Irish Tug of War

The second round of the outdoor championships was hosted today by the Gortletteragh club near Mohill in Co. Leitrim. The day was a big success as twenty two clubs competed in the senior, novice, U23 and ladies competitions. The teams who competed were Ballinagh, Ballygar, Bryanstown, Boley, Boyneside, Canavans, Clonmines, Connemara, Doyles Corner, Fairywater, Gortletteragh, Killylough, Killoughey, Lakehill, Lavalley, Saltmills, Slaneysiders, Stapeltons, The Lodge, Taughmaconnell, Tatch Bar and Renvyle.

Lakehill, national senior champions at 680kg

Nine teams took part in the 680kg senior competition. The teams who qualified for the semi finals were Boley, Gortletteragh, Killylough & Lakehill. Lakehill faced Gortletteragh in an all Connaught clash with Lakehill winning the first end. The second end was a real battle as Lakehill edged close to the line, the host team fought back. With both teams on two cautions, Gortletteragh were eventually disqualified for locking. Boley overcame Killylough in the second semi final in an equally tough contest. Arch rivals, Boley & Lakehill faced each other in the final in a repeat of last year’s European final in Assen. The first end was an exciting contest with both teams breaking down some strong attacks, it was the Mayo team who eventually won the pull in a time of four and a half minutes.

Bryanstown, national Div 2 champions at 680kg

Lakehill were very strong in the second end as they won revenge for last year’s European defeat to win their third national 680kg title in a row. Killylough overcame host club, Gortletteragh in a three end thriller to win the bronze medal. The teams who qualified for the Div 2 final were Bryanstown from Co. Wexford and Lavalley from Co. Mayo. Bryanstown continued their fine form this year as they added the 680kg title to the catchweight title they won last Sunday in Roundfort. Nine teams also took part in the novice 720kg competition.

Ballygar, national champions at 720kg novice

There was some fine pulling in this competition with Ballygar, Boyneside, Killoughey & Saltmills qualifing for the semi finals. Ballygar defeated Saltmills to qualify for the final as Killoughey overcame their Offaly neighbours, Boynside, to book their place in the final. Ballygar from Co. Galway, who won a clean sweep of Connaught titles earlier in the year, easily overcame Killoughey in straight ends to win the national novice title at 720kg. Saltmill from Co. Wexford defeated Boyneside to win the bronze medal.

Clonmines, national champions at U23 640kg

The three teams who took part in the U23 640kg championship were Clonmines, Doyles Corner & Saltmills. There was very little between the teams with Clonmines eventually winning the gold medal and Saltmills taking the silver medal. Well done to all three U23 teams. The first round of the ladies 405kg and 435kg leagues also took place as seven teams took part. Connemara finished the day on top of the 435kg league with Boyneside second and Renvyle third.

Tatch Bar, joint first place in the ladies 405kg league

Tatch Bar and Canavans, both from Co. Galway finished joint first in the 405 league with Ballinagh from Co. Cavan in third place. Well done to all the ladies teams, round 2 will take place in Westmeath on the 11th of July.

See full results on our Results page.

Click here to see photos from yesterday’s national championship in Gortletteragh (note: there are two pages of photos).

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The first round of the national outdoor championships kicked off today in Roundford, Co. Mayo. The day was a good success with nineteen clubs competing; Ballygar, Ballinagh, Boyneside, Brideswell, Bryanstown, Clonmines, Connemara, Doyles Corner, Grove, Gills, Gortletteragh, Killoughey, Lakehill, Lavalley, Stapeltons, Taughmaconnell, the Lodge, Tatch Bar & Renvyle.

Lakehill, national senior catchweight champions

Seven teams took part in the senior catchweight competition. Lakehill continued their good form after winning the international event in Switzerland last weekend by topping the group with maximum points. They were joined in the final by Connaught rivals, Gortletteragh. The final was an even contest but Lakehill had a little extra power as they won the senior catchweight title with a straight end victory.

Bryanstown, national Div 2 catchweight champions

The teams who qualified for the Div 2 final were Bryanstown from Co. Wexford and Killoughey from Co. Offaly. It was a great achievement for the Killoughey team to reach a Div 2 final in only their first season but the Wexford men had a little more experience as they went on to win the gold medal.

Ballygar, winners of the non-championship 680kg competition

Eleven teams took part in the non-championship 680kilo competition which was run in two groups. There was some even pulling in this competition but the teams who qualified for the semi finals were Ballygar, Doyles Corner, Stapeltons & Taughmaconnell. Ballygar, who also pulled well in Switzerland last weekend qualified for the final with a straight end victory over neighbours, Doyles Corner. Stapeltons, also from Co. Galway enjoyed a victory over Taughmaconnell from Co. Roscomman to join Ballygar the final. However, it was the strong Ballygar team who went on to win the gold medal with a straight end victory. Doyles Corner who have greatly improved in their first season enjoyed a sweet third end deciding victory over Connaught rivals, Taughmaconnell to win the bronze medal.

Connemara, winners of the non-championship ladies competition

Ladies Tug of War is developing well under the guidance of Liaison officer, Tracey Smith, with five teams competiting in today’s non-championship competition. These teams were, Ballinagh, Boyneside, Connemara, Tatch Bar and Renvyle. This was an enjoyable competition with some even pulling but it was the Connemara team who ran out winners with maximum points to win the gold medal. Boyneside from Co. Offaly won silver as Tatch Bar from Ballygar, Co. Galway won bronze.

Click here to see full results from today’s national championship in Roundfort.

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

Click here to see more photos from today’s national championship in Roundfort courtesy of John McManus photography.

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With the provincial championships drawing to a close, the Lavalley club are getting ready to host the first national outdoor championship of the season at the Roundfort Agricultural show near Ballinrobe in Co. Mayo on Sunday next the 13th of June.

Lavalley Tug of War team

This championship sees the return of the open catchweight competition where the senior and Div 2 titles will be decided. There will be a non-championship 680kilo novice competition (gold, silver & bronze medals presented). A 6-a-side ladies non-championship catchweight fixture has also been added (gold, silver & bronze medals presented). The weigh-in for the 680kg novice is from 11:30 – 12:30 with the competition commencing at 1pm. If a number of novice teams wish to enter both the 680kg open and the open catchweight then both competitions will not run at the same time. Entry for pullers into the show is EUR5.

Click here for further information on the 2010 outdoor championship.

Click here to see photos from the Connaught championship finale in Knockmore, Co. Mayo on Sunday the 30th May. Thanks again to John McManus Photography for sending on this link.

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