Tug-of-war: Pulling power of Creewood boys can't be matched
Wednesday July 30 2008
Coached by Shane McDonagh and trained by Joe White, the Creewood boys lost the opening pull against the Carlow team but fought back to level and then, amid great excitement, won the decider.
Creewood's last All-Ireland success came in 2004 and this latest win should help reinforce the sport in the area, which has a long and proud tradition.
Spokesperson for the host club Joe White - who has the distinction of being the longest-serving puller in the country, having being involved for a massive 42 years - said the win was the icing on the cake for Creewood. 'We are proud to host the All-Irelands every year and we always get a great response from tug-of-war teams from all over the country,' said Joe. 'All the big clubs were here to compete and overall the event was a great success, and to end off the day with a home win was a bit special.'
Joe competed himself earlier in the day in the Division 2 catchweight, but Creewood did not make it to the last four and it was eventually won by The Grove of Mayo. In the senior 720kg Boley of Wexford emerged victors, while Leevalley (Mayo) won the novice event and an impressive St Patrick's (north Louth) won at Under-23 level.
The victorious Creewood U-18 team was Sean Smyth, Feargal Goodwin, Reece Kellett, Leo Nulty, Aaron Byrne, Chris Dunleavy, Niall Boland and Shane McEntaggert.
