Another Great Donegal Town Show Jumping Event

Kate McGowan, daughter of sponsor Martin McGowan (Donegal Hardware) presenting Fiona Roche
in the amateur’s class

The 13th Annual Donegal Town Show Jumping Event took place on Sunday 9th July on the football field at the Holmes Beach. As always, Billy Graham had prepared an excellent surface for our huge entry, many of whom had travelled some considerable distance to compete at the Show.
The Committee would like to thank all those who sponsor the Event every year, as their support allows us to produce the type of show at which many well known personalities compete, as well as our local show jumpers. This, in turn, attracts many families and other supporters who come to watch the exciting spectacle.
Our sponsors are Abbey Hotel Co. Ltd; Donegal Creameries, Kelco Communications, James Likely Ltd; Dom Breslin’s Pier 1, Harvey’s Point Country Hotel, Ulster Bank, Rory’s Auto Spares, Donegal Town Hardware & DIY; Roadstone Provinces, Donegal Tyre Centre, McIntyre’s Service Station, Glebe Builders, The Olde Castle Bar, Killybegs Fishing Industries Ltd; John Barry - and Seamus Sheerin’s Cooperative Stores. Robert Ellis always provide flowers and shrubs which greatly enhance the presentation of the testing courses designed by John Chambers, ably assisted by Seamus McCaffrey.
This year 88 ponies and 99 horses entered the various classes and so, although we started at 9.45a.m., the Event was still going strong at 10pm. The weather, which had been atrocious the previous day, was still a little damp as we began, but it quickly picked up and the sun appeared, lifting everyone’s spirits. The day progressed very quickly with the Judges, Pat and Agnes O’Neill, Billy Genoe, Noletta Smyth and Paul O’Neill being kept very busy. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and were most complimentary about the whole day.

Ladies Captain’s Prize

Adrienne Anderson with winners of her Lady Captain’s Day Prizes

One of the most memorable Lady Captain’s Day’s ever to be held in Murvagh was, without doubt, that of Adrienne Anderson who celebrated her Captains Day on Saturday, 15th July. The glorious weather certainly made it an enjoyable day for the 96 competitors, but it was the personal touch, the total commitment of Adrienne which made the day so special for everyone.
The artistic floral arrangements (by Mary Meehan) throughout the clubhouse were a joy to behold, as was the tastefully laid-out array of prizes.
Winners were:
Lady Captain’s prize: M.A. Kane (24) 67; 2nd J. Brown (28) 74; 3rd. P. Hamilton (25) 75; 4th K. Fox (21) 76 (B.O.T.); 5th G. Gorman (32) 76; 6th D. Doherty (29) 76; 7th M. Murnan (30) 77; Gross: E. Mac Mullan (5) 83.
1st Nine: B. Finn (16) 37; 2nd Nine: M Baxter (14) 36; Past Captains: B. Treacy (17) 78. Committee Prize: A. Colhoun (19) 79.
The Nine-hole competition was won by F. Brennan and the Beginners Prizes went to R. Carr and B. A. Johnston, while M. hand won the ‘Nearest the Pin’ prize and E. MacMullan the ‘Longest Drive’ prize.

Reserve
Four Masters 1-07 Termon 0-15
Termon reserves put themselves in a promising position to advance in this tie, with a display of strong direct football at Pairc Thir Chonaill on Saturday evening. Led by the excellent Trevor Alcorn up front, and the ball winning ability of midfielders Robinson and Friel, they raced into a 5 point lead mid-way through the first half. Four Masters to their credit, began to stem the tide, with Danny McGarrigle becoming prominent at centre half back setting up scores for the McMonagle brothers Conor and Declan. Points from Alcorn (3), Hegarty (2) and Robinson (1) were followed by five from the afore mentioned brothers McMonagle, Conor chipping in with 4 frees and Declan scoring a fine effort from play. Half time, Four Masters 0-05 Termon 0-06. There are games when teams wish half-time didn’t arrive, and this was definitely the case for Gerry Molloy’s young Four Masters team. With Davy Crawford now curbing the influential Alcorn and hauling back a 6 - 1 defecit to a point, the half-time whistle provided Termon with the opportunity to re-group, and they did so to great effect. Midfielder Robinson began to dominate again, contributing 3 points in the second half, complementing Alcorn with a further 3, bringing his personal tally to 6 in total. A goal from Francis McMullan and a point from Ryan Early, actually took Four Masters to within a goal late on, but Termon’s experience added another 2 points to win the game by 5. Termon were well served by Robinson, Hegarty and man of the match Alcorn while Gerry Molloy will be encouraged by strong performances from Davy Crawford, Francis McMullan and Conor McMonagle. Four Masters: K McGurk, P Gillespie, E Bonner, R O’Donnell, D Crawford, D McGarrigle, R Early 0-1, P Harvey, F McMullin 1-0, V Murray, R Timoney, D McMonagle 0-1, C McMonagle 0-5, J McMullin, K Molloy. Subs - H Dagens for J McMullan, D Dunnion for R Timoney, R McGroary for P Gillespie. Termon: P McGettigan, K Doherty, J R McDaid, D Gallagher, K McElwaine 0-1, J Bonner, B Neilis, B Friel, B Robinson 0-4, K Hegarty 0-3, B McFadden 0-1, G Gorman, T Alcorn 0-6, L McGettigan, J Harkin. Subs - J Neilis for B Neilis, J Gallagher for L McGettigan, J McLaughlin for G Gorman.

Four Masters
SENIOR MASTERS LEAVE IT LATE
Four Masters 0-11 Termon 1-07
Termon arrived at a sun drenched Pairc Thir Chonaill on Saturday evening hoping to cause an upset, and they very nearly did just that, leading the game for 55 minutes, with the scoreboard at one stage reading 1-03 to 0-01 in their favour.  This was the first championship meeting of these teams since the final of 2003, and they served up a typical first round encounter for the large crowd in attendance. With the recently returned Kevin “whappa” McMenamin back in their ranks, Termon were out of the blocks quickly, racing into a 3 points to 1 lead with points from McMenamin and Gibson, Joel Carr opening Four Masters account with a point from play. Midway through the first half, McMenamin launched a free into the Four Masters goal mouth, which Paul Durcan seemed to initially gather, but somehow the ball broke free and P J McFadden put to the net for Termon. The goal turned out to be a wake-up call for Four Masters, as Barry Monaghan and Shane Carr began to dominate at midfield, supported by the forcefull running of Carl Lacey and free taking of Rory O’Donnell, bringing the score back to 1-03 to 0-04. The momentum was taken from this game for a period late in the first half, as Barry Dunnion was attended to for quite some time, after an off the ball incident, resulting in a yellow card for Termon’s Darren Gibson. Four Masters rallied again, with a further point from O’Donnell and an excellent fisted effort from James Doherty. John McCafferty and Kevin McMenamin steadied the ship for Termon with points, leaving a half-time score of Four Masters 0-06, Termon 1-05. With much possession being secured in the middle third by Four Masters, Termon began the second half by bunching this sector to good effect, but their wides tally was beginning to mount up, and a return of just 2 points in the second would add to their ultimate downfall.  Rory O’Donnell and the impressive Benny Byrne at full-forward were now causing problems for the Termon defence and points from each brought the game to parity. The recently introduced Christy Conaghan ensured Termon did not lose a match long lead with a pointed free as the game entered its final 10 minutes. The large crowd were now being treated to an excellent game of championship football, and when Four Masters took the lead, one would have been forgiven for thinking Termon’s heads would drop, but a fine long range point from half-back Adrian McGrenra reversed those thoughts, and a draw looked on the cards. Four Masters had moved Barry Dunnion to the full-back line to curb the threat of McMenamin, which worked to good effect, but they missed his forceful runs throughout the game. Taking matters into his own hands, Dunnion did make one such run, and after posession being transferred from Barry Monaghan, he scored the winning point deep in injury time. Termon will be disappointed at not taking something from this game, but Four Masters experience, and sticking to a set game plan right to the final whistle sets up an appetising return leg. Termon had good performances from fullback Paddy McDaid, John McCafferty, Bernard Alcorn and Kevin McMenamin, while Four Masters were well served by Barry Dunnion, Pauric McGlynn (half-time introduction), Shane Carr, Benny Byrne and man of the match Barry Monaghan. Four Masters: P Durcan, D Cassidy, D Monaghan, S Gillespie, B Dunnion 0-1, S Brown, C Lacey, S Carr, B Monaghan, J Doherty 0-1, J Carr 0-1, C Cassidy, R O’Donnell 0-7, B Byrne 0-1, B Cassidy. Subs - P McGlynn for S Brown, G McGinty for C Cassidy, C Gallagher for B Cassidy, G Brogan for J Doherty. Termon: M Boyle, B Gallagher, P McDaid, A McGettigan, A McGrenra 0-1, K McGettigan, J McElwaine, B Alcorn, T Cullen, P J McFadden 1-0, D Gibson 0-1, J Gallagher, F Friel, J McCafferty 0-1, K McMenamin 0-3. Subs - C Conaghan 0-1 for F Friel, M Alcorn for B Alcorn.
Kieran Espey, PRO Four Masters GAA Club