The Kerry Juvenile Singles Badminton Championships were held in Killarney at the end of last month.
Kate Harmon of Castleisland’s Kingdom Badminton Club took silver in the U-14 category being pipped in a very close game by Nicole Vesko of Listowel.
Both girls competed last weekend in Waterford in the Munster Juvenile inter-county team event coming away with silver.
They were runners up to Clare while beating Cork, Waterford and Tipperary in the qualifying rounds. A fantastic performance by all.
Badminton and Castleisland and Listowel
Mention of badminton and Castleisland and Listowel reminds me of one of the lovely afternoon encounters I had with the late Mary Keane in John B’s Bar.
Before her married years Mary worked as an apprentice hairdresser with Mrs. Patricia ‘Pat’ O’Connor-Hannon.
Mrs. Keane loved talking about her Castleisland days in the early 1950s and one day she told me about life in the salon on the first floor of the building which once housed The Chicago Bar and now the betting shop.
Spacious Room – High Ceiling
“The boss was a keen badminton player and the salon was spacious and the ceiling was high and on quiet times between appointments we’d string a net across the room and the game would be on – it could last for ages – and then we’d make tea,” Mary reminisced fondly.
The boss in the salon all those years ago was a great grand-aunt of Kate Harmon. And in case you think that all this sporting prowess is some kind of flash in the pan, look up the Hannon association with badminton in Kerry and Munster over the years.
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