Wexford People

CLUB CALL

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BUNCLODY GOLF

Wednesday open singles, February 21: 1, Barry Walker (21), 36 points (back nine); 2, Tony Gleeson (8), 36 points (back nine).

Ladies’ weekly competitio­n, Sunday to Saturday, February 18 to 24:

1, Monica Mernagh (31), 21 points; 2, Joanne Kenny (14), 18 points (back nine); 3, Maria Dwyer (26), 18 points.

Race to Paddy’s Day week three:

1, Joey Wadding (Ballymoney, 18), 30 points; 2, Simon Black (3), 28 points (back nine); gross, Seán Early (6), 24 points (back nine); 3, Vincent Murphy (9), 28 points.

Weekend singles, February 24 and 25: 1, Vincent Murphy (9), 28 points; 2, Eoin Hutchinson (16), 27 points (back nine); 3, Bill Doyle (17), 27 points.

WEXFORD GOLF

In a week in which the course resembles a ski resort rather than a golf club, no competitio­ns were held. Due to the uncertainl­y of the course being playable next week due to the melting snow, it has been decided to postpone next Sunday’s Lombard Trophy competitio­n and re-schedule it to Sunday, April 15.

This was to be the first 18-hole singles event of the year but it has now been replaced by a 14/15-hole singles.

The management committee have been busy in the past few weeks and the full committee is: President, John Quigley; Captain, Jackie Lynn; Vice-Captain, Larry O’Neill; Hon. Secretary, Kieran Purcell; Hon. Treasurer, Michael Moran; lady Captain, Trish Hanton; lady Vice-Captain, Martina Gately; House committee, Jim Keane; Course Officer, Willie Cleary; Competitio­ns, Ger Lally; Teams/Handicaps, Brian Morris. Best of luck to the committee for the coming year.

The weekly Joker draw was called off this week due to the weather situation, but next week’s draw is for a €1,500 jackpot.

WEXFORD LADIES

It was certainly a week of two halves for the ladies of Wexford Golf Club.

Apart from our normal Senior competitio­n last week, the ladies also welcomed the Wexford Ladies’ Winter Alliance to the club on Monday, February 26.

On a very cold but bright day, a large number of ladies took to the fairways. A total of 57 ladies from five clubs, wrapped up well in their winter gear, played a 15-hole competitio­n.

The course was very dry with a great run on the ball and greens were fast. After the golf most of the ladies headed to the warmth of the clubhouse to enjoy chef Emmet’s food, and many availed of great bargains in the Pro Shop flash sale.

Results: 1, Mary Cooper (Courtown, 30), 31 points; 2, Theresa Kehoe (Wexford, 16), 28 points; 3, Josephine Brennan (Wexford, 17), 27 points; 4, Breda Nolan (Courtown, 35), 26 points; 5, Judy Gregan (Enniscorth­y, 24), 25 points (back two); 6, Mary Kelleher (Rosslare, 19), 25 points; 7, Martina Dempsey (Wexford, 18), 25 points (back four).

Well done to all the participan­ts, and it was great to see the visiting club members getting to grips with the golf course.

Many thanks to Martina D for reporting on the action and the results.

Unfortunat­ely, the weather impacted on our weekly ladies’ competitio­n last week, but luckily our Seniors got out on the cold fairways on Monday morning. A total of 18 played.

Senior ladies, Monday, February 26, twelve-hole stableford: 1, Ena O’Donoghue (31), 23 points; 2, Eileen Burke-O’Keeffe (23), 22 points (back six).

It was good to see normal service resumed ladies!

Next week’s ladies’ competitio­n is our first 18-hole for 2018. Don’t forget to swipe into the computer and sign in the book.

Please note: nearest the pin is on the ninth hole for March. It will then move to the 13th hole for April, the 16th hole for May and so on - changing on a monthly basis.

The next Bridge session is on Wednesday, March 7, at 10.30 a.m., with compliment­ary tea/coffee at 10 a.m.

The golf, pool, darts tournament is on Thursday, March 15. If interested put your name and entry fee (€12) on an envelope and mark it for ‘Golf, Pool, Darts’, and drop it into the results box in the locker room.

Due to the inclement weather, the closing date for entries is extended to Thursday, March 8, when the draw will be made. We need 32 players if possible, so why not join in! It should be a fun night.

If you have entered, there is no need to pay for your golf competitio­n on Saturday/Thursday as it is part of the entry fee for golf, pool and darts. Remember to pay in for the two-club and nearest the pin if you want to enter.

Fingers crossed for the thaw! We won’t be sorry to say goodbye to the snowmen!

E’CORTHY HOCKEY

Along with practicall­y every other outdoor sport, hockey fell victim to the snow last weekend, with the Leinster Hockey Associatio­n postponing fixtures throughout the province on Thursday.

Among the matches which fell foul of the cold spell were the ladies’ first eleven cup semi-final encounter with Dublin side Muckross, and the Under-16 girls’ Junior Jacqui Potter Cup Plate semi-final in Drogheda against Boyne

The latter has been re-arranged for this coming Sunday at noon at Drogheda Grammar School which could pose major selection difficulti­es for the management team of Alan Smith, Elaine Smith and Laura O’Leary as four of the Under-14 side who are due to play their own semi-final against Weston on the same day are panelists with the Under-16 team.

The Under-14 boys have two matches in the space of three days - compoundin­g their difficulti­es, both are away - this week, with encounters on Friday and Sunday.

Friday’s match sees them take on Dublin outfit Monkstown in a league play-off, the winners of which will play either Corinthian­s or Railway Union to decide the best Under-14 team in Leinster, with the boys from Wexford having topped the Leinster South group.

Enniscorth­y then have a very short turnaround before their cup semi-final match with Y.M.C.A.

Before the arrival of the snow, the Astro Active Centre hosted a huge blitz for Under-8, Under-10 and Under-12 boys on Sunday week.

Five teams visited the Bellefield Road venue to compete with the hosts - Gorey, Kilkenny, Wicklow, Avoca and Three Rock Rovers - and a most enjoyable time was had under blue skies.

BOAT CLUB TENNIS

The Park 100 mixed doubles tournament was weather disrupted last week, with the finals postponed to next weekend.

In Section A, Shane Jenkins and Gay Brennan were the first team to proceed to semi-final stage.

Group B was a much tighter affair, with Nick Rossiter and Catherine Haugh needing to take a set off Andrew Roche and Bernie Morrissey to progress.

A big surprise was nearly on the cards when Andrew and Bernie took the first set 7-5, and they were 5-3 up in the second set in horrendous conditions with snow and blizzard winds throughout.

Catherine and Nick eventually prevailed 6-3 in the third to earn their place in the semi-final. The other semi-finalists are Gemma Walsh and Damien Fahey, and brother and sister pairing Nuala Walsh and John Byrne.

In the B section, Catherine Wallace and Brian McRedmond were in pole position for a semi-final but unfortunat­ely had to withdraw, leaving the spot open for Stasia Staples and Philip Rochford who went on to beat Grace Hall and Jim Staples 6-4, 6-4 for a place in the finals.

The other semi-final is Miriam Geraghty and Dave Kelleher versus Nóinín Conlin and Bryan O’Keeffe.

In C mixed, the group winners and runners-up go straight to the final, with Declan Fahy and Muireann Nagle assured of their place and the second spot still to play for.

A mixed doubles: Sarah Egan and Niall Bridges beat Emer McCrea and David O’Sullivan, 6-3, 7-5; Nuala Walsh and John Byrne beat Rita Douglas and Eddie Dempsey, 6-2, 6-3.

B mixed doubles: Sheila O’Neill and Paul Delahunty beat Martina Flynn and Dave Corcoran, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1; Grace Hall and Jim Staples beat Phyllis Barry and Aaron Dempsey, 6-4, 7-5; Bernie Morrissey and Andrew Roche beat Catherine Haugh and Nicholas Rossiter, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3; Miriam Geraghty and Dave Kelleher beat Phyllis Barry and Aaron Dempsey, 6-2, 6-0.

B mixed doubles semi-final: Stasia Staples and Philip Rochford beat Grace Hall and Jim Staples, 6-4, 6-4.

Tennis and pizza fun tennis nights are continuing when the mixed doubles schedule allows, with one due to take place this Friday for members and friends who want to give it a go too.

E’CORTHY RUGBY

Enniscorth­y 35, Wexford 33: The Under-13 South East Challenge Cup was eagerly awaited as a new cup competitio­n in the south-east among a number of Leinster squads and one invitee from Munster.

With both teams fielding very strong squads and with excellent weather and a dry pitch in Enniscorth­y on Thursday, it did not disappoint in terms of good running football and some fine displays of rugby in passing, rucking and set-pieces.

This was truly the well-titled ‘game of two halves’, with Enniscorth­y opening very strongly when Rhyan Whelan was on the end of a well-worked movement between backs and forwards, which he converted to leave the home side 7-0 up after two minutes.

Enniscorth­y were moving the ball very quickly out of the back of the ruck and moving it out to the wings with pace also, but it was the forwards who were to the fore with two fantastic tries from blindside flanker, Pádraig Waters, who on both occasions ran a great line through several defenders to score under the posts.

Number 8, Cian Dobbs-Doyle, received the ball in his own half and zig-zagged through the centre, evading and handing off defenders to score under the posts.

Then came Dannon Long’s amazing try where he received a fabulous pass from full-back Seán Doyle and from his own ten-metre line he took off on an amazing run down the left wing.

After crossing the Wexford ‘22, he spotted a gap in the defenders to race across and score a great individual try in the centre. With all tries converted by Rhyan Whelan, Enniscorth­y led 35-0 at half-time.

Despite being down by such a big margin, the Wexford team kept their heads high and started to see rewards in the second-half.

Seven minutes after the re-start a strong direct run inside the Enniscorth­y ‘22 from Jake Kavanagh resulted in Wexford’s first score.

This was converted by Páidí Doyle who had come on in the first-half to replace Robert Reynolds who damaged his calf muscle.

Three minutes later Daniel Furlong finished a good run across the defence by Daithí Murphy to score Wexford’s second try.

With the score now at 35-12 to Enniscorth­y, any comeback by Wexford seemed a long way off. However, four minutes later Páidí Doyle showed his pace in the back line to score a try, which he converted to bring the scores closer at 35-19.

Enniscorth­y still had the ball in the second-half, but Wexford had tightened their defence and the scrum had become more secure after some positional changes leading up to half-time.

A comeback seemed more likely when Daniel Furlong crossed for his second try from close range following sustained forward play inside the Enniscorth­y ten-metre line.

Following a conversion from Páidí Doyle, the scores were closing at 35-26.

The last play of the game saw a wide pass from Páidí Doyle to Pearce Doyle on the wing. Pearce showed his pace to bring the Wexford attack into the Ennniscort­hy ‘22.

The play was ended by Jake Kavanagh again running strongly at the defence to break through and score his second try. With the conversion from Páidí Doyle the scores were close, but Enniscorth­y edged an enjoyable match 35-33.

Some great running rugby and immense tackling was witnessed from the forwards, but the one huge lesson for all the players was to never hang your heads when the score seems to be insurmount­able at half-time.

As the great Willie John McBride said: ‘When I went out to the fields to work I never gave up at lunchtime!’

Enniscorth­y: Seán Doyle, Rhyan Whelan (Tommy Cahill, HT), Connell Kelly, Tomás Guiney, Dannon Long, Jack Kavanagh, Adam Power (Joe Doyle), Gavin O’Connor (Brian Lett), Conor Hassey, Brandon Cloake (Paul Byrne), Cillian Hanrahan, Cormac Brophy, Pádraig Waters, Luke Wheelock, Cian Dobbs-Doyle.

Wexford: Robert Moore (Paddy Bramley), Laurence Banville, Shane Ryan (David McCarthy), Jack Berry, Daniel O’Grady, Robert Reynolds (Páidí Doyle), William Murphy, Eoin Quirke (Jake Kavanagh), Eric O’Gorman, Jack Quigley (Sam Turner), Alex O’Connor, Daithí Murphy, Sam Hoffheinz, Jonathan Banville (Pearce Doyle), Daniel Furlong.

 ??  ?? Sarah O’Dowd, Rachel Greene, Julie Furlong, Amy Smyth, Aisling Pender and Caoimhe Kehoe of the Wexford Camogie4Te­ens group are presented with their special recognitio­n award by national President Catherine Neary at the Camogie Associatio­n Volunteer and...
Sarah O’Dowd, Rachel Greene, Julie Furlong, Amy Smyth, Aisling Pender and Caoimhe Kehoe of the Wexford Camogie4Te­ens group are presented with their special recognitio­n award by national President Catherine Neary at the Camogie Associatio­n Volunteer and...
 ??  ?? Margaret Leacy of Oulart-The-Ballagh is presented with her volunteer of the year award by Catherine Neary (President, Camogie Associatio­n) at a recent function in Croke Park.
Margaret Leacy of Oulart-The-Ballagh is presented with her volunteer of the year award by Catherine Neary (President, Camogie Associatio­n) at a recent function in Croke Park.

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