Goleen Table Tennis Festival Tournament 2008.
On Saturday 9th August the Goleen Festival kicked off with the second annual Goleen Festival Table Tennis Tournament with a mix of local and
players staying in the area on holiday. 24 players ages from 8 years upward were divided into 5 division according to ability. Accodingly many of the matches proved to be very close
including the match between Catherine Harnedy and Brian Crowley in the 1st Division which eventually saw Munster's No.1 Lady Veteran win 3 - 2.
Many of the players also took part in the Goleen Table Tennis training camp during the week which proved to be very enjoyable and saw West Cork's most successful player Emma Jane Helen
making a guest appearance at the camp. Congratualtions to all those who took part and a special thanks to the parents who helped out with the umpiring on the day. See you next year!
Division 1
Catherine Harnedy, Skibbereen
Brian Crowley, Bantry
Mark Lynch, Bantry
Richard Gostyn, Goleen
Division 2
Aaron Bean, Borlin
James Kelly, Goleen
Gary O’Leary Hayes, Midleton
John Barry, Cork
Aonghus Harnedy, Castlehaven
Division 3
Andrew Barry, Ballincollig
Brian Connolly, Ballincollig
Thomas O’Grady, Bantry
Eoghan Sheehan, Goleen
Mairéad Supple, Goleen
Division 4
James O’Leary Hayes, Midleton
Glen Stokes, Cork
Mateo Fitzsimmons, Ballydehob
James Traecy, Cork
Division 5
Tony O’Donoghue, Cork
Shaun O’Leary Hayes, Midleton
Ruari Harnedy, Castlehaven
Caoimhe Harnedy, Castlehaven
JP O’Toole, Cork
Lissagriffin NS Take West Cork Table Tennis Title
Three students from Lissagriffin National School pulled off a major surprise when they defeated all comers at the 2008 West Cork Schools Championships held at Maria Immaculata Community College (MICC) in Dunmanway. The Schools Cup is the largest schools event in the country with over 40 entries this year and schools from all over the region taking part in 14 events throughout the day.
The combined talents of Eoghan Sheehan, Mairéad Supple and James Kelly only dropped one point in the competition to take the Primary School Mixed Title after Coppeen NS had won the title an amazing 5 years in a row as well as collecting a number of Munster titles in that time. That one point was against Gaelscoil Bheanntrai’s Tolly Franklin who is a regular member of the Goleen Club himself. What made the victory even more remarkable was that all the team members are categorised under 10 and will have at least two more years to compete at this level of competition.
Lissagriffin NS had entered this event before back in 2001 and 2002 when they managed a 3rd and a 2nd place finish but the players were delighted to go one better and put their small school firmly on the West Cork Table Tennis map. Many of the 30 students from the school have taken advantage of the excellent new facilities provided by the Goleen & District Community Council at the Goleen Hall alongside players from further afield.
Schull Community College was also well represented at U13 and U15 Boys standard with players from both teams regularly training at the Goleen Club. Adam Collins was part of the Schull Team that won Silver in the U13 and Josh Lenzlipich, Connor Miller and Oisin O’Driscoll came within a hare’s whisker of winning the U15 Boys title. That was eventually won by Ardscoil Phobal Bheanntrai, with both Brian Crowley and Jack McCarthy also having trained within the Goleen Club. St. Finbarr’s Boys National School in Bantry took both the National School Boys Division 1 and Division 2 titles and a number of those players have regularly made the trip from Bantry to attend training at Goleen TTC.
Goleen TTC is open to all ages and abilities on Fridays 7pm-9pm and Sundays 5pm-7pm with 10 tables and 2 robots available, both adults and kids can train and have fun together. Coaching is always available upon request from qualified ITTA Coaches Owen Kelly and Richard Gostyn.
Congratulation once again to all those who took part.
Current Sessions: Fridays For all 7pm-9pm. Sundays Family Day 5pm-7pm. contact Owen Kelly 028-35371
ITTA Awards
James Kelly from the Goleen TTC was presented with his ITTA 2 Star Award. At 7 years of age James is one of the youngest players to achieve this level in West Cork.
INDIVIDUAL PRIMARY SCHOOL CHAMPIONSIPS 2008
The West Cork Primary Schools Individual Table Tennis Championship 2008 was held in the Goleen Community Sports Hall
on February 25th. The event saw representatives from 8 different primary schools from throughout the West Cork Region.
The West Cork Table Tennis Association (WCTTA) was delighted with over 60 competitors making this one of the largest
primary school events in the country.
The largest of the 4 events was over 10 boys with 24 entries. St. Finbarr's Boys National School have a strong tradition in
table tennis with regular school coaching sessions and the school regularly competes at the West Cork Schools Cup.
All 6 of their squad made it to the ¼ final stages along with Eoin Murray (Togher NS) and Patrick McCaffrey
(Gael Scoil, Skibbereen). Eoin Murray knocked out Tim Cronin to reach the semi final stages where he was eventually
defeated by Anthony Hanley. In the second semi final Cathal McCarthy beat Darren Cronin to take his place in the final
which he eventually won to take the West Cork Over 10 Primary School title.
Eoin Barclay (Gael Scoil Skibbereen) beat Ciaran Nunan (Togher) in the Over 10 Plate Final.
The Under 10 Boys also saw a large entry with 21 players and again St. Finbarr's Boys School showed their strength.
However only one made it through to the ¼ final stages with players from Model School Dunmanway, Gael Scoil Bantry,
Gael Scoil Skibbereen, Togher NS and 2 local Lissagriffin players all being represented. 7 year old James Kelly
(Lissagriffin NS) beat Togher's Finn Pyatt to claim his place against top seed Kieran Hanley (St. Finbarr's) in the
semi final where he was eventually beaten while U9 Tolly Franklin (Gael Scoil, Bantry) beat Eoghan Sheehan
(Lissagriffin NS) to meet surprise semi finalist Nicholas Bryan (Model School). Nicholas had upset the early seeding
by beating top seed Kieran Hanley and once again showed his talent to reach the final. With a repeat of the early
group stages between Nicholas and Kieran it was Kieran who used his experience to redress his earlier loss and to
take the title at the end of a very close competition.
St. Finbarr's and Model School also battled it out in the plate final with Keith Collins (St. Finbarr's)
defeating Ray Jennings (Model School).
Two schools also dominated the Over 10 girls' event with Togher NS and Gael Scoil Skibbereen players reaching the semi
finals when all three of the Gael Scoil Bantry girls were knocked out of the ¼ final stages. It was Gael Scoil
Skibbereen who saw off the strong challenge of Togher when Charli Williams beat Ciara Glenn and Luighsighe Carey beat
Lisa Cotter in the semi finals setting up an all Gael Scoil final. Luighsighe Carey made a welcome return to the West
Cork scene after finishing No.1 Under 10 in Munster last year and showed this experience over tournament debutante
Charli Williams in the final to lift the first West Cork Over 12 Girls title. Togher went on to claim the Over 10
Plate title when Eileen Crowley saw of the challenge of local girl Michelle O'Leary (Lissagriffin) in the final.
5 schools were represented in the under 10 Girls competition with all 5 being represented at the ¼ stages and 4 at
the semi final stage. The West Cork No.1 position is currently shared between two girls. Both reached the final with
Sinead McKennedy (Castlehaven NS) beating Deidre O'Sullivan from Bantry Gael Scoil and Mairéad Supple (Lissagriffin
beating Sorcha Browning. In a closely fought and tense final it was Sinead McKennedy who took the first West Cork
Primary Schools Under 10 Girls Title back home to Castlehaven NS.
The new local Goleen Club were delighted with the overall results from the event and were also able to
celebrate their first title when Aisling O'Driscoll overcame the challenge from Orláith Keating (Gael Scoil
Skibbereen) in the final of the Under 10 Girls Plate competition.
WCTTA Chairman thanked everyone for the tremendous support shown by schools, parents and the local Goleen &
District Community Council who provided the superb facility as well as organising the café and refreshments for all
the spectators. The next major West Cork event will be the West Cork Schools Cup to be held after Easter in Dunmanway.
Sean Kelly opens Goleen Community Sports Centre by Owen Kelly
The Goleen Community Sports Centre was officially opened by Sean Kelly Director of the Irish Institute of Sport but
probably better known in his former role as GAA President. In Goleen he was opening the new sports centre and pitch
to whole community for all sports, not as historic as opening up the home of the GAA to soccer and rugby but as
significant to this small community holding the backline of the country.
The sport centre is state of the art with an imported seamless polymer floor from Poland and as mentioned once or
twice on this website it has 10 brand new tables, training robots and is already alive and buzzing to the sound of
table tennis.
This was a special evening for me as I was one of the original Goleen Community Councillors that put forward the
idea and laid some of the foundations for this project back when it seemed almost impossible. I want to take my small
piece of credit only so that I can share in the pride that so many of our local community feel in what we have
achieved.
We have already begun to develop our local club and it is a joy to me that my own small village can contribute so
much to the already established clubs in the area. We have held a number of local tournaments and recently put on a
West Cork Ranking and the training program has already expanded to attract players from miles around.
On the night of the opening I was invited along with representatives from County Soccer and the GAA County Board to
address the 400 members of the community who turned out in a howling gale for the opening. It was a huge honour for me to be able to
thank all those who have so willingly contributed to the project. I have been recently re-elected to the Community
Council after I stepped down a couple of years ago to concentrate on my family.
I am looking forward to getting back and helping move this and other projects on even further. I am confident that
the table tennis club will continue to grow as more and more people discover what we have to offer. As some of you
may know I am also a qualified cricket, GAA, soccer and athletics coach and I am delighted that I will be able to
use all these aspects of my coaching in the new sports centre. I think I will have a very busy 2008!
Goleen Top of the Table
The West Cork Junior Table Tennis Rankings provided thrilling action in a superb venue with top class facilities
provided by the Goleen Community Sports Centre. There was no clash of ash but there were thrills and spills as the
soft "pok pok" of bat on ball and spin, speed and power took centre stage.
The 2nd West Cork Junior Table Tennis Rankings were played out on ten new tables, including a brand new wheelchair
table provided by the Local Cork Sports Partnership funding. The event attracted players from far afield with clubs
from Bantry, Skibbereen and Dunmanway attending.
The organisers also welcomed a visit from their very Special guest Double World Games Bronze Medallist Pat Dorgan,
who travelled down especially with his family from Cork City. As well as presenting the athletes with their medals
he knocked up with some of the coaches, parents and players.
Entries were Divisioned into 5 groups all matched on ability giving many new players the opportunity to play in a
competition for the first time under the guidance of four qualified ITTA Coaches, thanks to Owen and Kate Kelly,
Richard Gostyn and Vicky Ridgeway.
Division 5 saw entries from five West Cork clubs and with four tournament debutants. The top places were finally
decided between two under 10 players Eoghan Sheehan (Goleen TTC) and Thomas O'Grady (Bantry TTC). Eoghan Sheehan went
on to win a very close match 2-1. Cormac O'Mahony (U10, Bantry TTC) came third. 4th Declan Kilbride (U10, Togher NS),
5th Jacob Clancey Adams (U9, Bantry Gael Scoil) and 6th Sean Finn Gallagher (U7, Skibbereen TTC).
Division 4 also had a 6 player group with three clubs represented. Goleen players proved to have the strength in this
division with all the top 3 places going to the hosts. There was a remarkable division win for the youngest competitor
in the day 7yrs old James Kelly who kept a clean sheet with 2nd Aaron Barry (U12, Goleen TTC), 3rd Darryl Connor
(U12, Goleen TTC), 4th Sinead McKennedy (U10, Skibbereen TTC), 5th Mairéad Supple (U10 Goleen TTC) and 6th Thomas
Black (U9, Bantry Gael Scoil).
Division 3 was dominated by the Skibbereen Club, the longest running of the three major coaching schemes in the
area. Ruaibhri Gallagher is an up and coming Under 11 and has shown some significant improvement in the last couple
of months. He took the gold in some style only losing one set overall to club mate Joe Moore. Joe Moore also took a
set off Bantry's top Under 10 Kieran Hanley who finished 2nd place with Joe taking 3rd. 4th Dominic Samson (U11,
Skibbereen TTC), 5th Declan Gallagher (U12, Skibbereen TTC).
Both the two top divisions were very closely fought out affairs with many matches going to the fifth set. Division 2
had a number of interesting clashes of style with the consistency and defensive style of under 11 Cathal McCarthy
finally coming out on top. A good performance from pen holder Connor Miller (U14, Goleen TTC) saw him reach 2nd place
while a welcome return from Killian Andrews rewarded him with third. U11 Anthony Hanley also from Bantry TTC fended
off the challenge from Robin Smiles (U17, MICC) by winning their match 3-2.
Division 1 displayed some of the best table tennis of the year with so many tight and entertaining matches being
played to an appreciative crowd of parents and interested parents. Under 17 Sebastian Kaehler (Goleen TTC) started
as clear favourite for the event and almost managed a clean sweep without dropping a set but new Goleen recruit
Ben O'Donnell fresh from his Munster U12 Final from the previous day managed to take one set against the hard
hitting long pimpled, long haired German! But it was not enough to secure second place for Ben O'Donnell who
again lost out 3-1 to former club mate Jack McCarthy (U13). Jack had to settle for second place, he had also played
the previous day in the Munster U14s finishing 6th. 4th place went to another Goleen TTC import Josh Lenz Lipitch
(U14) who is showing tremendous improvement and is one of a number of Goleen players who attend Schull Community
College. 5th place went to Brian Crowley (U14, Bantry TTC), Brian was the U14 Plate winner at the Munster Rankings
played in Kinneigh on the previous day.
At West Cork Rankings medals are presented to division winners and trophies are awarded to age group winners.
There were five age group winners at this event with Sebastian Kaehler at Under 17 Boys, U14 Boys Jack McCarthy,
U12 Boys Ben O'Donnell, U10 Boys Kieran Hanley, U10 Girls Sinead McKennedy.
The organisers would also like to thank the Lissagriffin PTA for supplying the cafe and all the assistance from
the Goleen and District Community Council. The next West Cork Rankings are once again in Goleen on 2nd February 2008.
Munster Junior Ranking, Kinneigh
West Cork Players at the Munster Junior Rankings.
Only two Bantry players entered the latest Munster Junior Ranking, this time being held at the Kinneigh TTC. Brian
Crowley and Jack McCarthy are students of the Bantry Secondary School and attend the Bantry Table Tennis Club. Brian
had a close encounter in the first round but was unable to move through to the next round of the competition, he
managed to recover well however and went on to win the Plate without dropping another match. Jack had better luck
in the first round and moved through the competition till the ¼ Finals. He recorded a fine win against Brian Kelleher
of Kinneigh in the 5-8 play offs and finally finished a very creditable 6th.
Ben O'Donnell recently changed clubs and went to the Munster Junior Rankings representing the Goleen Club where he
now trains twice a week. Ben has put in some fine performances this season both at Munster and Irish levels at U12.
He had his best ever performance over the weekend when he beat Peter Kelleher in the Semi Finals to met fellow West
Cork player Brian Kelleher in the final. Brian proved too consistent on this occasion for Ben but he was well pleased
with his second place finish. The next Munster Rankings are in Ballincollig on the 8th December.
ITTA Awards
Three more members of the Goleen Table Tennis Club passed their ITTA 1 Star Award. The Goleen TTC recently started a
series "proficiency" session for players interested in passing their ITTA Awards and 5 club members have already
passed their first stage. It is hoped that after this 8 week series that some players will reach 2 Star standard.
Congratulations to Mairéad Supple, Eimear and Eoghan Sheehan.
An Inter-Club Friendly
Goleen Table Tennis Club and Beech Hill Table Tennis Club organised an evening of fun games and matches for their
members on Friday night. The West Cork Club travelled up with 9 junior players ranging from 7yrs to 17yrs while Beech
Hill provided eight juniors of their own.
This was the first trip up to the city for the new Goleen TTC and all expressed their thanks and enjoyment on a good
night out. The Beech Hill Club is well known for its high standard and players certainly showed their class and the
facilities were excellent. Goleen Club Coaches Owen Kelly and Richard Gostyn were delighted with the way the evening
worked out.
"There are far too few opportunities for us to socialise with players from other clubs. We nearly always meet at
competitions and that is not always the best environment to get to know each other. We all share a common interest
in the sport and sometimes we need opportunities to play this game just for fun and an evening like this is an ideal
way of getting to know each other. Our thanks to Rory O'Connor and everyone at Beech Hill for inviting us up and
showing us such great hospitality."
A number of the players took the opportunity to watch Top Irish International Brian Fitzgerald as he trained in the
hall next door. This was the first time many of the players would have seen a player of this standard training and
it was an eye opener for all of them!
Goleen TTC is part of the Mizen Triangle of clubs including Skibbereen and Bantry. Ruairi Gallagher from Skibbereen
TTC also travelled up with the Goleen players and it is hoped that other players from Skibbereen and Bantry will also
get a similar opportunity in the future.
The Goleen Club is building up to host its first ever West Cork Rankings in their new facility next Sunday (25th Nov).
Over 30 players took part in the first event held at Kinneigh and it is expected that this number will rise as more
players from Bantry, Skibbereen and Dunmanway are expected to travel. Goleen TTC boasts one of the best facilities
in the
country with 11 new tables in one hall. Entries can be taken on the day and Divisioning starts at 10am sharp.
A Very Special Guest to Visit Goleen
Goleen TTC is delighted to announce that World Games Double Bronze Medallist Pat Dorgan will present the Medals and
Trophies for the club's up-coming West Cork Table Tennis Junior Ranking on November 25th. As reported previously on
the Table Tennis Ireland website (www.ttireland.com) Pat Dorgan is from Cork City and was one of the eight members of
Team Ireland Special Olympic Team that recently returned from a very successful Championship in China.
ITTA Awards
Three more members of the Goleen Table Tennis Club passed their ITTA 1 Star Award. The Goleen TTC recently started a
series "proficiency" session for players interested in passing their ITTA Awards and 5 club members have already
passed their first stage. It is hoped that after this 8 week series that some players will reach 2 Star standard.
Congratulations to Mairéad Supple, Eimear and Eoghan Sheehan.
An Inter-Club Friendly
Goleen Table Tennis Club and Beech Hill Table Tennis Club organised an evening of fun games and matches for their
members on Friday night. The West Cork Club travelled up with 9 junior players ranging from 7yrs to 17yrs while Beech
Hill provided eight juniors of their own.
This was the first trip up to the city for the new Goleen TTC and all expressed their thanks and enjoyment on a good
night out. The Beech Hill Club is well known for its high standard and players certainly showed their class and the
facilities were excellent. Goleen Club Coaches Owen Kelly and Richard Gostyn were delighted with the way the evening
worked out.
"There are far too few opportunities for us to socialise with players from other clubs. We nearly always meet at
competitions and that is not always the best environment to get to know each other. We all share a common interest
in the sport and sometimes we need opportunities to play this game just for fun and an evening like this is an ideal
way of getting to know each other. Our thanks to Rory O'Connor and everyone at Beech Hill for inviting us up and
showing us such great hospitality."
A number of the players took the opportunity to watch Top Irish International Brian Fitzgerald as he trained in the
hall next door. This was the first time many of the players would have seen a player of this standard training and
it was an eye opener for all of them!
Goleen TTC is part of the Mizen Triangle of clubs including Skibbereen and Bantry. Ruairi Gallagher from Skibbereen
TTC also travelled up with the Goleen players and it is hoped that other players from Skibbereen and Bantry will also
get a similar opportunity in the future.
The Goleen Club is building up to host its first ever West Cork Rankings in their new facility next Sunday (25th Nov).
Over 30 players took part in the first event held at Kinneigh and it is expected that this number will rise as more
players from Bantry, Skibbereen and Dunmanway are expected to travel. Goleen TTC boasts one of the best facilities
in the
country with 11 new tables in one hall. Entries can be taken on the day and Divisioning starts at 10am sharp.
A Very Special Guest to Visit Goleen
Goleen TTC is delighted to announce that World Games Double Bronze Medallist Pat Dorgan will present the Medals and
Trophies for the club's up-coming West Cork Table Tennis Junior Ranking on November 25th. As reported previously on
the Table Tennis Ireland website (www.ttireland.com) Pat Dorgan is from Cork City and was one of the eight members of
Team Ireland Special Olympic Team that recently returned from a very successful Championship in China.
Goleen's Golden Girl
Mairéad Supple won a Gold Medal in the first West Cork Ranking of the season. The event hosted at the Kinneigh Club
saw an entry of over 30 juniors from 6 different clubs around the region. Mairéad representing Goleen won her Division
beating Sinead McKennedy last year's No.6 U10 in Munster.
Conor Miller and Adam Collins Goleen TTC members both from Schull Community College won Silver in their
Divisions while compatriot Josh Lenz-Lipitch finished a very creditable 7th in the overall rankings. 7yrs old
James Kelly took Bronze in the youngest group.
The next West Cork Ranking will be held in the new Goleen TTC for the very first time later this month.
The event is scheduled for Sunday 25th November all members are invited to attend.
Goleen Summer Festival Tournament 2007
Sunday 12th August Goleen Table Tennis Club held their first annual Open Summer tournament at the new Goleen Sports
Complex. 37 players entered with players from Hungary, Australia, England, Dublin, Cork, Dunmanway, Skibbereen, Bantry joining
the local players in a fun filled afternoon. Players were divisioned on ability rather than age or gender with
players from 7 years old and upward playing against each other. Many of the matches were very close. The 1st Division
final captured the uniqueness of the event with Csillag Moosz a Hungarian woman visiting the area against local Bantry
U12 Ben O'Donnell. The 3rd/4th Final saw a father and son match with Mike Williams (father) against Tadgh Williams (son)
going head to head, it was father who won this time, Julie Williams (mother) finished 6th.
There was another young Bantry player made the final of the Division 2 when Anthony Hanley came up against Rolly Delmaistro.
Rolly and brother Matty Delmaistro are regular visitors to Goleen from the UK with their family. It was Rolly who took the final.
Anthony had put Matty Delmaistro out in the Semi-Final in one of the best matches of the day. Matty went on to beat another
regular Summer visitor Barry O'Connor from Dublin. Barry's son Finbar reached the Division 4 Final where he was beaten
by the Goleen Coach's son James Kelly in the final. Another regular visitor Oscar Wolheim beat Matteo Fitzsimons from Ballydehob
for 3rd place in Division 4.
Division 3 matched up visitor Caspar Harvey with local club member Brian O'Donovan with the visitor winning out. James O'Leary Hayes
came out on top against local lad Daryl Connell.
Trophies and medals were presented by Owen Kelly who thanked all those who had travelled and helped out on the day especially local coach
Richard Gostyn and hoped that everyone enjoyed the rest of the Goleen Festival.
| Division 1 | Division 2 | Division 3 | Division 4 | ||||
| 1 | Csillig Moosz | 1 | Rolly Delmaistro | 1 | Caspar Harvey | 1 | James Kelly |
| 2 | Ben O'Donnell | 2 | Anthony Hanley | 2 | Brian O'Donovan | 2 | Finbar O'Connor |
| 3 | Mike Williams | 3 | Matty Delmaistro | 3 | James O'Leary Hayes | 3 | Oscar Wolheim |
| 4 | Tadgh Williams | 4 | Barry O'Connor | 4 | Daryl Connell | 4 | Matteo Fitzsimons |
| 5 | Robin Smiles | 5 | John Fitzsimons | 5 | Amy Dineen | 5 | Connor O'Driscoll |
| 6 | Julia Williams | 6 | Vicky Ridgeway | 6 | Aaron Barry | 6 | Maraid Supple |
| 7 | David Venus | 7 | Cormac Browning | 7 | John Barry | 7 | Alexandra Leib |
| 8 | Gabi Bailey | 8 | Daniel Moosz | 8 | Eimer Sheehan | 8 | Kevin O'Toole |
| 9 | Bernard O'Sullivan | 9 | Eoghan Sheehan | 9 | Sorcha Browning | ||
| 10 | Odette Fitzsimons | 10 | Sean O'Leary Hayes |