Medals on the world stage for Kimberley
DROGHEDA native Kimberley Irwin and the Irish ladies team won bronze at both the DTL European and World Clay Pigeon Championships which ran concurrently at Esker Shooting Grounds in Banagher, Galway. She was sixth overall, the best-placed Irish competitor, in the Worlds.
In athletics, a lifetime best throw earned Jonathan Commins (Ardee & District AC) bronze in the Under-16 shot putt at the National Track & Field Championships.
Ian Richardson’s wonderful year in cycling continued as he achieved a dramatic overall victory in the Suir Valley Pro-Am three-day four-stage race in Clonmel, before he landed an All-Ireland Track 4,000m Team Pursuit title as part of the UCD squad.
‘New sponsor is Integral to Drogs’ push for promotion’, said the headline, as Drogheda United announced a new sponsorship deal with Integral Fitness & Leisure.
On the field, Pete Mahon turned 69 the day after his team’s home game against Cabinteely but must have felt he’d aged far more after Drogheda laboured to a 1-0 win thanks to yet another Aaron Ashe goal.
There were more heart-stopping moments the following week when Drogheda coughed up leads of 2-0 and 3-1 before drawing with Limerick in a thrilling but controversial clash in United Park. Sean Brennan and Gareth McCaffrey scored the first two, but the biggest roar was reserved for Marc Griffin after he finally broke his duck for the year.
More points were dropped when Sean Brennan’s goal in UCD was cancelled out late on, and that left Drogheda in third spot in the Division 1 table with one full round of games still to be played, but when the Students lost the following week the Boynesiders leapfrogged them after a 3-1 win in Waterford.
The new Leinster Senior League and NEFL seasons were just beginning and Drogheda Town announced that their home ground would now be called Blackstone Motors Marian Park as part of a new sponsorship deal. NEFL title hopefuls Newfoundwell kicked off their season with a brace of 2-1 wins against Kingscourt Harps and Trim Celtic.
Boyne Rovers ladies, who won the 2015 All-Ireland Shield competition, defeated Cork side Lakewood 3-2 to qualify for the FAI Intermediate Cup decider, with Kate Gerrard scoring their winning goal.
Defending All-Ireland champions Kilkenny proved a bridge too far for Laytown & Bettystown’s golfers in the Leinster Final of the Fred Daly competition for Under-18 boys. County Louth’s Thomas Mulligan was one of only five Irishmen competing in a 252-strong field of players from 23 countries at the Boys Amateur Championship at Muirfield. He was the bestplaced Irishman in the tournament.
The evergreen Nuala Reilly did herself and Drogheda & District AC proud when earning silver in her category at the National Half-Marathon Championships and her clubmates Roisin Coade, Erin McHugh, Mags Nugent and Mary Leech landed the National Masters 4x400m track relay title in Tullamore, with the men’s team runners-up in their race. Keiron Kelly of Dunleer AC successfully defended his Gaelforce West title.
Caoimhe Murphy was selected to train at boxing’s High Performance unit in Dublin after the Drogheda BC fighter and her clubmate Gabriela Simkute both landed All-Ireland titles.
Former Gloucester, Munster and Connacht rugby winger Shane Monahan, from Mornington, was preparing to step into the cage for his first mixed martial arts fight, having signed up for the ‘Wimp 2 Warrior’ challenge.
It was a case of ‘like father, like son’ in Macedonia when promising Drogheda basketball player Robert Sullivan - son of former senior international Ken Sullivan - starred for Ireland at the European Under-18 Championships, hitting 11 three-point shots during the tournament.
Clogherhead native Jack McCullough enhanced his growing reputation for open-water swimming when winning a number of medals during a very productive month. Pick of the bunch was winning the overall prize in the Tyrone Triton Open Sea Race over a distance of almost 5km.
Stackallen claimed the club’s first league success since 2010 when claiming victory over Portmarnock’s third team in the Dublin Mixed Finals.