qualify for the afternoon finals from each group.  Group A featured Galbally, Monaseed and Clonard.  Group B had squads from Ballycogley, Davidstown and Taghmon.  In the first series of games Galbally proved too strong for Monaseed who were appearing in their 1st shield finals and won 14-0.  Monaseed improved in their 2nd outing and went on to take three points from Clonard, with the Wexford town side winning 12-3.  Clonard then defeated Galbally 9-8, but despite this setback Galbally went through to the semi-finals as group winners with Clonard also through as the group runner-up.  In group B Taghmon overcame Ballycogley 13-5 in the first game and Davidstown despite being a man short still managed to overcome Ballycogley 8-7.  Taghmon won the final group game with an 8-7 victory over Davidstown who were still suffering from being a man down and therefore conceding two games.   In the semi-finals Galbally played Davidstown who were now up to full strength and Taghmon played Clonard.  Galbally quickly got into their stride in their game and booked a final place with an 8-0 victory.  In was tighter in the 2nd semi-final with Clonard overcoming Taghmon 8-6 and the match going to the last mixed doubles which was won by Clonard in 2 sets, 17-14 and 15-5.  The final was a repeat of the group A between the sides and again the exchanges were close and exciting. Clonard had the upper hand in the men’s and won both the singles and doubles.  Galbally ladies kept their side in the contest and honours were even at 6-6 when they won the ladies singles and doubles.  Tension was now growing and all three mixed doubles were on court at the same time. The first sets of the 1st and 3rd mixed went to Galbally, but Clonard kept in touch by taking the opening set in 2nd mixed to leave the score at 7-6 to Galbally. Clonard were first to take the 2nd set of the 2nd mixed doubles, and then Galbally took the 2nd set of the 1st mixed doubles. The score was now 8-7 in favour of Galbally which meant that Clonard would have to win 3rd mixed to tie the match.  The tension was high, but Galbally just held on to take the 2nd set and match 15-13.

1st Leinster under-17 title for Wexford

It was a long time coming, but Wexford finally won their first ever Leinster under-17 inter-county title in impressive style at the provincial championships in Dublin.  A 3-1 victory over Dublin-A earned the model county squad their place in the history books and a promise of exciting times yet to come for Wexford badminton.   Wexford started their campaign in a tough qualifying group that included the 2005 champions Laois, Louth and a Dublin-B team.  With only one team to qualify Wexford started in determined fashion with a 5-0 clean sweep against their Dublin-B opponents.  They then faced the defending champions Laois, who had overcome Louth on a 4-1 score-line.  Team captain Laura Lynch gave the side the best possible start when she defeated Laura Coe 21/6, but Laois hit back when their top player Mark Cobbe defeated Dimitri Panagopoulos 21/4.  The two doubles games were now crucial and the Wexford pairing of Laura Lynch and Laura Butler eased Wexford ahead when they won the girls doubles 21/0 against Lesley Cobbe and Chelsey Cox.  The boy’s doubles was a much closer affair, but Alan Nolan and Terence McSweeney got the all important 3^rd point when they overcame Padraig Burbage and James Nearing 21/15.  Laois did take the final mixed doubles game with Mark Cobbe and Laura Coe defeating Terence McSweeney and Marie Kelly 21/6 to leave the overall score at 3-2 in favour of Wexford.  Having overcome their main rivals of recent years Wexford were not about to let the advantage slip and despite a debut for fourteen year old Eimer Dunne in the mixed doubles the Wexford bandwagon kept on rolling with a comfortable 5-0 victory over Louth to guarantee them a place in the afternoon final.  In the decider they faced a Dublin-A side that had finished top of Section one and had overcome Kilkenny 3-2 in the play-off decider.  Laura Lynch continued to impress and won her singles against Aoife Murray 21/4.  Dimitri Panagopoulos held a narrow 17/15 lead against Alan Brogan, but lost 21-17 to the Dublin star.  Laura Butler and Lynch were always in command in their game against Aisling Ryan and Kate Donnelly and they put Wexford 2-1 ahead with a 21/7 victory.  Wexford now needed a win in either the boy’s doubles or mixed doubles matches to record a famous victory.  Despite the intense pressure a very assured pairing of Terence Mc Sweeney and Alan Nolan made certain the mixed doubles game was unnecessary when they won their doubles 21/17 to give Wexford an unassailable 3-1 lead.  Team Managers Seamus Creane and Pat Lynch were understandably delighted after their team’s success and both were full of praise for their achievement.   They were quick to point out that six of the squad are still eligible to play again next season and that five will be available in a couple of weeks time for the under-15 championships.  The history making panel included: Laura Lynch (Capt), Laura Butler, Marie Kelly, Eimer Dunne, Terence McSweeney, Alan Nolan, Dimitri Panagopoulos and Garvan Kelly.

Donegal Retain Class 1 Title

In their 1st ever appearance in a class-1 All Ireland final newly promoted Wexford made a brave effort at dethroning the reigning champions Donegal in an exciting encounter in the Galway Lawn Tennis club.  The Donegal Squad have been unbeatable in this grade since 2002, and backboned by the talented Magee family from Raphoe they started the defence of their title in impressive fashion when winning both the opening singles games.  Sixteen year old Sam Magee showed just why he is so highly rated on the national circuit when he defeated Wexford’s Liam Sinnott 15/3, 15/2 in the men’s singles.  His eighteen year old sister Chloe the current Irish number two was also an impressive performer when defeating Orla Deegan 11/1, 11/2 in the ladies singles.  Wexford were in further trouble after both opening doubles games and a complete rout of the model county side now looked a distinct possibility.  Brothers Sam and Daniel Magee gave an exhibition in their men’s doubles against the Wexford number one pairing of Edward Cousins and Philip Walsh, winning 15/6, 15/4.  Chloe Magee and Heather Hartman easily won the opening set 15/4 against Siobhan and Deirdre Kehoe before the Wexford pair made a real fight of the 2nd set before losing it 15/13.  Donegal now held a 4-0 lead and were just one point away from their 4th consecutive title.  Wexford’s fight back began with the 2nd men’s doubles pairing of Donal O’Keeffe and Gavin Smith who put Leinster side on the score-sheet by winning an exciting match 8/15, 15/13, 15/12 against Alan Macbeth and Andrew Magee. The 2nd ladies pairing of Orla Deegan and Elaine Dunne narrowed the gap further when they overcame Kimberley Porter and Lorna Magee 15/11, 15/8.  The match was then thrown wide open when team captain Edward Cousins and the impressive Siobhan Kehoe brought Wexford within one point of the Ulster side when they won the opening mixed doubles game 15/6, 9/15, 15/9 against Daniel Magee and Heather Harman.  The tide was now turning very much in favour of the Leinster side, but disaster struck at the start of the 2nd mixed doubles game.  An injury to Philip Walsh forced him and Deirdre Kehoe to concede the game to Andrew Magee and Kimberley Porter to give Donegal a 5-3 winning margin and end Wexford’s dream of a 1st ever title in the grade for another year at least.

Wexford lose exciting class 3 semi-final

For the 2nd year in a row Wexford lost in the All-Ireland inter-county class 3 semi-final, but unlike last years capitulation to Cork this time around Wexford put up a brave showing against eventual winners Tipperary.  An exciting semi-final encounter went down to the last game before the Munster side just edged out their Leinster rivals by a mere two points to give them a narrow 5-4 victory.  The sides were level after the opening singles with Laura Lynch defeating Celine Connors 11/9, 11/4 to cancel out an earlier victory for Tipperary’s Aidan Ryan over Sean Sexton.  Tipperary then took what proved to be a decisive lead when they won the next three games to hold 4-1 advantage and needing to win just one of the four remaining games.  John Maher & John Molloy had defeated Stuart O’Toole and Pat Lynch 7/15, 15/5, 15/12 while Catherine Redican and Celine Connors overcame Rosemary Burke and Gillian Murphy 15/9, 15/6.  Tipperary’s 2nd men’s pairing of Danny Ruddy and Martin Ryan stretched their lead with a 15/10, 8/15, 15/13 victory over Seamus Creane and Neil Barrett.  Wexford’s fight back started in the 2nd ladies doubles with Brideen and Laura Lynch defeating Sinead Carson and Karen Smith 15/4, 15/7.  Gillian Murphy and Stuart O’Toole then won an exciting 1st mixed game 15/5, 11/15, 17/15 against Danny Ruddy and Catherine Redican.  The sides were level when Brideen and Pat Lynch overcame Karen Smith and John Molloy 15/8, 15/5 to leave the score at 4-4 with the one game remaining.  The final game was between Wexford’s Neill Barrett and Rosemary Burke against Tipperary’s John Maher and Jennifer McKenna.  In a tense and exciting game the Tipperary pairing just edged out their Wexford rivals 8/15, 15/6, 15/13.

Wexford class-4 team lose to old rivals Cork in semi-final

After the disappointment of losing both the Class one and three grades on Saturday, hopes were high on Sunday morning that the class four squad would salvage the weekend by taking the class four title.  The experienced Wexford side were appearing in their 3rd consecutive final and faced last years conquers Cork in the morning’s semi-final.  The Leinster side looked well on their way to atone for that defeat when they raced into an early 3-0 lead.  Sean Sexton started the ball rolling when he won an exciting men’s singles 11/15, 15/13, 15/8 against Niall Moynahan.  Tara Kehoe kept the momentum going by overcoming an impressive Eleanor FitzGerald 8/11, 13/11, 11/7 in the ladies encounter.  Thing’s were looking good for the model county when Sandra Dunne and Ailish O’Hanlon then took the opening ladies doubles 15/8, 17/16 against Mary Hayes and Tamara O’Keeffe.  It was at this point that the Wexford’s momentum was halted and Cork were to win the next five games in a row.  Brian Nyhan and David O’Driscoll defeated Jimmy Sinnott and Sonny Cahill 15/6, 15/8, while David and Paul Collins took the 2nd men’s game 15/9, 6/15, 15/9 against Philip Wadding and Neill Barrett.  The sides were level after the 2nd ladies doubles with Eleanor  FitzGerald  and Nora Delaney defeating Jennifer Sinnott and Edel Doyle 15/13, 15/8.  Cork took the lead for the 1st time after the opening mixed doubles when Niall Moynahan and Tamara O’Keeffe defeated Sandra Dunne and Jimmy Sinnott 15/8, 15/8.  The  remarkable recovery for the Leesiders was complete when the Cork pair of Paul Collins and Mary Hayes took the 2nd mixed doubles game 15/12, 15/5 against Ailish O’Hanlon and Neill Barrett to turn what looked like certain defeat into a 5-3 victory.  The defeat adds to Wexford’s woes in the grade at the national finals and consigned them to their 4th loss in five years.  3rd mixed doubles was Celine Hayes and Sean Sexton.

Hat-Trick of Titles for Edward Cousins at the Players Championship Finals

While the majority of the spectators were looking forward to seeing the top stars in action in the first half of the Players County Championship program, it was the mid and lower divisions which provided all the drama.  Off the four 1st division games played on the night, all ended up as very one sided encounters which failed to excite the expectant crowd.  In the ladies singles Siobhan Kehoe retained her title with an 11/4, 11/6 victory over Orla Deegan.  There was some consolation for Orla later in the evening in the ladies doubles when she and Elaine Dunne captured their 1st division one title with a 15/7, 15/9 victory over Laura Lynch and Ellen O’Neill.  The men’s doubles started in bright fashion, but soon petered out as a contest when the defending champions Edward Cousins and Philip Walsh took control to run out 15/6, 15/3 winners over Alan Carton and Ralph Stone.  The mixed doubles looked to be an intruiguing encounter between Wexford’s top pairing Edward Cousins and Siobhan Kehoe who were up against Carlow’s number one Willie Stevenson and Sylvia Campion.  Unfortunately the expected classic never materialised and an impressive Wexford pair won rather easier than expected 15/8, 15/8.  In the division three ladies singles Laura Butler dominated her game against Tara Kehoe and took the title on a 11/2, 11/3 score-line.  Most of the excitement on the night was to be found in the division three men’s and mixed doubles finals and the division seven ladies singles and doubles finals. After several near misses and the anguish of several recent final defeats the Shelburne pairing of John Joe Murphy and Sonny Cahill claimed the division 3 men’s doubles title.  In a long marathon encounter the Shelburne pair defeated J. J. Winters and Philip Wadding 15/17, 15/11, 15/7.  After the men’s defeat their was some consolation for Philip Wadding in the division three mixed doubles when he and Laura Butler won the title 15/13, 17/15 in an exciting game against John Nolan and Celine Hayes.  There were two walkovers in the  in the 5th division with Ger Cullen winning his first division 5 men’s singles title when Dimtri Panogopoulos conceded the game to the Galbally player.  Dimitri also pulled out of the men’s doubles which gave Taghmon’s Ray Nash and Kevin Whitty their 1st title in the grade.  The 7th division ladies singles had two evenly matches athletes which resulted in the narrowest of victories for Mairead Mullins.  The Ballycogley’s player just edged out a gallant Mary Kirwan (Monaseed) 11/9, 10/13, 11/9 in an excellent game of singles.  Mairead won her 2nd title of the night when she and Antoinette Ryan overcame Judy Doyle and Olivia Donnelly 15/2, 13/15, 15/4 in another excellent advertisement for the division seven grade in the ladies doubles.  There were triple successes for Taghmon’s Pat Redican with the impressive Taghmon winning three titles in the grade.  In the singles he overcame a never say die Kevin Jones 15/5, 15/8, before he and Richie Bridges won the men’s doubles title 15/6, 15/12 against Joe Cullen and Derek Rowe.  In the mixed doubles he partnered Kathleen Walsh to a 15/8, 15/13 success against Mary Kirwan and Richard Doyle (Monaseed). 

After a rather tame opening weeks games the 2nd night of the Wexford Players Championship resulted in much more exciting fare for the good attendance in Ramsgrange Community College.  The only division one game played on the night produced a win for the defending champion Edward Cousins in the men’s singles final.  Donal O’Keefe pushed him all the way in a tight opening set, before the Wexford number one took over in the 2nd set to retain his title on a 15/12, 15/4 score line.   A very exciting division two ladies doubles final between New Ross district rivals Brideen and Laura Lynch (New Ross) against Siobhan Ennis and Sandra Dunne (Shelburne) resulted in a narrow 16/17, 15/9, 15/12 victory for the New Ross pair.  The mixed doubles was much more emphatic where the impressive Taghmon pairing of Stewart O’Toole and Gillian Murphy defeated Vincent Mackay and Laura Lynch (New Ross) 15/11, 15/2.  Another exciting encounter in the division three men’s singles final saw the underdog Craig Healy (Clonard) overcome the number one seed John Nolan (New Ross)  15/7, 6/15, 15/7.  In the ladies doubles final the Shelburne pairing of Sandra Dunne and Ailish O’Hanlon defeated their inter-county colleagues Celine Hayes (New Ross) and Tara Kehoe (St, Martin’s) 15/7, 15/8.  Edel Doyle was an easy winner of the division four ladies singles title with an 11/2, 11/0 victory over Helen Butler (St. Martin’s).  The men’s title went to Galbally’s Wayne Dunne who got the better of St. Martin’s Ken Furlong 15/8, 15/7.  Helen Butler (St. Martin’s) and Edel Doyle (Gorey) took the ladies doubles title by defeating the Clonard partnership of Denise O’Leary and Jane Duignan 15/11, 15/5.  Paudie Foran and Tony Sinnott (Shelburne) had an easier than expected victory in the men’s doubles final with a 15/8, 15/7 defeat of Lee Healy and Richard Millar (Clonard).  Helen Butler won her 2nd title of the night when she and partner Ken Furlong defeated Wayne Dunne and Catriona Walsh (Galbally) 15/6, 15/9.  In the division five ladies singles Aoife Dunne (Taghmon) came out on top in a three set encounter 11/6, 4/11, 11/9 against Catriona Walsh (Galbally).  Some consolation for Catriona in the ladies doubless final where she and Olynna Dunne had a 15/7, 8/15, 15/10 victory over Eimer and Aoife Dunne (Taghmon).  It was an all Taghmon mixed doubles final with the veteran Eddie Cousins and youthful partner Marie Kelly overcoming Alan Nolan and Aoife Dunne 15/13, 15/13.  Another close final in the division six ladies singles saw Marie Kelly (Taghmon) just about see off the challenge of Anne Kirwan (Gorey) 11/9, 11/10.  Also a close three setter in the men’s singles final where Alan Nolan (Taghmon) defeated club colleague Pat Redican 15/8, 8/15, 15/8.  Not much between the pairings in the ladies doubles final where Eimer Dunne and Marie Kelly (Taghmon) defeated Ella Bigos and Aoife Bennett (New Ross) 17/14, 15/13.  Another marathon encounter in the men’s doubles resulted in a victory for Pat Redican and nephew David Bridges (Taghmon) against Alan Nolan and Garavan Kelly (Taghmon) 8/15, 15/8, 15/13.  In the final game of the night there was a victory for Alan Nolan and Eimer Dunne (Taghmon) who defeated Ger Turner and Angela Brennan (St. Martin’s) 15/7, 15/8 in a game that was closer than the score line suggests.

Full Results: 

Wexford retain Leinster Class-2 title

It was a little tougher than expected for title favourites Wexford in the class-2 Leinster inter-county final held in the Badminton Centre in Terenure as the rank outsiders Kilkenny put up a brave showing before eventually losing 4-2.  The teams were level after the opening singles with Wexford captain Gavin Smith defeating Kilkenny’s number one Joe Cuddity 15/10, 15/2, but Catherine Redican overturned an early season loss to Orla Deegan to win the ladies singles for the cats 11/7, 11/4.  Wexford then opened up a two point gap by winning both the ladies and gents doubles matches.  Donal O’Keeffe and Stuart O’Toole overcame Joe Cuddity and Martin Hancon 15/6, 15/6 and Rosemary Burke and Gillian Murphy defeated Ellen O’Neill and Shirley Parr 15/4, 15/8.  Kilkenny were briefly back in the match after the opening mixed doubles when Eamon Purcell and Ellen O’Neill surprised the Wexford 1st mixed  pairing of Gavin Smith and Orla Deegan to win 17/14, 15/6.  It was just a temporary respite however as Donal O’Keeffe and Brideen Lynch secured the winning point when they got the better of Jimmy Purcell and Shirley Parr 15/2, 8/15, 15/4 to give Wexford an unassailable 4-2 lead with one game remaining.

Leinster Individual Championships

The 2006 Leinster Players Individual Championships took place in the Baldoyle Badminton Centre and featured Wexford players in all seven grades.  Laura Lynch has been steadily climbing up through the divisions and on Sunday she overcame her county colleague Elaine Dunne 11/6, 11/6 in the division one ladies singles final to win her first grade one title.  Not such a good day for the defeated Taghmon star as she also lost the ladies doubles final when she and partner Orla Deegan (New Ross) went down 15/9, 15/5 to the Laois pairing of Lorraine Hill and Dawn Cobbe.  Pat Lynch and Ralph Stone had relinquished their men’s doubles title in the semi-final when they lost 15/11, 11/15, 8/15 to Aubrey Cox and Willie Stephenson (Carlow).   All three Wexford representatives in the division two grade also exited in the semi-finals.  Sean Sexton losing 15/7, 13/15, 13/15 to Ronan Hanley (Carlow) in the men’s singles.  Siobahn Bowe and Celine Hayes going down 15/3, 15/13 to the Offaly pairing of Olivia Mahon and Fiona Nevin in the ladies doubles and Kilkenny’s Joe Cuddity and Kate McDonald eliminated Siobhan Bowe and Seamus Creane 15/11, 15/13 in the mixed doubles.  Better news in the division three section where Sheburne’s Sandra Dunne and Alish O’Hanlon secured the ladies doubles title with an impressive 15/13, 17/14 victory over Mag Mahon and Fiona Farrell from Offaly.  Craig Healy (Clonard) lost the men’s singles final when he was defeated 17/14, 15/6 by Wayne Carter (Laois).  Earlier John Nolan (New Ross) was an unlucky semi-final casualty when he was forced to retire with an injury having taken the opening set 15/9 against Wayne Carter.  Only one representative in the division four grade and Paudie Foran and Tony Sinnott went out in the semi-final when they were beaten 15/12, 15/11 by Niall Davis and Liam McEvoy from Laois.  Taghmon’s youthful pairing of Aoife Dunne and Eimer Dunne won an exciting division five ladies double final against a very strong Meath partnership.  The two cousins show maturity beyond their years to win in three sets 16/17, 15/10, 15/3 against Breda Hopkins and Sarah O’Halloran.  Dimitri Panagopoulos (Clonard) lost a marathon men’s singles final 17/15, 15/6, 17/16 to Dean Madden (Kilkenny).  There were two titles won by Wexford players in division six and both were secured by Ger Cullen (Galbally).  He won the men’s singles with an 11/15, 15/7, 15/7 victory over Matt Walsh (Offaly).  He then teamed up with club colleague Niamh Dunne to secure a mixed doubles title after a 5/15, 17/16, 15/6 victory over Martin O’Hanlon and Gillian Murphy (Kilkenny).  Richard Bridges and Pat Redican were the counties only representatives in the 7th Division and the Taghmon pairing lost 15/9, 15/10 in the men’s doubles final to Brian McGrath and Derek English from Fingal.

Knockout Finals

Rank outsiders New Ross put up a fine struggle, before succumbing to title favourites Taghmon in the final of the Wexford division one knockout cup final held in Ramsgrange Community School.  Very few people gave the New Ross side much of a chance against the all conquering Wexford district side in Wednesday nights final and even less hope when they were forced to play without team captain Ralph Stone and under-age star Laura Lynch.  Taghmon took an early lead when they won both the opening doubles to give them a 4-0 lead.  Siobhan and Deirdre Kehoe had an impressive 15/7, 15/4 victory in the ladies doubles over Rosemary Burke and Brideen Lynch.  The men’s opening game was closer than expected, but the Taghmon pairing of Edward Cousins and Gavin Smith eventually saw off the challenge of Alan Carton and Pat Lynch 15/9, 15/11.  Elaine Dunne and Gillian Murphy stretched the Taghmon advantage to 6-0 when they just about held off a determined challenge from Ellen O’Neill and Celine Hayes to win 17/15, 15/12.  New Ross picked up their 1^st points of the night when Colm Byrne and sub Neill Barrett won the 2^nd men’s doubles in straight sets against Stewart O’Toole and J.J. Winters 17/15, 15/12 to leave the score at 6-2 in favour of Taghmon.  A rare mixed doubles defeat for Edward Cousins and Deirdre Kehoe by Colm Byrne and Ellen O’Neill who won 11/15 15/12, 15/11 had New Ross within two points of the champions, and the barrowsiders were right back in the match when Rosemary Burke and Alan Carton defeated Gavin Smith and Siobhan Kehoe 17/15, 15/10 to leave the score 7-6 in favour of Taghmon.  The momentum was now with New Ross, but the slide was halted in very emphatic terms when Stewart O’Toole and Gillian Murphy continued their recent impressive performances to overcome Brideen and Pat Lynch in impressive fashion 15/0, 15/12 to clinch yet another team title for Taghmon.

Kilkenny side Tullahought won their 1^st ever Wexford Cup title when overcame a strong Galbally team in the final of the division five knockout cup.  Tullahought started in confident fashion and were 4-1 ahead after the opening two men’s doubles games.  Dean Madden and Joe Cuddity taking the opening game 15/9, 15/8 against Dan Rossiter and Wayne Dunne.  Galbally briefly hit back when Ronan Murphy and Pat Dunne won the opening set in the 2^nd men’s doubles against Colin Murphy and Eoin Ryan, but were unable to maintain the momentum and eventually lost 15/7, 13/15, 15/3.  Just as in their Leinster semi-final clash Galbally then began a fight back and the sides were level at 5-5 after the completion of the ladies doubles.  Catriona Walsh and Olynna Dunne were very impressive 15/12, 15/5 winners over Wendy Carey and Monica Sheehan in the top pairing.  The 2^nd ladies was a close and exciting encounter which the Wexford pairing of Betty Kelly and Deirdre Barron just shaded 17/16, 6/15, 15/11 against Pearl McDonald and Dianne Kelly.  Unfortunately for Galbally it was Tullahought who won both the opening mixed doubles games.  Monica Sheehan and Joe Cuddity had a tough opening set against Catriona Walsh and Wayne Dunne, but eventually won 15/13, 15/9.  The Kilkenny side had a 9-5 advantage after the 2^nd mixed with Wendy Carey and Dean Madden overcoming Olynna Dunne and Dan Rossiter 15/3, 15/2.  Pat Dunne and Deirdre Barron cut the deficit to two points when the took the 4^th mixed 15/7, 15/3 against Diane Kelly and Eoin Ryan, but Tullahought secured the title when Pearl McDonald and Colin Murphy won the opening set in the 3^rd mixed 15/3 against Ronan Murphy and Betty Kelly.

It was much easier for Taghmon in the division six Knockout cup final when they brushed aside the challenge of a disappointing Galbally side to win comfortably 9-1.  Such was the dominance of the Taghmon team that the title was secured without the need to complete the final three mixed doubles games.   Taghmon team: Marie Kelly, Eimer Dunne, Tina Bridges, Mary Doyle, Alan Nolan, Matthew Doyle, David Bridges and Pat Redican.  Galbally: Niamh Dunne, Ellen Whelan, Sinead O’Leary, Lisa Conway, Ger Cullen, Vincent Brown, Eddie Galavan and martin Maher.

Chelmsford Visit

A group of fourteen players and supporters travelled over from the Chelmsford Badminton Federation during the week to visit the county for a spot of sightseeing and to do battle on the badminton courts against a local Wexford league selection.  On Tuesday night the two squads met in a representative match that was won rather easier than expected by the model county selection.  The visitors came more into their own in the Thursday nights ladies and men’s doubles events and in Saturday’s mixed doubles tournament.  The ladies doubles competition on Thursday was won by Majorie Slann (Chelmsford) and Rosemary Burke (Wexford) who had two points to spare over the 2nd place local partnership of Jennifer Sinnott and Miriam Butler.  The men’s grade was split into an A and B section with yet another Chelmsford/Wexford combination taking the top honours.  John Whalebone and John Joe Murphy took the A-title ahead of Norman Hume (Chelmsford) and Liam Sinnott (Wexford).  The B-grade was won by Tony Sinnott (Wexford) and Jake Gibson (Chelmsford) who finished ahead of Norman Pharaoh (Chelmsford) and Sonny Cahill (Wexford).  The week’s badminton activities concluded on Saturday afternoon with a mixed doubles tournament.  After a very exciting grade-A final Ellen O’Neill (Wexford) and John Whalebone (Chelmsford) just edged out Ann Weathersby (Chelmsford) and Liam Sinnott (Wexford) 15/11, 9/15, 17/15.  Almost as exciting was the grade-B final where the local combination of Jennifer Sinnott and Wayne Redmond had a narrow 17/16, 15/13 victory over Oona Wright and Dick Brewster.

Regional Development Squad play Donegal in end of season friendly

A squad of fourteen players plus officials headed to Donegal on the weekend of the 19th to the 21st May for a well earned weekend away and to take on two local selections in representatives games between the two county squads.  Outside of Dublin and Belfast, Wexford and Donegal have emerged as the kingpins of under-age badminton and the trip provided useful experience for both Squads and in particular it was a reward for the local Wexford squad who have been training two nights per week over the season.  The Donegal squads provided stiff opposition an included in their team top Irish under-19 and under-17 star Chloe Magee.  Chloe is already a full international player for her country and is one of the top prospects in Irish badminton.  Wexford also had their own stars with Laura Lynch already an Irish under-17 international and provincial caps obtained by Laura Butler, Alan Nolan and Dimitri Panagopoulos.  Captained by seventeen year old Terence McSweeney (New Ross B.C.) the squad headed off on Friday by luxury coach to Letterkenny where they stayed overnight in the beatiful Clann-Ri Hotel.  On Saturday morning they took on the 1st of the local teams in the Delee College Gymnasium in Raphoe.  After lunch they had a 2nd game against a 2nd local team.  That night the squad was invited to the Donegal County Juvenile Awards Ceremony in the local Fields Hotel before the night was concluded with a juvenile disco.  On Sunday morning they departwd on the long journey home with hopefully a wealth of experience gained and many new friends made.  Wexford Squad:  Terence McSweeney (Capt), Alan Nolan, Dimitri Panagopoulos,  Garvan Kelly, Andy McGrath, Nicholas Murphy, Laura Lynch, Laura Butler, Eimer Dunne, Aoife Bennett, Gemma Creane, Ciara Dunne, Siobhan Creane, Karen Butler.  Team Managers: Miriam Butler, Seamus Creane, Nicholas Murphy.