Irish Tug of War

Click here to see the first end of the 600kg final between Boley & Gortletteragh.

Click here to see the second end.

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The second round of the national outdoor championships took place today at the Strawberry fair in Dundalk, Co. Louth. There was a good turnout of teams and a large number of spectators present who were treated to an excellent days competition in fine weather conditions. The clubs who competed were Araglin, Ballinagh, Ballinastoe, Boley, Boyneside, Burren, Brideswell, Canavans, Clonmines, Donoughmore, Fairywater, Farrenreigh, Glenhill, Gortletteragh, Killoughey, Lakehill, Taughmaconnell, Stapeltons & Rockies.

Gortletteragh, national senior champions at 600kg

Nine teams took part in the senior 600kg competition. Boley pulled very strongly in this event and defeated the defending champions, Gortletteragh in the last pull of the round robin to finish top with maximum points. They were joined in the semi finals by Gortletteragh, Glenhill & Lakehill. Gortletteragh were too strong for Connaught rivals, Lakehill in the first semi final and they were joined in the final by Boley who enjoyed a comfortable victory over Glenhill. The large crowd were treated to some top class pulling in the final with very little between the teams and no movement in the rope at the 5 min mark. At this stage weaknesses began to appear in the Boley team as they picked up 3 straight cautions for locking the rope resulting in disqualification at the 9 minute mark.

Killoughey, national Div 2 champions at 600kg

Boley attacked early in the second end and won around a meter of rope but Gortletteragh held their shape well and countered the attack of the Wexford men as they moved back the rope with precision and power to win the gold medal and retain the 600kg national senior title. Lakehill defeated Glenhill to win the bronze medal. Ballinagh who won last years 600kg novice title on their home patch qualified for the the Div 2 final this year and were joined by Killoughey, winners of the 2010 novice title. This was another entertaining contest which went to a third and decided end before being eventually won by Killoughey the Offaly team.

Stapeltons, national champions 600kg novice

Nine teams also competed in the novice 600kg championship as Boyneside, Burren, Farrenreigh & Stapeltons progressed to the semi final stages. The strong team from the Burren defeated Boyneside in the first semi final to go through to the final. Farrenreigh from Co. Tipperary were making their debut at national level and pulled very well to qualify for the semi final but just fell a little short against the experienced Stapeltons team from Co. Galway. The final was another close contest but it was Stapeltons who went on to win the gold medal and the national title with a straight end victory over the Burren. Boyneside defeated Farrenreigh to win the bronze medal.

Boyneside, winners of round 1 of 405kg & 435kg league

The first round of the ladies 6-a-side leagues were also held today in Dundalk. Boyneside who won silver in last year’s 405kg league got this years event off to a fine start picking up maximum points with Canavans from Co. Galway a close second and Ballinastoe from Co. Wicklow finishing third. Boyneside rounded off another great day for the club by also taking the maximum 7 points from round 1 of the 435kg league. Ballinastoe were second taking 6 points and Brideswell who were third get the 5 points. See the ladies league tables after the first round on the League tables page.

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

Click here to see photos from today’s championship in Dundalk (note: there are 2 pages of photos).

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A good turnout of teams enjoyed pleasant weather conditions at today’s opening national outdoor championship of the season which was held at the Clonakilty Agricultural show in Co. Cork.

Lakehill, national senior catchweight champions

The clubs who attended were Araglin, Ballinagh, Ballyhooly, Boyneside, Boley, Clonmines, Cuan Rithe, Donoughmore, Glenhill, Harps, Hillview, Killoughey, Lakehill, Lavalley, Lough Arrow, North Clare, Rathkeale & The Shop. Six teams took part in the senior catchweight competition. Lakehill, who lost this title last year pulled well to finish top of the group after the round robin. The Mayo team easily overcame Donoughmore in the semi final to qualify for the final.

Glenhill, national champions, Div 2 catchweight

They were joined in the final by rivals, Boley who defeated neighbours, Clonmines in the second semi final. There was very little between the teams in the final but it was Lakehill who had a little extra power as they went on to win their first national title of the season with a straight end victory. Clonmines defeated Donoughmore to win the bronze medal. Glenhill from Watergrasshill in Cork defeated Lavalley from Co. Mayo to win the Div 2 title. Seven teams took part in a good novice catchweight competition as Araglin from Co. Cork & The Shop from Co. Tipperary made their debuts at national level.

Boyneside, national champions, novice catchweight

The ever improving Boyneside club from Co. Offaly pulled well to top the round robin and went on to defeat the Shop to qualify for the final. They were joined in the final by Offaly neighbours, Killoughey who overcame Cuan Rithe in the second semi final. The final was another close contest but it was the determined Boyneside men who overcame their rivals with a straight end victory to win their first ever national title. The Shop defeated Cuan Rithe to win the bronze medal.

Hillview, national champions, youth 425kg

Four teams took part in the Youth 6-a-side 425kg competition. They were joined in that competition by Boynside & Donoughmore ladies. The newly affiliated Hillview club from Co. Offaly pulled very well and they went on to win the gold medal by defeating Lough Arrow from Co. Sligo in the final. Local club, Harps defeated the newly affiliated Rathkeale from Co. Limerick to win the bronze medal. The youth 420kg league will begin in Taughmaconnell, Co. Roscomman on the 8th of July.

Clonmines, winners of round 1 of the U23 league

The first round of the U23 league was also held today as five teams competed for the points. Clonmines from Co. Wexford were very strong as they finished top taking the full 7 points. Killoughey were second and get the 6 points as Ballinagh who finished third get 5 points. The league table after round 1 can be found on the League Tables page. The second round of the league also takes place in Taughmaconnell on the 8th of July.

See full results from today’s championship on the Results page.

Click here to see photos from the championship in Clonakilty (Note: there are 3 pages of photos). Thanks to Pat Lee and others who took photos for website!

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A team graded Novice or Div 2 cannot pull in the weights (at their grade) at which they previously won a national championship unless they have 8 new pullers. Click here to see a list of national championship winners at Novice & Div 2 since 2008.

Sunday morning weigh-in is from 10:30 – 12:30 with first pull at 1pm. Details of Saturday evening weigh-ins will follow.

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