Raphoe Royal and Prior lands a hat-trick of wins at Badminton All-Ireland finals

Raphoe Royal and Prior have scooped a magical hat-trick at the Schools Badminton All-Ireland Finals. 

On Wednesday, 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 

The boy's team, consisting of Corey Chambers, Callum Macbeth, James Meehan and Jake McLaughlin played St Flannan’s College. Corey, Callum & James all won their matches. McLaughlin debuted for the team coming in as a late replacement for Cameron White who missed this event through injury.  

Corey Chambers, Ireland U-15 international, 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.  

Macbeth and McLaughlin lost their 2nd doubles with the former down 12/15 at end change but approached the second half full focused with his hand to the plow, head down, leaving his opponent without an answer. He put up a great fight to the end but St Flannan’s no 4 won out 30-29. 

Meehan in a close match beat Ennis’s No 3 30/26.  

Minor Girls Div 1 

The 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 and Isabelle Jose 30-19 while Alex McAuley and Ella Thompson teamed up to produce a solid performance 30-9.  

In singles, Emily Maxwell played Hannah Shochan. Despite taking on Leinster and Ireland’s No 1 U-15 player, Emily soldiered and banked a pleasant 16 points.  

Lucy Moore closed out the match with a 30/6-point victory. The next hurdle to overcome in the club’s pursuit of victory would be testing, with Listowel’s line-up mirroring that of the Royal’s line-up.  

Determination and creativity were employed to bury Listowel’s dreams. The Donegal club gained an early advantage as both girls’ doubles secured the first two points of the match, albeit the game was still there for the taking. Emily Maxwell played Nicole Vesko in a nail-biting match, with Maxwell putting a few points between herself and her opponent to win 30/23. 

Senior Boys Div 1 

The Senior boys, on the back of a superb finish in Ulster, continued in a similar vein approaching their match as they faced Kilkenny College in their first match.  

Rhys McAuley, Callum Laird, and Ben Lowry won respectively 30/16 each. 

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 and Zach McAuley - 30/28 against the Muster side, wrapped up the match 6-0 and, just like that the Senior Boys were on the podium regaining the Senior Div 1 title, last won in 2015!