All-Ireland glory for Mayo pool player as county's underage stars shine in Rosslare

Mayo boy Darragh Gaughan from near Belmullet was crowned the U-12 All-Ireland Singles Champion on Sunday evening in Rosslare, while Mayo came close to adding more titles, with Mia Barrett reaching the final of the Junior Girls and the Mayo U18 A team finishing as runners-up in the team event.

Following the long journey to Wexford on Friday, the U-18 singles were first to begin. With 153 players competing, three rounds were completed, with Kieran O’Rourke, Sean Coyle, Danny Hession, Keelan Barrett, and Jack Gaughan all progressing to the last 32.

The action resumed on Saturday, and it was Keelan Barrett and Jack Gaughan who advanced to the quarter-finals. Keelan lost out to the talented Kian Hopkins, while Jack was defeated by eventual runner-up Rhys McLaughlin.

READ NEXT: Mayo student wins Young Animator of the Year Award

The U-15 singles began early on Saturday, and by evening the competition had reached the quarter-final stages, with Paul Neary and Darragh Gaughan representing Mayo among the final eight.

Darragh recorded an impressive 4–2 win over fellow Mayo player James Brennan in the last 16, while Paul produced strong performances throughout the day to join him in the quarter-finals.

Paul was later beaten by Archie Henderson, who went on to win the competition, while Darragh reached the semi-finals, where he also lost to Henderson.

The team events also got underway on Saturday. In the U15 event, both Mayo A and Mayo B qualified for the knockout stages, with the A team securing four wins from five matches and the B team going undefeated in the group stages. Mayo also fielded a girls’ team, who produced some credible performances, including a 5–2 win over Carlow A and two narrow 5-4 defeats to Leitrim A and Kildare A.

The quarter-final draw proved difficult for Mayo A, who exited the competition against a strong Dublin side, while Mayo B recorded a 5–2 win over Kerry A. This set up a mouth-watering semi-final between defending champions Mayo B and Dublin, but unfortunately Dublin progressed in a final-frame decider.

In the U18 team event, the Mayo A team came close to adding another All-Ireland title but were defeated by a very strong Antrim side in the final.

They progressed from the group stages with four wins from five, setting up a quarter-final clash with Cavan A on Sunday afternoon. Mayo proved too strong with a 5–3 win and followed it up with a superb 5–1 victory over Donegal in the semi-finals.

Shortly afterwards, they were back in action in the final, but Antrim showed their class, keeping their composure under pressure to take the title by five frames to one.

Special mention should go to the Mayo Girls Team that played in the U18 Event with all the boys teams. They had a 5-0 win over Wicklow and were 2-2 at one stage with Donegal who went on to reach the semi-finals.

Keelin Coyle was the eldest of the three players and she was joined on the team by ten year old Chloe Sheridan and seven year old Emily Gaughan who had a large audience watching her every time she picked up the cue.

Mayo had a strong contingent in the Junior Girls singles, with Mia Barrett, Sophie Carty, Keelin Coyle, and Aoibhinn Barrett all reaching the quarter-finals. Keelin was first into the semi-finals with a 3–0 win over Sophie Donnelly, while Mia joined her with a 3–1 victory over Aoibhinn Barrett.

Mia then defeated Brooke Sinnott 3–1 to reach the final, while Keelin was beaten by former champion Kayla McCrory. In the final, the experienced McCrory claimed the title after a hard-fought win over Mia, who came close to adding an All-Ireland title to her recent successes in the Erris and Mayo Championships.

The highlight for Mayo came late on Sunday evening as they retained the U12 singles title won last year by James Brennan. Darragh Gaughan secured victory in a dramatic final-frame decider against his cousin Lorcan Barrett, who also did his county proud by reaching the final.

With fifty entrants at the start of the day, it was remarkable that two Mayo players contested the final, both producing excellent performances throughout. Each player was pushed all the way at times, with several 3–2 victories along the way, but both fully deserved their place in the decider.

The final could have gone either way, with Lorcan leading 2–1 and 3–2, but Darragh held his nerve to take the title in the final frame at the second attempt, adding to his recent triumphs in the U12 Champion of Erris and the Mayo Championships.

Thanks also to every player and parent who made the long journey to Rosslare, especially Stephen Gaughan for organising transport. Appreciation is also extended to all team managers over the weekend. Hopefully, everyone will look back on the event as a success against very strong competition from across the country.