Badminton in Offaly: Gortnamona are big winners

Mucklagh Community Centre was filled with enthusiastic noise, badminton players, their coaches, parents, and friends when the Offaly National Schools Blitz was held. Fourteen teams representing 14 schools, the most schools ever to compete.

But not every school had a team. Coolanarney were able to field 4 teams, Rahan 3 teams, and Gortnamona 2 teams, Ballyboy and Pollagh 1 team each. Broughall had to borrow a player from Scoil Mhuire, Tullamore for their team. Boher, Scoil Bhride, Clara, St. Francis Boys School, Clara, Scoil Mhuire, Tullamore, Scoil Eoin Phoile II, Tullamore, St. Coleman’s Mucklagh, Mountbolus, and Clonaslee all contributed 1 or 2 players to create teams. The teams played in 2 age groups, Over10 with 9 teams and 10 and Under with 5 teams.

Over 10 qualifying matches

Three teams were seeded directly into the championship and 2 into the Plate. The remaining 4 teams played for their positions. Qualifier 1 pitted Coolanarney B against Rahan 2. Ava O’Malley and Grace Maher, Coolanarney met Evan Craven and Dylan Kearney, Rahan. Point for point the score went up as the shuttle went back and forth. On the last stroke of the game, Ava and Grace forced a Rahan error for an 11/10 win. Lauren Grace and Lucy Moris, Coolanarney, were no match for Clodagh Lavin and Sam Bracken and lost 2/11. Grace and Lauren teamed up to defeat Evan and Clodagh 11/5. Dylan and Sam brought the match to 2-all with a win against Ava and Lucy. When points were totalled Rahan came out on top. Coolanarney B went directly into the Plate.

In the second Qualifier, Ballyboy met Clara/Boher. Fiachra Buckley and Jess Mahon got Ballyboy off to a flying start with an 11/3 win against Adam Willis and Ross Byrne. Bláthnaid Collins and Ben Doolan rolled up another win for Ballyboy, 11/4, against Millie Marie Kelly and Sean Delaney. Adam and Millie Marie teamed up and took the game to Fiachra and Bláthnaid, but the Ballyboy pair prevailed 11/8. Ross and Sean put a better gloss on the score with an 11/7 win for Clara/Boher against Jess and Aidan Grennan.

Ballyboy faced into another qualifier against Rahan 2 for the 4^th spot in the championship and Clara/Boher entered the Plate. Rahan 2 and Ballyboy played out a 2-all draw, so the decider came down to points. Evan and Dylan, Rahan 2 lost to Fiachra and Jess, Ballyboy 5/11. Ben and Bláthnaid scored another 11/5 victory for Ballyboy. Then Rahan gained control. Evan and Clodagh defeated Fiachra and Bláthnaid 11/9 and Dylan and Sam defeated Jess and Aidan 11/8. When the scores were added, Ballyboy with 39 went into the Championship and Rahan 2 played in the plate.

Over 10 championship

Even though Ballyboy fought hard to gain the prestige of playing in the Championship, they were always going to be at a disadvantage. Coolanarney A, Gortnamona, and Rahan 1 all had 3 players who have represented Offaly in inter-county competitions. Only Jess on the Ballyboy team had played for Offaly.

The Gortnamona team of Reece Treacy, Kate Doyle, Lisa-Marie Newton, and Anna Corroon quickly established themselves as the team to beat. Rahan 1, Conor McEvoy, Max O’Rourke, Charlie Larkin, and Ava Boland didn’t make it easy for Gortnamona. Conor and Max scored 9 against Reece and Kate, and Conor and Charlie scored 9 against Reece and Anna. Charlie and Ava had no answer to Lisa-Marie and Anna and lost by a wide margin. Max ands Ava did better against Lisa-Marie and Kate, scoring 8, but that didn’t stop Gortnamona from winning 4-0.

Ballyboy gave Coolanarney A, Emma Hanlon, Lucy Hanlon, Ronan Lambe, and Katelyn Guinan a fright. Fiachra and Ben held Lucy and Emma off, winning 11/8. Ronan and Katelyn levelled the match with an 11/6 win. The last 2 games went point for point, but each time Ballyboy failed to close the game out and lost 3^rd and 4^th doubles by identical scores, 11/10. Match 3-1 to Coolanarney A.

Coolanarney next faced Rahan. Emma and Lucy started well against Conor and Max, winning 11/6. Charlie and Ava fought a closer game against Ronan and Katelyn, but this time Coolanarney got the final score, 11/10. Conor and Max played Rahan back on track with an 11/4 victory against Emma and Ronan. Lucy and Katelyn stamped their authority on Max and Ava with a slender 11/8 victory. Match score 3-1 for Coolanarney A.

Ballyboy faced Gortnamona next and this proved a tough test. Gortnamona won all 4 games by big margins. There was no let up for Ballyboy. Their next opponents were Rahan 1, with 3 more Offaly players. Ballyboy’s best results were in 2^nd doubles, Bláthnaid and Jess against Max and Ava and 3^rd doubles, Fiachra and Bláthnaid against Conor and Max. Rahan won both games 11/8. The other 2 games went to Rahan 1 by big margins.

The last game in the competition turned into a Final between the top 2 teams. Gortnamona were up by 2 wins, so Coolanarney A needed a big win to claim the winners title. The first game between Reece and Kate, Gortnamona and Emma and Lucy, Coolanarney A was over nearly as soon as it started. Gortnamona won by a big margin. The next two games were very competitive, but Ronan and Kate and Ronan and Emma weren’t able to get past 9, so Lisa-Marie and Anna, and Reece and Anna won. In the final game, Katelyn and Lucy scored 8 to Lisa-Marie and Kate’s 11. With 12 wins, a perfect score, Gortnamona were declared O10 Champions and received a Cup for the school, a Perpetual Shield to keep for the year and gold medals, all sponsored by Paddy Cooney in memory of his late father, Jim Cooney.

Over 10 plate

The competition began with the two teams that were seeded into the Plate. Pollagh are one of the bravest schools in Offaly to go into badminton competitions. |Last year they entered a team that had only had 3 or 4 training sessions in school. This year they added an U10 player to their team who had only played twice previously, so they could enter the competition. Megan Oliver and Rebecca Brennan led off for Broughall+ against Ciaran and Aidan Farrelly. Ciaran worked very hard to cover for his partner, but Broughall+ prevailed 11/9. After that, Pollagh were in the ascendency. Kian Guinan and Derek McDonagh defeated Tiana DuBois and Luke Oliver 11/8. Derek and Ciaran won 11/6 against Megan and Tiana, and Kian and Aidan won by the same score, 11/6 against Luke and Rebecca.

Two teams from the qualifiers went head to head next. Clara/Boher, Adam Willis, Ross Byrne, Millie Marie Kelly and Sean Delaney met Coolanarney B, Ava O’Malley, Grace Maher, Lucy Morris and Lauren Grace. The game between Adam and Ross and Ava and Grace went point for point, until Ava and Grace scored the last point for a win for Coolanarney B, 11/10. Millie Marie and Sean put up a fight, but went down 11/8 to Lucy and Lauren. Lauren and Grace ran up a big score for Coolanarney A against Adam and Millie Marie, but in the fourth game, Ross and Sean put up a stronger fight against Lucy and Ava, but still lost. 4-0 to Coolanarney B.

Rahan 2 won one but lost the Qualifier final, so were a strong team in the Plate. The team of Evan Craven, Dylan Kearney, Clodagh Lavin, and Sam Bracken won all 4 games against Broughall+. Rebecca and Luke put up a big fight in fourth doubles, but only finished with 8 points.

Pollagh clashed with Clara/Boher next. Kian and Derek outscored Adam and Ross for a Pollagh victory. Millie Marie and Sean scored a victory against Ciaran and Aidan, 11/7. Pollagh grew stronger through the match. Kian and Aidan scored 9 against Adam and Millie Marie’s, 11. Sean and Ross knew they were in a battle against Ciaran and Derek, but won 11/10. 3-1 to Clara/Boher.

Coolanarney B and Rahan 2 had already met in the qualifiers and played out a 2-all draw. This return match was one of the closest of the competition, and 2 points either way could have made a huge difference on the outcome. Evan and Dylan went toe to toe with Ava and Grace, and prevailed 11/9. Sam and Clodagh were lucky or Lauren and Lucy were unlucky with a score 11/10 to Rahan 2. Lauren got her own back in the next game when she and Grace outscored Evan and Clodagh 11/10. Dylan and Sam finished for Rahan, 11/9 against Lucy and Ava.

Even though the scores weren’t as close in the games between Broughall+ and Clara/Boher, the match score was even closer. Clara/Boher won first and second doubles, 11/7, 11/7. Broughall+ won the next two, 11/8, 11/5. With a 2-all draw, when the points were totalled, Broughall+ were the match winners, 36 points to 35. Clara/Boher and Rahan 2 played a match with 4 very one-sided games. with scores of 11/3. 11/6, 3/11, and 11/5, Rahan 2 won 3 games to 1 game for Clara/Boher.

Coolanarney B ands Pollagh played another 3-1 match, with the three games going to Coolanarney B with scores of 11/8, 11/7, 11/3, and 11/5 to Pollagh. 3-1 match scores became the norm for the O10 Plate, with 7 of the 10 matches finishing 3-1. Rahan 2 were next to reach this score against Pollagh. Ciaran and Derek managed 11 against Evan and Clodagh after Ciaran and Aidan had just lost 10-11 to Clodagh and Sam.

The final match and the final 3-1 went to Coolanarney B against Broughall+. Tiana and Luke rescued second doubles for Broughall+ 11/8 against Lucy and Lauren. The remaining 3 doubles were won by Coolanarney B. When the prizes were announced, Paddy Cooney, aided by Frances O’Connor and Grace Johnson presented the gold medals and a Plate trophy for the school to keep to Rahan 2. Silver meals were awarded Coolanarney B, and the Bronze was claimed by Clara/Boher.

10 and under

With only 5 teams, the 10&U competition played as one league. There was a huge difference among the teams, and many lop-sided scores, but lots of play for everyone.

Coolanarney 1, Scott Heffernan, Cillian Cronley, Aaron McQuade, and Michael Hanlon, met Amalgamated, Bobby Duffy, Scoil Eoin Phoile II; Faye Dunne, Mountbolus; Darragh Conroy, Clonaslee; and Ella Neville, Mucklagh. This was a real David and Goliath match, only this time Goliath won. After game 1 with a score of 11/7 to Coolanarney 1, the games became much more one-sided in favour of Coolanarney 1 who finished with 4 wins.

Coolanarney/Ballyboy faced a major set-back before the competition started. Danu Meehan had just returned from a midterm holiday when he became ill. With only 4 team members, Coolanarney/Ballyboy had to borrow a player from Gortnamona, with 6 players, for each match which was awkward in their first match when they met Gortnamona. Fergal Conroy, Liam Conroy, Páudí Corroon, Kyle Newton, and William Keenan were much too strong for Katie Lambe, Emily Cooney, Odhran Gralton, and Noah Treacy. Gortnamona won all 4 games. Rahan, Joe Keyes, Cara McEvoy, Daithí Boyle and Adam Keyes, became another David to the Goliath of Coolanarney 1. Coolanarney 1 only conceded 15 points in the 4 games to win 4-0.

Coolanarney/Ballyboy borrowed Fergus Conroy for their match against Amalgamated. Even though Fergus strengthened the team, he wasn’t invincible. Bobby and Faye outscored Fergus and Emily 11/7 to claim 1 of the 4 games for Amalgamated. Liam Conroy was on loan when Gortnamona met Rahan. That didn’t slow Gortnamona down. They scored 4 big wins against Rahan. Liam faced Coolanarney A when he joined Coolanarney/Ballyboy. Again Coolanarney A only allowed 15 points to their schoolmates and partners, winning all 4 games in the match.

Rahan and Coolanarney/Ballyboy was the first match to build up suspense. Joe and Cara outscored Katie and Emily 11/5, 1 for Rahan. Daithí and Adam had to pull out all the stops to defeat Odhran and William, borrowed from Gortnamona, 11/10, to go 2 up. Katie and William scored the 11 points for Coolanarney/Ballyboy against Joe and Daithí to stop the slide. Emily and Odhran finished with another win for Coolanarney/Ballyboy against Cara and Adam to leave the match score 2-all. If points were needed to be counted, Rahan won the match by 1 point.

Starting with little experience, Amalgamated were improving with every match. Gortnamona may have won the 4 games, but Amalgamated scored 9, 7, 7, in 3 of the matches. The hard games Amalgamated had played paid off when they met Rahan. This time, they scored the 4-0 win, when Bobby and Ella scored an 11/10 win against Joe and Daithí. The other games were not as close.

Going into the final match, Gortnamona and Coolanarney 1 each had perfect scores, three 4-0 victories. Tension was high, nerves were tingling, and spectators were noisy. Scott and Cillian, NS doubles champions, put on the style to defeat Fergus and Kyle of Gortnamona 11/5. Liam and Noah evened the match for Gortnamona, 11/3 against Aaron and Michael. Scott and Aaron were not to be denied by Fergus and Páudí and won 11/9. Liam and Kyle finished the match against Cillian and Michael, 11/3.

There was a few nervous moments while the scores in the 2-all draw were being totalled. When the scores were announced, 36-28 in favour of Gortnamona the scenes of joy should have been videoed Gortnamona received the Perpetual Shield and the Cup for the school from Paddy Cooney. Paddy presented the medals aided by the OY Juvenile, Chair Frances O’Connor. Coolanarney 1 finished in second place and received silver medals. Amalgamated and Coolanarney/Ballyboy both finished with 5 wins, but Coolanarney/Ballyboy won the head-to-head 3-1, so received the medals for 3^rd in the championship. Amalgamated finished ahead of Rahan and were presented a Plate trophy for the school and gold medals for themselves. Rahan received the Plate silver medals.

A special spectator at the competition was John Healy, Principal of Gortnamona School, who will soon be retiring, but who came to support his students and to witness their success and the pride and hardware they will present to the school.

School signs

Last year a competition was held for the best school sign. This year, the competition progressed several notches with more schools putting more effort into their signs to promote their school and the sport of badminton. The 4^th place certificate for Best Sign was presented to Pollagh. Third place went to Coolanarney who had made laminated cue cards like “Go Coolanarney” to accompany their sign. Second place was presented to Gortnamona with a long banner promoting their school and badminton with many drawings. The winning sign was big and colourful, was visible in all parts of the sports hall, and sported the school name in yellow and full-sized racquets. Broughall received a Plaque to present to the school for their work.