The Danny Broderick Memorial Doubles Darts Tournament will be held at The Half Barrel Bar here in Castleisland on Sunday, April 26th. It’s being billed as a ‘One-day Doubles Competition’ and entries are being taken now.
Registration will be taken on the day from 2-30pm to 3-30pm and an entry fee of €20 per team will apply. There will be prize-money for the winners, runners-up and the winners of a third place play-off.
This event has all the potential to become an annual shoot-out and I’m sure that’s the intention. If it has and it does, then, it will become the second yearly sporting tournament in Castleisland to honor the memory of a man who graced the games of Darts and Pitch and Putt with no little degree of skill and dedication.
The Beamish and Crawford Castleisland Darts Town League of 1997 was, probably the best and most keenly contested competition ever. All the pubs from Castleisland had teams entered and the competition was played on a home and away basis and over a four month spell. This was during a period when the interest in darts was returning and teams were beginning to travel to events around the county again.
It was in the final of that league between The Fountain Bar and The Greyhound Bar that the late Danny Broderick had, probably, his finest moment in the game.
The title was in the balance and Danny, throwing for ‘The Fountain’ faced Denis O’Mahony for ‘The Greyhound’. The two had met the previous week and O’Mahony took the honors on a 2-0 score on that occasion.
In the final, for which the house was packed to the door and a camera beamed the game live to a huge screen in the main bar, Broderick and O’Mahony had the hopes of both their teams weighing heavily on their shoulders.
It was nine to eight going into this game with The Fountain in the lead. Clinching this one would also claim the title for the home side.
There was nothing in the scoring and Danny took the first leg of the possible three. Into the second and it was the same, nerve wracking, ding dong affair. Then Danny, having come around the board went up and planted a double two to a cheer that should have lifted the roof of the grand old house.
There was rarely a sporting moment in Castleisland that was greeted with such celebration and raucousness and the bar was right there and waiting and it was lined, several deep that night around The Fountain boys and the man they’re now remembering with this tournament at The Half Barrel.
Anyone looking for more details can contact Tim on: 087 24 45 379.
