Nelligan and Lacey team up to win Munster badminton title
THE Munster Senior 1 and Junior Badminton Championships in the Killarney Sports Centre last Sunday saw Kerry players contest five finals of the ten played, winning three.
No doubt the most popular Kerry victory was in the men's senior doubles final in which Kerry's Eric Nelligan and Billy Lacey, both with Castleisland's Kingdom Club, came up against the strong Cork pairing of Conor Hayes and Paul Foy, both of who had contested the mens single final earlier, which Hayes won.
The Kerry pair had come from match point down to win their semi-final and this momentum served them well in the final. The won the first set 21-18, and after an explosive confrontation in the second Lacey scored the winning point from a rear court drop shot to win 21-17.
For Nelligan it was his second Munster senior doubles title having partnered Cork's Tom Ahern to victory in 2008 but for Lacey it was his first senior final appearance and did he celebrate. The Tralee man is involved in badminton for almost 25 years as a player and coach. Over the years he has captured four Munster junior titles between singles and doubles but he had always dreamt of a Munster senior crown.
The recent Kerry senior singles final saw Dingle's Ciara O'connor play Tralee girl Edel Broderick and they met again in the Munster senior ladies doubles final on Sunday.
Broderick partnered Clare's Ciara Pender who now plays in Cork, while O'connor teamed up with Waterford's Gemma Tobin.
Tobin/o'connor won the title after a three-set final, 21-17, 14-21, 21-10.
Pender and O'connor faced each other again in for the mixed doubles decider, Pender partnering Cork man Gary O'sullivan whilst O'connor teamed up with her recent Munster senior 2 winning doubles partner, Kerry's Colm Kelly, with the Cork pair taking the title 21-17, 1521, 25-23.
Pride of place in the Munster Junior Championships goes to the Killarney Club pairing of Peggy Horan and Sean Murphy who battled their way from an entry of 24 pairings to secure ultimate honours. This was a fierce hard fought competition all the way through with the Kerry pair overcoming the Cork pairing of Joyce Murphy and Conor Leahy in the decider by 21-14, 2115.
Castleisland sisters Brid and Catherine Murphy did so well to reach the ladies double Junior final but had to bow to the Cork pairing of Lucy Kearns and Joyce Murphy by 21-15, 21-17.
It is back to the Intercounty scene on Sunday. Limerick' UL Arena hosts the Class 4 Inter-county series. The Kerry panel is Sinead Galvin, Peggy Horan, Jennifer Keane, Brid Murphy, Lynda Mccarthy, Billy Lacey, Michael Crossan, Sean Murphy, Paudie Horan, Anish. Denis Buckley. Player/manager, Billy Lacey.
The Munster Class 5 Inter-county competition takes place in Killarney this Sunday at 10am. The Kerry panel is Catherine Murphy, Joan Brosnan, Mairead O'regan, Michelle Kearney, Ruth Concannon, Lyn Swan, Wayne Doyle, John O'brien, Timmy Duggan and Donnacha Moloney. Team manager is Mark Loughnane.
A final reminder that the annual table quiz is this Wednesday at O'donnell's, Mounthawk, Tralee. All to be seated by 8.15pm.
- Junior Griffin
