Inishowen clubs strike gold at All-Ireland Indoor Tug O’War championships

The All-Ireland Indoor Tug of War competition, held in Kingscourt in County Cavan on the weekend before last, heralded the start of the competitive season for clubs. Although there have been many inter clubs training competitions so far this season, this is the first one that squads were hungry to win.

The first weight class was the 680kg and there was a strong representation with Clonmany being a notable returnee.

In the group stages the Clonmany men looked dominant and were too powerful for their opponents. Carndonagh, however, struggled in the early rounds and had to adjust their formation to find a winning formula which they eventually did succeeding in getting through to the semi finals. They faced Killylough at that stage and endured two very intense ends before prevailing. Clonmany overpowered their opponents Kinletter in the other semi final, setting up an all-Inishowen final.

The final was a hard fought affair with Carndonagh attacking from the outset. Clonmany held firm and when they got backward momentum they were impossible to stop. The second leg mirrored the first and Clonmany emerged victorious.

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Next up was the Ladies 5-a-side which featured two Carndonagh sides in the final. The A team set out their intention to attack incessantly from the get go, and the B team found it difficult to counter. The A team’s dominance continued in the second leg and they looked set for a clean sweep in the best of five affair. However, the B team responded in the third leg and after a feisty pull they narrowed the gap to 2-1. With everything to play for the fourth leg was in the balance before the A team finally won out.

Next up was the men's 600kg class. Carndonagh delivered the most impressive performances in the group stages and looked like the overall favourites going into the semi final. The semi-final was another display of power and they progressed to meet Killylough in the final. The first end was a slow burner with Carndonagh gaining ground on the drop, but the Monaghan men responded and were inching their way back. Carndonagh attacked again getting good ground before fending off an attack from their opponents. Carndonagh's next attack proved critical as they persisted to get the win over the line. The second leg proved as equally balanced as the first, but the Inishowen men proved to have more engine to win the category and become All-Ireland champions again.

The final contest of the day was the 580kg Mixed. Again this featured the two Carndonagh teams, but this time the B team started off on the right foot by winning the first end. They proved equally powerful in the next two legs and were crowned All-Ireland champions.

All in all, it was a very successful outing for the Inishowen clubs, with Clonmany taking home a gold and Carndonagh winning three golds and three silvers.