Sport

Enniscorthy’s Derby connection

Everyone at Enniscorthy Greyhound Track was thrilled that Thorn Falcon recently won the English greyhound Derby. The winner was bred by Wexford man Joe Devlin so congratulations to him on breeding such a top class greyhound. A spokesperson for Enniscorthy Track said, “When we see a dog that was bred in Wexford go on to win such a coveted trophy, it shows the strength of greyhounds in the south east. Congratulations again to all connections from everyone at Enniscorthy Greyhound Track.” n

Enniscorthy’s Sean Cooper was crowned the 2021 Irish Under-14 Boys Golf Champion, at Longford Golf Course last month. Cooper defeated Fota Island’s John Doyle and Belvoir Park’s Evan Hogg in a three-hole playoff, after the trio finished their 36 holes on +3. A brilliant chip from in front of the water hazard on the 18th green saw Cooper almost hole his shot for eagle, but a tap-in birdie proved enough to win the title.

Representing Wexford with pride on the Olympic stage

Congrats to New Ross (Ballykelly) athlete Sophie Becker (pictured right) on reaching the Tokyo Olympics final as part of the 400m mixed relay team. Well done also to all of County Wexford’s other Olympic participants and officials:

Foster Horan from Gorey played on the Irish Rugby Sevens team. Bertram Allen from Enniscorthy competed on the Irish showjumping Olympic team. Michelle O’Neill from Enniscorthy refereed at the football tournament at the Olympics. Deirdre Duke, with strong Ballycanew connections, played hockey for Ireland at the Olympics. Leon Reid of Menapians AC, Wexford, competed strongly in the 200 metres. And Enniscorthy’s Lisa Jacob managed the Irish women’s hockey team. n

Enniscorthy Chamber’s Golf Classic returns

After a sustained period of lockdown, Enniscorthy and District Chamber of Commerce believes the time is right for a little fun and relaxation. So its annual Golf Classic is making a welcome return and the Chamber hopes as many as possible will join in on Friday, September 10th, for a wonderful opportunity to meet and greet old friends. The Classic will take place at Enniscorthy Golf Club and, with the support of AIB Bank, the event will provide an ideal networking opportunity for Chamber members and friends while, at the same time, allowing participants relax and unwind in the lush surrounds of one of the South East’s most challenging golf courses. Every effort is being made to make this year’s Classic really special and with some wonderful prizes on offer, it promises to be an occasion not to be missed. The Classic is traditionally well supported by the business community as it is the major fundraising event undertaken annually by the Chamber of Commerce. Hopefully, this year will prove no exception despite the many challenges brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic. The need for a strong and vibrant Chamber was never greater and with the support of the business community and friends of the Chamber, it will continue to be an authoritive voice.

This year’s Classic on September 10th is much later than in previous years and with the long summer evenings drawing to a close, would-be participants are advised to book early in order to avoid disappointment as times are limited.

Enniscorthy Ladies Golf - Open Week

Some results from Open Week:

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Ladies Singles, Ladies Open S/F Sponsor: John T Delaney Competition Date: 26th July 2021 Number Played: 17

H/C Score 1st Catherine Creane 36 49pts 2nd Eilish Nolan 41 44pts ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Ladies Singles, Ladies Open S/F Sponsor: Jennings Opticians Competetion Date: 27th July 2021 Number Played: 52

H/C Score 1st Margaret Crotty 27 42pts 2nd Clare Lambert 36 41pts (L9) 3rd Lori Whitney 16 41pts (L6) ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Ladies Open S/F Sponsor: Herbie Murphy Competition Date: 29th July 2021 Number Played: 22

H/C Score 1st Patricia Errity 28 41pts 2nd Rachel Fortune 29 40pts ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Enniscorthy Ladies Open Week: Prizewinners in the competition on 27th July: Lori Whitney and Margaret Crotty being presented with their prizes by Lady Captain Meta Cummins. Missing from the photo is Clare Lambert.

Congrats Darragh

Congratulations to Darragh O’Connor from Clonroche on his winning debut on 14th July for Motherwell FC in Scotland.

Darragh recently joined the club from Leicester City.

Local rugby players making the grade

Congratulations to Enniscorthy’s Temi Lasisi who played for Ireland’s U-20s in the recent U-20 Six Nations championship. The U-20 championship is seen as a crucial pathway for players’ development as they begin their journey into senior professional rugby. Congrats also to Enniscorthy’s Aoife Wafer, Mia Kelly, Katie Whelan and Ciara Boland on recently making the U-18 Leinster squad.

Congrats to Gorey’s Paul Boyle who won his first international rugby cap for Ireland against the USA last month. Paul is pictured on right with his Connacht teammate Caolin Blade.

Yola FC – ready to participate

Last month in Bunclody, where Yola FC currently train, Tony Doyle from Creane & Creane Insurance presented playing kit and training gear to the club’s under-seventeen academy squad members and coaches.

The newly formed Yola FC has been in training since restrictions were lifted and look on themselves as an alternative option for players who, for whatever reason, did not step up to League of Ireland this season.

As highlighted in the media last year, Yola FC applied for a licence to participate in the League of Ireland at all levels but were unsuccessful for a variety of reasons, but are preparing to apply again for the 2022 season for its male and female teams at 14s, 15s, 17s, 19s and for senior men and ladies.

Plans are already being put in place for this application and a spokesperson for the club told us that, “Last season this application was portrayed to be an effort to remove Wexford FC from the league, but that is not the case, and while Yola may have a different ethos than Wexford FC, Yola recognises the great work and effort made by the current LOI club and wish it the best of luck for many years to come.” The ethos of Yola FC is to have a majority of all squads drawn from Wexford based players, and then from surrounding counties. A spokesperson says, “We very much want Yola FC to be seen as a Wexford club, for Wexford players.” The spokesperson went on to say, “We are very aware of the challenges that face any club in the LOI but Yola have several strong Wexford football people involved, both at coaching and administration levels, that will bring a badly needed local focus to a club from the county and surrounding areas participating in football at the highest level in the country.” Further details will become available in the coming months as Yola’s application progresses, but for the moment the initial U-17 academy will continue to train and prepare to participate at the highest level. n

The Inaugural Marie Lynch Memorial Tournament

There was certainly a heavenly smile on one lady’s face recently as her granddaughter Aoife Walsh collected the trophy on behalf of Rapparees who were the outright winners of the U-10 camogie tournament in memory of the late Marie Lynch at Bellefield on Saturday 31st July. In beautiful August sunshine, teams from all over the District and beyond competed in the inaugural event sponsored by Brian Walsh Hurleys and organised by event manager extraordinaire, Colm Sunderland, and his team of dedicated workers.

Twelve teams competed in all from Rapparees, Cloughbawn, Davidstown, Monageer, St. Ibars, St. Pats, Marshaltown, Oulart, with some clubs bringing two teams to the event. The U-12 Cup was won by Cloughbawn beating Monageer in a most entertaining final. The level of skill and the standard of hurling on the day is indicative of the massive amount of work being done in all of the clubs with our young female hurlers and augurs well for the future of camogie in the county. The Lynch family, Paul, Lisa, Wendy and Mark were delighted with the turnout in their late mother’s memory saying that as a woman who dedicated her life and time to the GAA and in particular the club, she would have been chuffed to see so many young people enjoying themselves at Bellefield while playing the game of camogie. Marie was responsible for the care and washing of all the jerseys of the Rapparees/Starlights Club for over thirty years and one of the main promoters of our weekly lotto. The club was her life, along with her beloved Paul and her children, and I think we can safely say that we will never see her likes again. We would like to thank all who contributed to the occasion particularly our young female referees and those who ran the shops and sold the Split the Pot envelopes, and especially Colm Sunderland for making it a very fitting tribute to a very special lady, Marie Lynch RIP.

Above: Rapparees, winners of the inaugural U-10 Marie Lynch Memorial Camogie Tournament.

Right: Susan, Kate and Colm Sunderland (event organiser).

Below: Cloughbawn, winners of the U-12 Marie Lynch Memorial Camogie Tournament.

All pics: Maria Nolan.