BADMINTON

Junior Griffin

THE Kerry Badminton Association officers met at the River Island Hotel, Castleisland on Tuesday last to launch a new perpetual cup which will be presented to the winners of the division 3 mixed doubles league competition and to honour the services that he has given to Kerry Badminton over many years this trophy will be known as the Billy Lacey Perpetual Cup. Mr. Lacey was in attendance for the occasion.

Tralee native but Castleisland Club member Billy Lacey first made his name as a player winning his first county title in 1989 which was the division 5 men’s doubles title with Tom Palmer.

Over the next 20 years the winning of titles kept rolling in which included the division 4 mixed doubles in 1990; the division 2 men’s singles in 1994; the division 1 mixed doubles in 1998 with Helen Twomey which was followed by 2 division 1 men’s doubles wins with partners Tom Bourke and Eric Nelligan in 2003 and 2008 respectively.

On the Munster front he won no less than four Munster junior titles over the years which included the singles crown in 2002 and, indeed, the following year he, with Tom Bourke, were runners up in the Munster senior 2 men’s doubles final.

That same year of 2003 saw Billy playing the pivotal role on the winning Kerry Brewster Cup team by winning the mens

Kerry Badminton chairman Junior Griffin, on the left, presenting the Billy Lacey Peputual Cup to Billy Lacey, along with Brid Murphy, Secretary of Kerry Badminton, at the launch in Castleisland last week.