The darts championship,
involving 25 counties, was held in Ennis, Co Clare,
last Saturday and Sunday.
There were seven groups of three and one group of
four. Donegal were third seeds going into the
competition and were within a group of three with
Waterford and hosts Clare.
First up was Waterford. Donegal ran out easy winners
with a 9-3 success. Then came Clare where Donegal
overcame the noisy home crowd with an emphatic 11-1
victory to top the group and guarantee them a place
in the knockout stages on Sunday.
On Sunday morning Longford was no match for Donegal
with a scoreline of 7-2. Up next in the quarter
final was Cavan who put up a spirited fight before
losing 7-4.
It was then on to the semi final where the top four
seeds had made it through. Wexford who have played
in the last three finals and beat Donegal in the
same stage last year lay in wait. In a game that
ebbed and flowed, the score was 5-5 but it was not
to be for Wexford as Donegal won the next two games
to win a great match 7-5.
For the final there was a 500 strong crowd looking
forward to Dublin facing Donegal.
Dublin with a very experienced and international
panel were shocked when Donegal, playing superb
darts, went 4-0 up. Though Dublin pulled two games
back, Donegal went on to take the next three games
to come to a triumphant 7-2 win. Plenty of
celebrations ensued well into the wee hours.
"The Donegal squad would like to thank all their
fans who made the long trip to show their support,"
said a spokesperson.
The Inishowen players on the team are Anthony
Whoriskey, Paddy Boyce, Derek Quinn (Newtown);
Junior Coyle (Burnfoot); Sean Wilson (Drumfries);
Charley Grant (Quigley's Point); Paddy J McLaughlin
(Lecamy); Paul Leech, Michael Leech (Moville) and
James Weir, county selector (Quigley's Point). The
rest of the panel are Barry McBride, Noel O'Donnell
(Captain), Gerald Porter, Martin McCloskey, Francie
Begley, Clive Aiken, John Murray, John Flood, Mike
Nulty and Josie Friel, county selector. |
