Irish Tug of War

The second national championship of the season was today hosted by the Grove club at Bonniconlon, Co. Mayo. This was another extremely well organised competition with a top class arena and facilities available to the nineteen clubs who competed. These clubs were Ballinagh, Ballyhooly, Boley, Bryanstown, Bremore, Boyneside, Creewood, Clonmines, Coneel, Fairywater, Gills, Grove, Gortletteragh, Lavalley, Lakehill, Slaneysiders, Taughmaconnell, Urnaidhe and Rocky’s.

Lakehill, national 680kg senior champions

Nine teams took part in the senior 680kg competition where Boley topped the group with Lakehill a close second and Bremore & Gortletteragh taking the other semi final positions. Boley defeated Bremore in the first semi final while Lakehill had to dig deep to overcome Connaught rivals Gortletteragh from Co. Leitrim. The stage was set for another final showdown between the top two teams in the country at the moment. Lakehill dropped in hard in the first end and managed to bring the Wexford team over the line in a time of around three and a half minutes. The crafty men from the southeast were not through yet and they produced a fine performance to take the contest to a third and deciding end. The third pull was another great battle between these two heavyweights. With both teams on two cautions each Lakehill began to win some rope forcing the Wexford men to the ground resulting in disqualification and back to back 680kg titles for the Lakehill team, their second national title in as many outings this season. Bremore defeated Gortletteragh to win the bronze medal.

Grove, national 680kg Div 2 champions

Slaneysiders from Co. Wexford and host club the Grove qualified for the Div 2 final, a repeat of the 720kg final two weeks earlier. The Grove, cheered on by their noisy home support produced another great display to win the gold medal, rounding off an amazing start to the season for the Mayo teams. The novice 640kg competition was another huge success with ten teams taking part. The teams who qualified for the semi final were Ballinagh from Co. Cavan, Gills from Co. Galway, Ballyhooly from Co. Cork and Clonmines from Co. Wexford who were going for their second novice title of the season having won the 720kg two weeks earlier.

Ballinagh, national 640kg novice champions

Ballyhooly produced a good display to overcome Gills in the first semi final while Ballinagh defeated Clonmines in the second semi final. Ballinagh who finished runners up at 720kg were not to be denied a second time and produced a fine display to defeat the Cork team to win the Gold medal. Gills from the Tuam area of Co. Galway produced a good performance to overcome Clonmines to win the bronze medal.

See full results from todays national championship on our Results page.

Click here to see photos from today’s national championship in Bonniconlon. (Note: there are two pages of photos)

Filed under: National Championships | Leave a Comment »

Gortletteragh Tug of War club played host to a very successful national championship yesterday at the local GAA pitch near  Mohill in Co. Leitrim. Twenty one clubs took part in the championship, the biggest number of teams to take part in a national championship for many years. The clubs who competed were Ballinagh, Clonmines, Boyneside, Coneel, Lakehill, Boley, Killylough, Bremore, Gortletteragh, Grove, Slaneysiders, Lavalley, Fairywater, St. Pats, Rossie Rebels, Gills, Canavans, Taughmaconnell, Stapeltons, Creewood and Tara Arms.

Lakehill, national senior champions at 720kg

The weather conditions were excellent and underfoot conditions were ideal. Ten teams took part in the senior 720kg competition. There were many tight contests throughout the competition but it was Boley, Lakehill, Bremore and Killylough who qualified for the semi finals with host club Gortletteragh just missing out in fifth position much to the disappointment of the large home support in attendance. Leinster clubs Boley from Wexford and Bremore from Dublin faced each other in the first semi final. Both ends of this contest lasted over four minutes but it was the crafy Wexford men who qualified for the final.

Grove, national Div 2 champions at 720kg

Lakehill produced some fine pulling in the other semi final to overcome Killylough. Arch rivals Boley and Lakehill picked up from where they left off last year facing each other in a national final once again. Lakehill looked the stronger team from the drop and produced some fine power pulling to get the men from Wexford over the line. The second end was a real battle as Lakehill began to win some rope, with both teams on two cautions each Lakehill showed a huge amount of determination to get the rope over the line to win the Gold medal, a great start to a new season for the men from Co. Mayo. Killylough from Co. Monaghan produced a fine performance in the third place pull-off to overcome Bremore to take the bronze medal. The Grove from Co. Mayo faced Slaneysiders from Co. Wexford in the Div 2 final.

Clonmines, national novice champions at 720kg

The Grove rounded off a great day for Mayo clubs with some fine pulling to secure the gold medal. Nine teams took part in the 720kg novice competition. Many of the clubs in this event were competing at national level for the first time and the association would like to congratulate them and wish them every success for the future. The clubs who qualified for the semi finals were Ballinagh from Co. Cavan, Clonmines from Co. Wexford, Boyneside from Co. Offaly and Coneel from Co. Carlow. Ballinagh produced a good performance to overcome Coneel to qualify for the final while Clonmines defeated Boyneside in the other semi final.

St. Pats, national U23 640kg champions

The newly affiliated Clonmines team produced a fine display in the final defeating the men from Cavan in straight ends to win the Gold medal. Four teams took part in the U23 640kg event. It was St. Pats from Co. Louth and Tara Arms from Co. Carlow who qualified for the final. St. Pats were too strong for the Carlow men and they went on to win the Gold medal.

See full results from yesterday’s championship on our Results page.

Click here to see photos from yesterday’s competition in Mohill. (Note: there are two pages of photos)

Filed under: National Championships | 1 Comment »

Updated national outdoor fixtures are now available on the Fixtures page

Please note that U23 5-a-side fixtures have been added for the 5th of July and the 19th of July as many clubs are unable to field eight in this event. The 8-a-side U23 fixtures will go ahead as normal.

Ladies 5-a-side competitions have been added for the 19th of July and the 2nd of August.

The national championship in New Ross, Co. Wexford has been switched to the 2nd of August

Filed under: National Championships | Leave a Comment »