McEnhill and Keating triumph in Ulster Póc Fada

June 22nd, 2016

Ulster GAA Treasurer Ciaran McLaughlin with U16 Ulster Póc Fada winner Dominic McEnhill (Antrim) and Senior Ulster Póc Fada winner Karol Keating (Down).

Following a heavy downpour of rain a small band of hurlers took to the hills just outside Omagh on Tuesday evening where they competed for the Ulster title for the longest puck of a sliotar.

County champions from across the Province battled the elements and set off to compete in very wet underfoot conditions at the height of the Pigeon Top.

Competition took place in Senior and Under 16 categories and after two hours of hard and long pucking the competitors turned the final corner to tackle the last hill.

Dominic McEnhill from Antrim triumphed in the Under 16 category. Following a consistent round of striking, he had a score of 28 pucks with five shots to spare over nearest competitor Ciaran Watson from Down. A special mention must be made tp Armagh’s Oisin Hughes who despite bowing out of the event after losing two sliotars in the boggy conditions displayed excellent sportsmanship through completing the course acting as a ‘spotter’ for the Cavan competitor Eoghan McGrath.

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In the Senior event, following several years of knocking at the door, Karol Keating, from County Down showed tremendous character to win home by the narrowest of margins over Derry’s Ruairi Convery. The winning score of 23 pucks was an exceptional performance over such tricky conditions.

Ulster GAA would like to thank County Tyrone for hosting the event and in particular the Drumragh Sarsfields club who provided their facilities and refreshments after the event.