This report from Declan Moran of Newport Sea Angling Club from their recent junior competition:
After a two year absence due to Covid, Newport SAC were delighted to host the 2022 National Junior Competition / Daniel Peacock Memorial on Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd of July 2022.
This year’s competition was fished over two days in the beautiful surrounds of Clew Bay. It was great for the parents, club members and junior anglers to meet once again on the quayside on both mornings to find out who they would be fishing alongside for the day and discuss their tactics. As always our highly paid chefs were on hand to provide a freshly cooked sausage roll and a hot cup of tea for all participants. Each group assembled for a photo before all of the young junior anglers (& helpers) boarded the boats to head out to sea.
The weather conditions on both days could be best described as challenging but they all braved the difficult sea conditions. The various boats reported decent catches over the two days and it seemed as if there was very little between the boats on their return to the quay. The charts were gathered by the committee members as the long and arduous task of working out the various category winners began behind the scenes. The Junior anglers were welcomed back onto the pier by their parents and the prize presentation was held in Nevins Bar, Newport.
At Sunday evening’s prize presentation, local angler Holly McGee was crowned National Junior Champion with a total of 37 fish and 185 points. Holly was presented with the Daniel Peacock Memorial Trophy in front of the large attendance of anglers parents and club members to rapturous applause. Holly’s last entry into this competition saw her finish runner up in the 8 to 13yrs category and this time around she went one better by finishing in top place. Holly was one of 33 junior anglers, all aged between 8 and 18 years of age, took part in this year’s event. Our congrats to Holly on her brilliant achievement from all at the club!
This annual Junior competition is now in its 30th year and this year also marked the 17th anniversary of the Daniel Peacock Memorial competition. The club’s very first competition dedicated to the Junior members began back in 1992 and has been held every year since. As this was the 30 year anniversary of the competition it is worth expressing our gratitude to the pioneers of the club committee back in 1992 and their foresight in laying the foundations of this hugely successful event. It is also an opportunity to thank the various committee members, anglers, parents and sponsors who over the years have helped to make this event so special for so many young anglers.
Local sponsor Charles Reilly from Chambers Agri Newport was also on hand to present all participants with a plaque and beanie hat (with the Chambers Agri logo) to honour their participation in the competition. Every one of the juniors started and finished the day with a smile. Every single junior angler caught fish on the day and no one went home empty handed.
A big thank you to Declan Nevin and family who provided hot food & drinks for all in attendance and also for providing the venue for the presentation. As always, a fantastic display of prizes were on offer, thanks to a combination of Sue & Matthew’s generosity, the clubs hard working trophy officers and all of our generous sponsors. The club wishes to thank each and every one of our sponsors, the skippers, stewards, committee, parents and anyone who generally helped to make the day special for the juniors in whatever way they could. Our thanks also to all skippers and their crew, to the parents who helped out on the boats and those who helped on the quayside each day. The prizes were presented by Cllr. Brendan Mulroy (who gives great support to the club and is a main club sponsor over the last number of years).
Other prize givers were David Nevin from the Westport branch of the Credit Union, Sue Steer, Ann Taylor & of course Great Nanny Dawe (representing the Peacock family). We were indeed privileged to have Great Nanny Dawe (great grandmother of the late Daniel Peacock) back again to present some of the prizes. We wish her well as she will soon be celebrating her 103rd birthday and look forward to seeing her back at next year’s presentation.
The results of the 2022 Daniel Peacock Memorial / National Junior Competition were as follows:
The overall winner was Holly McGee with a total of 37 fish and 185 points.
8 years to 13 years category:
Winner: Darragh Mulchrone (18 fish – 110 pts) Runner up: Sean Nevin (16 fish – 110 pts) 3rd place: Cian Moran (17 fish – 105 pts)
4th place: Julie O’Grady (17 fish – 85 pts) 5th place: Felix Zeray (13 fish – 85 pts) 6th place: Mollie Mulchrone (13 fish – 65 pts)
14 years to 18 years category:
Winner: Daithí Nevin (22 fish – 130 pts) Runner up: Patrick Sammon (12 fish – 80 pts) 3rd place: Zak Zeray (5 fish – 55 pts)
4th place: Shane Durcan (10 fish – 50 pts) 5th place: Roisin Moran (6 fish – 50 pts) 6th place: Ellie MacDonnell (4 fish – 50 pts)
Novice Category:
1st place – James Heanue (17 fish – 105 pts) 2nd place – Laoise Fynnes (11 fish – 85 pts) 3rd place – Katie Moran (12 fish – 80 pts)
4th place– Aaron Moreno (7 fish – 75 pts) 5th place – Laochlinn Mulchrone (10 fish – 70 pts) 6th place – Alan Heanue (9 fish – 70 pts)
Teams Event winners were Holly McGee, Daithi Nevin, Patrick Sammon & Ruby MacDonnell with a total of 410 points and 72 fish
Teams Event runners up were James Heanue, Rory Moran, Eoghan Smyth & Darragh Mulchrone with a total of 300 points and 41 fish
Individual Boat Winners:
Lady Helen (Sat) – Cian Moran / James Heanue,
White Water II (Sat) – Aaron Moreno
Lady Helen (Sun) – Laoise Fynnes
White Water II (Sun) – Holly McGee
Largest Ray: James Heanue (20.25 inches)
Largest Bulhuss: Alan Heanue (45.5 inches)
Boatmans Prize: For best angler average score over the two days was Reg Roynon who skippered the Lady Helen.
Congrats to all winners and thanks to everyone who took part on the day!
The club would like to thank all sponsors for their generosity, as without their support, the competition would not have taken place. In particular we would like to thank our main sponsors as follows:
Sue Steer & Matthew Peacock (Main Trophy Sponsors), Clr Brendan Mulroy (Main Club Sponsor), Chambers Agri (Main Competition Sponsor), Nevins Bar (Main Competition Sponsor), Inland Fisheries Ireland, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Clew Bay Marine Services, Westport Hotel Group, MOWI Ireland, Midwest Furniture, Westport Credit Union, Frank Chambers Auctioneers & Estate Agents, Hastings Insurance, Castlebar Self Storage, Oliver Kelleher Trophies, Keanes Butchers, Marine Institute – Furnace, O’Malley Transport, Ann Taylor, Great Nanny Dawe, Martin Forrestal Engineering, Eamonn Kennedy, Mayo Movie World, Tracks & Treasures, Aislings, Keen Print.
Please contact any member of the club if you wish to get involved in helping out at any of our events throughout the year or visit our website www.newportseaanglingclub.com for further details.
