Tramore lift Senior crown

Tramore were disappointed at losing to Lee Valley in the semi-final of the Barton Shield on Saturday but turned on the style yesterday in winning the senior title.

They beat Cork comfortably in the semi-final and even though the veteran Peter Power lost a great battle at number one in the afternoon final against Limerick’s South of Ireland champion Pat Murray, Chris Butler, Alan Thomas and Robin Dawson answered the call to see Tramore through.

Castletroy and Doneraile claimed the honours when the Munster finals of the Junior Cup and Barton Shield were decided.

Doneraile were fully extended before coming through a nerve-wracking Barton Shield semi-final against Shannon.

The Clare side enjoyed a two-holes advantage from the first match in which Dan Brennan and Jason O’Donnell accounted for Doneraile’s David Finn and John Hickey, before Tim O’Mahony and Adam Carey levelled matters against Edward Hickey and Paul O’Neill. That match went into ‘extra time’, with the Doneraile pair prevailing at the 19th.

Lee Valley found Doneraile too solid all round in the decider. Two members of the County Cork side, Finn and O’Mahony, are no strangers to the particular kind of pressure associated with inter-club competition, having helped Mallow capture the Irish Senior Cup in 2001.

Castletroy’s youthful Junior Cup side had to come through two very close matches to claim the provincial pennant. Schoolboy JJ McDonnell claimed the all-important third point in the semi-final against Killarney’s Paudie Clifford at the second tie hole while Keith Birmingham picked up his second point of the day against Cobh’s Paddy Donnachie as the Limerick side again prevailed in the final by three matches to two.

Tramore, Doneraile and Castletroy will be joined in the Irish finals in Kinsale on September 19-22 by Gold Coast and Newcastle West, who had earlier qualified through the Jimmy Bruen and Pierce Purcell Shields respectively.