Raphoe Royal and Prior has scooped a magical hat-trick at the Schools Badminton All-Ireland Finals.
On Wednesday last 20th March, three teams from The Royal & Prior took to the courts in Gormanston Co. Meath.
A jubilant parade bearing 42 schools from Ireland’s cordial points began the morning proceedings.
Students completed a circuit of the 16-court badminton hall in eager anticipation of what this day would bring.
Minor Boys Div. 1
Our youngest players are no strangers to the All-Irelands, as they represented Raphoe Central Primary School for the past 3 years. Corey Chambers holds 3 All-Ireland Primary school credits, as do the 4 minor girls. James Meehan, Callum Laird carry 2 titles.
The boys played St. Flannan’s College. Corey, Callum & James all won their matches. Jake McLaughlin debuted for the team, replacing Cameron White who missed this event. We wish Cameron a full & speedy recovery to badminton.
Corey Chambers No. 1 Ireland U-15 captained his team to success, leading by example as he breezed through his singles 30/6 and doubled with James Meehan clinching a 30/17 win. Jake & Callum lost 2nd doubles. Callum Macbeth was down 12/15 at end change, but approached the second half full-focused- hand to the plow, head down, leaving his opponent without answer. James Meehan in a close match beat Ennis’s No.3 30/26. Jake McLaughlin put up a great flight to the end but St. Flannan’s no 4 won out 30-29.
The minor boys brought home the bacon 4-2.
Team: Corey Chambers, Callum Macbeth, James Meehan & Jake McLaughlin.
Minor Girls Div. 1
Our Minor Girls were first out of the blocks with a 4-2 win over Maryfield College. Emily Maxwell & Lucy Moore were beaten by Maryfield in a hard-hitting game against Hannah Shochan & Isabelle Jose 30-19. Alex McAuley & Ella Thompson teamed up to produce a solid performance 30-9. In singles, Emily Maxwell played Hannah Shochan. Despite taking on Leinster, Ireland’s No 1 U-15 Emily soldiered and banked a pleasant 16 points. Lucy Moore closed out the match with a 30/6 point victory. We were happy to bank this win, making the path clearer for the approaching match against Presentation Listowel, Co. Kerry. The next hurdle to overcome in our pursuit of victory would be testing. With Listowel’s line-up mirroring that of the Royal’s line-up this match would hang on the balance. Determination and creativity were employed to bury Listowel’s dreams. We gained an early advantage as both girls’ doubles secured the first 2 points of the match, albeit the match was still anyone’s.. Emily Maxwell played Nicole Vesko in a nail-biting match, Emily put a few points between herself and her opponent and that was all she needed-30/23 win. Alex, Ella & Lucy each contributed a point in their singles 30/22, 30/18 & 30/25 respectively.
Team: Emily Maxwell, Alex McAuley, Ella Thompson & Lucy Moore
Senior Boys Div 1
The Senior boys on the back of a superb finish in Ulster, the boys continued in a similar vein approaching today’s play. The boys played Kilkenny College in their first match. The Royal doubles partnership was impossible to break down. Rhys & Zac, Callum & Ben won respectively 30/16 & 30/16. Rhys was beaten by George Griffith 30/28. Callum, Ben & Rhys won their singles match 30/15, 30/20, 30/17. Match result 5-1.
The afternoon opponents were Blackwater Community School The game started slow but the Royal lads soon gained momentum and widened the gap with each game. The match was beyond the clutches of the Waterford foursome as Callum Laird beat Brian Bourke 30/13. Further dominant single performances by Ben Lowry 30/19 & Zach McAuley 30/-28 against the Muster side, wrapped up the match 6-0 and, just like that our Senior Boys were on the podium regaining the Senior Div. 1 title, last won in 2015!
Team: Rhys McAuley, Callum Laird, Ben Lowry & Zac McAuley
Well done to all our badminton players- of which there are many. Long may this strong tradition of badminton continue; furthermore, it may go from strength to strength. These successes highlight the trojan work done at a personal level, club level, development programmes, Donegal Badminton & parental support. A word of thanks must go to Mr. Pearson & Mrs. Gibson for their continued work with badminton in The Royal & Prior. Special thanks to Deele College for the use of their Sports Hall.
