Irish Tug of War

The final round of the national outdoor championship was hosted yesterday by the Tara Arms club at the Tullow show, Co. Carlow. Weather condition were ideal as a very large crowd enjoyed the action. The clubs who competed were Lakehill, Boley, Slaneysiders, Donoughmore, Rockys, St. Pats, Saltmills, Killylough, Fairywater, Bremore, the Grove, Tara Arms, Clonmines, Ballyhooly and Coneel.

Killylough, national senior champions at 560kg

Thirteen teams took part in the senior 560kg event which was run in two groups. Lakehill and Boley were the teams who emerged from group one to qualify for the semi finals. There was a close battle in group two for the semi final places between Killylough, Bremore and Fairywater. Killylough pulled well to top the group while Fairywater produced a great display to defeat Bremore earning them a place in the semi. There was an excellent contest in the first semi final between Boley and Killylough. Boley emerged winners in a gruelling first end which lasted over five minutes but Killylough hit back to level the contest. Killylough dug deep in the third and deciding end to qualify for the final. Fairwater produced a great display in the second semi final to defeat Lakehill to qualify for their first ever national senior final.

Slaneysiders, national Div 2 champions at 560kg

The final between Ulster neighbours Killylough and Fairywater was an even contest but the experience of the Killylough men proved to be the deciding factor and they went on to win the gold medal with a straight end victory, their second national title of the season. Boley defeated Lakehill in the third place pull-off to win the bronze medal. The two teams who qualified for the Div 2 final were Ballyhooly from Co. Cork and Slaneysiders from Co. Wexford. The Wexford men who were appearing in their fifth Div 2 final of the season and going for their second title were much too strong for the Cork outfit and they went on to win the gold medal to round off a great season for them.

St Pats, national U23 champions at 600kg

Two teams took parts in the U23 600kg competition, St. Pats and host club Tara Arms. The contest between them was run over the best of five ends but it was the strong St. Pats team who won out in three straight ends to win the Gold medal making it a clean sweep of national U23 8-a-side titles this season.

Saltmills, winners of the open novice 680kg

Two teams also took part in the novice 680kg open competition, Saltmills and Coneel. Again this contest was run over the best of five ends. Saltmills produced a great performance in this match to defeat the Carlow team in three straight ends.

See full results on our Results page.

Click here to see photos from yesterday’s championship in Tullow.

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Click here to the the final of the 640kg senior championship between Boley and Bremore held at New Ross on the 2nd of August. (Note: we join the action 5 minutes into the first pull)

Click here to see the final of the 680kg novice championship between Clonmines (Wexford) and Coneel (Carlow) also held at New Ross on the 2nd of August.

Thanks to Pat Lee for sending on these videos

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An open novice 680kg competition has been added to the final national championship of the season which takes place at the Tullow show, Co. Carlow on the 16th of August. This will not be a championship event.

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The fifth national championship of the season was hosted yesterday by the Boley club in New Ross, Co. Wexford and the bar was raised once again with twenty four clubs competing in front of a huge crowd at the council college grounds. The clubs who competed were Boley, Killylough, Lakehill, Donoughmore, Bryanstown, Bremore, Gortletteragh, St Pats, Glenhill, Tara Arms, Clonmines, Coneel, Salrmills, Boyneside, Gills, Stapeltons, Taughmaconnell, Ballinagh, Ballyhooly, Harps, Knockanore, Canavans & Cappoquin. 

Boley, national senior champions at 640kg

Twelve clubs competed in the senior 640kilo which is the premiere event of the Tug of War calender. The competition was run in two groups of six teams. Group one included three top teams in Boley, Killylough & Lakehill. Boley pulled well to defeat all their rivals to finish top of the group as Lakehill & Killylough battled it out for the other semi final place. This contest was a good battle which went to a third end but the hardy men from Monaghan just edged Lakehill to book their place in the semi. There was some good pulling in group two as Bremore and Gortletteragh secured qualification with St. Pats just missing out in third position. Gortletteragh and Boley faced each other in the first semi final. The Leitrim men produced a good performance but Boley were too strong for them as they booked their place in the final. Bremore produced a great performance against Killylough in the other semi final to join the Wexford team in the final with a straight end victory. 

Donoughmore, national Div 2 champions at 640kg

The final between Boley and Bremore was an entertaining spectacle with some world class pulling. Both teams held on for over ten minutes with Bremore eventually showing signs of weakness only for Boley to capitalise to win the first end. Bremore decided to attack in the second end but Boley were too strong as they went on to win the gold medal and their first national title of the season. Killylough defeated Gortletteragh to win the bronze medal. Slaneysiders from Co. Wexford and Donoughmore from Co. Cork qualified for the Div 2 final. This was another very entertaining final as Donoughmore produced an excellent display winning the gold medal in straight ends, the first national title of the season for the Cork team.

Canavans, winners of the ladies 5-a-side league

The ladies 5-a-side league reached its conclusion and was another successful competition. Canavans ladies who topped the legaue two weeks previous in Ballyhooly were again too strong beating the Cappoquin ladies into second place. The Glenhill ladies sucured the bronze medals overall. President, Eddie Hubbard presented the ladies with their medals and commended all the ladies who competed on their efforts and thanked them.

Clonmines, novice 680kg national champions

The novice championships which have been a huge success also reached its conclusion yesterday in New Ross with the 680 kilo competition. Eleven teams took part and was run in two groups. The semi final pairings were Saltmills versus Clonmines, two Wexford teams and Coneel from Co. Carlow versus Boyneside from Co. Offaly. The recent development of the sport in the south east was very evident with three teams from this region making the last four. Both Clonmines and Coneel qualified for the final. Clonmines produced a great display in the final overcoming the Carlow team in straight ends much to the delight of the cheering home support. Another local team, Saltmills defeated Boyneside to win the bronze medal.

See full results on our Results page.

Click here to see photos from the national championship in New Ross. (Note: there are now two pages of photos, thanks to Pat Lee for sending on more photos)

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