Peter the Great!
April 30, 2010Moate All-Whites' Peter Dolan claimed Westmeath's 12th All-Ireland Scor Sinsear title on April 18 2009 last when he triumphed in the Recitation/Storytelling discipline at the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney.
In Scor's 40th year, Peter followed in the footsteps of Bunbrosna's Christy Duffy and Mary Hughes of Mullingar Shamrocks who also triumphed in this discipline in 1978 and 2007 respectively. Three other local acts also reached the All-Ireland final, but there was no joy for the Castletown-Geoghegan novelty act, The Downs set dancers or Ballymore's Padraic Keena in solo singing.
The county's latest Scor All-Ireland champion received a rapturous welcome on his return to Moate the following evening. From the hastily erected podium outside the Grand Hotel, Peter thanked all those who had supported him, particularly Tommy and Louise Heavin for their advice and encouragement.
Westmeath county board chairman Tom Farrell remembered Peter's late father, Dr Nick Dolan, who was a former chairman of the Moate All-Whites club, and spoke of how proud he would have been
Westmeath County Council chairman and current Moate All-Whites chairman Joe Whelan said it was a weekend to savour for the South Westmeath town with boxers Johnny and Joe Joyce also picking up All-Ireland titles.
Peter was a worthy All-Ireland champion, having captivated the 2,000-strong Killarney audience with his recitation of 'The Present' - a witty and entertaining tale of a mix-up in parcels where the prospective girlfriend receives a pair of knickers instead of the intended gloves!
To cap a great year for the Lake County, Mullingar Shamrocks' Des Maguire was reappointed National Chairman for a second term. Des has been synonymous with Westmeath Scor for many years, and is also chairman of the Westmeath football board.
The long road to Killarney began in earnest two months earlier when hundreds of Scor enthusiasts descended on The Downs GAA Centre for the county finals. Eight titles were up for grabs, with Ballymore, Ballycomoyle, Moate All-Whites, Mullingar Shamrocks, Castletown-Geoghegan and The Downs sharing the honours between them. It was a particularly good night for Ballymore who won three county titles and were also named Club of the Year.
As usual, the first discipline of the night was Figure Dancing. Mullingar Shamrocks, who were bidding for a record 13th consecutive title, were up against acts from Ballymore, Castletown-Geoghegan and The Downs. After one of the closest contests this discipline has ever seen in Westmeath, the verdict went to the Ballymore group which comprised Majella Murphy, Rosemary Downes, Martha Looram, Miriam Walsh, Deirdre Maguire, Maria Shaw, Lillian Maguire and Niamh Keena.
In the Solo Singing category, Ballymore's Padraic Keena dethroned reigning All-Ireland champion Jenny McNamee of The Downs after a brilliant performance. Padraic had triumphed at the All-Ireland Fleadh the previous August in Tullamore, and this was another feather in his cap. He also saw off strong competition from Ballycomoyle's Doreen Farrelly and young Shane Heraty from Ballinagore.
Ballymore made it a hat-trick of successes when they won back the Instrumental Music title from Bunbrosna. The winners were represented by Solo Singing champion Padraic Keena, his younger brother Thomas, Bernie McLoughlin-Boland, Miriam Walsh and Liz Maguire.
Peter Dolan gave a taste of things to come when he was crowned Recitation winner. The Moate man saw off stiff competition from 2008 champion Hugo Slevin from St. Joseph's, Ballycomoyle's Catherine Daly and Michael Molloy from Bunbrosna.
In the Ballad Group, Moate All-Whites' reign was ended by Ballycomoyle, whose victory was a reward for their perseverance as much as anything else. Their group was made up of Doreen Farrelly, Catherine Daly, Grainne Healy, Siobhan Murphy and Michael Fagan.
Over the previous two years, Moate had won one All-Ireland and two Leinster titles and they are sure to be back competing for the major prizes again next year, as will St. Joseph's and Ballymore who also competed in the Ballad Group discipline.
In Question Time, the Mullingar Shamrocks trio of Tom Hunt, Willie Geraghty and Joe Nyland emerged as winners ahead of St. Mary's, Bunbrosna and Castletown-Geoghegan in that order. A big talking point was the failure of 2008 champions St. Joseph's to reach the final following their semi-final elimination.
Castletown-Geoghegan maintained their proud tradition in the Novelty Act discipline when a vintage performance earned them the title. The group, which comprised Pat Clarke, Ian Corrigan, Martin Daly, John 'Banjo' Quinn, Mick Heeney, Claire Varley and Deirdre Cowley-Kennedy, had to overcome three very good acts in reigning champions Ballycomoyle and former winners St. Mary's and Mullingar Shamrocks.
The Set Dancing competition, which was the final one of the night, saw The Downs dethrone county and Leinster champions Bunbrosna. The other clubs in the mix were Castletown-Geoghegan and Ballinagore.
With such talent on stage, the audience was treated to a wonderful and exciting competition with all four groups performing to a high level. But when the score sheets of the adjudicators from Dublin, Meath and Leitrim were handed up, The Downs group of Sinead Lynam, Sarah Moran, Yvonne Murphy, Brenda Deihy, Greg Crowley, Kevin Flynn, Colm Rowan and George Coyle were declared winners.
The night also saw special presentations being made to stalwarts Paddy O'Connor from The Downs and St. Mary's Paddy McCabe by the Westmeath Scor committee. For almost 40 years, Paddy O'Connor has been backing The Downs dancers, both ceili and seit, with his accordion. Since returning from abroad over a decade ago, Paddy McCabe has helped revive Scor in Rochfortbridge and was vice-chairman of the county committee up until last year.
The eight winners competed in the Leinster semi-finals which also took place in The Downs GAA Centre one week later. It is a measure of how high standards are in the county that all eight acts qualified for the Leinster final.
Ballymore had the honour of hosting the provincial finals on March 22, and the home supporters had plenty to cheer about as four acts were successful with Padraic Keena claiming the Solo Singing title, Castletown-Geoghegan winning the Novelty Act, The Downs triumphing in the Set Dancing and Peter Dolan picking up the Recitation crown.
A large Westmeath contingent also travelled to Killarney for the All-Ireland finals. All four Lake County acts gave outstanding performances, but only Peter Dolan came away with an All-Ireland medal.
Padraic McKenna showed why he is a star in the making, and could consider himself unlucky to lose out to Cork's Elle-Marie O'Dwyer. His superb singing voice and great stage personality will surely bring him All-Ireland glory in the years ahead.
Castletown-Geoghegan had high hopes of becoming Westmeath's first Novelty Act winners, so their disappointment was perfectly understandable. Meanwhile, The Downs, who were competing in their 18th All-Ireland final between Scor Sinsear and Scor na nOg, finished runners-up to a group from Co. Galway. Perhaps tutor Alice Deihy and her group will make that elusive breakthrough in 2010. Tweet
