The finals for Oriel’s National Qualifiers took place last Sunday night with some fantastic games played throughout the night, with each section winner qualifying for the final tournament in Belfast.
Open Singles
In Section A Stephen McMahon beat Marty Trainor in an all-Cooley affair, Declan McKeown from Crossmaglen overcame Paul Duff of Corduff in section B, Colm Minnock from Redeemer won against Magheracloone’s Niall Martin in section C and Cooley’s Paddy Hanlon beat Michael Hand from Corduff in section D.
Open Pairs
In section A Marty Trainor and Seán Breen from Cooley beat out Jim Fox and Michael Hand from Corduff to qualify. In section B Jason Hand and Paul Duff from Corduff beat Finbarr Mullin and Fra Dillon to get through, and finally Diarmuid McMahon and Shane Hand of Corduff got the win against the Cooley pair of John Murnaghan and Stephen McMahon in section C.
Open Trips
In section A John Murnaghan, Seán Breen and Marty Trainor from Cooley made a comeback to beat David McGuinness, Colm Minnock and Finbarr Mullin of Redeemer by the minimum, and in section B Corduff’s Jason Hand, Shane Hand and Paul Duff came through a tight game against Gerry McCabe, Paddy Hanlon and Stephen McMahon from Cooley.
Open Rinks
In section A it took a measure in the very last end, but Michael Hand, Jason Hand, Shane Hand and Paul Duff from Corduff got the win against Finbarr Mullin, Sean Conroy, Fra Dillon and Kevin Conroy from Redeemer. In a nip and tuck game in section B between two Cooley Rinks, Mícheál Savage, John Murnaghan, Seán Breen and Marty Trainor got a decisive 5 points in the second last end to beat Gerry McCabe, Ronan Hanlon, Stephen McMahon and Paddy Hanlon.
Mixed Pairs
It was all Corduff match-ups in the mixed pairs finals. In section A Claire Corrigan and Shane Hand beat Emma Colgan and Paul Duff in a close game, while Lily Comisky and Michael Hand got the win against Rosie Colgan and Diarmuid McMahon in section B.
Women’s Singles
In Section A Monina Birch from Kilcurry came out on top against Philomena Reel of Silverbridge and Emma Colgan of Corduff beat Imelda Hanratty of Killanny, to be the two qualifiers.
Women’s Pairs
Imelda Hanratty and Gill Rouiller of Killanny managed to beat out Fiona Corrigan and Rachel Brennan of Corduff, Rosie Colgan and Emma Colgan of Corduff and Briege Duffy and Bernie Cunningham of Kilcurry to qualify for Belfast.
Women’s Trips
Olivia Cunningham, Anne Murphy and Mary Carthy of Kilkerley beat out the combined Redeemer/Corduff team of Fiona Corrigan, Mary O’Hare and Rachel Brennan to qualify for the National tournament.
Mae Flanagan Memorial Over 55’s Pairs
In the semi finals Noel Mackin and Anthony Reel of Cullyhanna beat Killanny’s John McMahon and Enda Traynor, while Jim Fox and Michael Hand of Corduff beat Greg Marron and Michael Cunningham of Killanny. Both finalists qualify for the National tournament in Belfast but there was still the Mae Flanagan trophy on the line. In the last end Anthony and Noel had a 2 point advantage, but before the last bowl Jim and Michael were holding 3 shots. However Anthony was able to cut it down to 1 shot with his last bowl and so the Cullyhanna pair were able to come out with the victory.
Junior Singles
In the under 18’s section In section A Paudie Boyle from Corduff beat out Chloe Dykstra from Greenhills, while in Section B Liam McArdle from Crossmaglen beat Chris Corrigan from Corduff.
Junior Pairs
In this all Corduff match it ended up going all the way to a tie-breaker, with Shane Hanratty and Rosie Colgan eventually getting the win against John Finlas and Paudie Boyle.
Congratulations to all the winners and we wish them the best as they represent Oriel in the National tournament in Belfast!
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