Round 2 Results- Friday 24th October 2008.
McDermott's, Ballinaheglish 3-4 Spell's, Ballaghaderreen (14-15).
Church Street Station, Roscommon 1-6 Flanagan's, Castleplunket (6-18).
Creatons, Loughlynn 2-5 Clay Pipe, Knockcroghery (13-17).
Kate's, Castlerea 1-6 Murray's, Elphin (6-19).
Follow the League at www.rosdarts.blogspot.com

Round 1- Friday 17th October 2008.
Results.
Clay Pipe, Knockcroghery 6-1 Murray's, Elphin
Flanagan's, Castleplunket v Creatons, Loughlynn
McDermott's, Ballinaheglish 7-0 Church Street Station, Roscommon
Spell's, Ballaghaderreen 6-1 Kate's, Castlerea
Follow the League at www.rosdarts.blogspot.com

2008/2009 League set to begin
Spell's of Ballaghaderreen begin the defence of their Hannon's Hotel Roscommon County Darts League with a home encounter against Kate's of Castlerea this Friday night. Spell's retain all the members of their League winning side with 1 new addition to the panel. McDermott's of Ballinaheglish host The Church Street Station. McDermott's- who were last years beaten finalists burst out of the blocks last year and will hope to come out of this one unscathed. The Claypipe of Knockcroghery will entertain Murray's of Elphin- while pick of the Round 1 fixtures is Flanagan's of Castleplunkett who will take on Creaton's of Loughlynn in Castleplunkett.

Round 1- Friday 17th October 2008. 10pm sharp.
Clay Pipe, Knockcroghery v Murray's, Elphin
Flanagan's, Castleplunket v Creatons, Loughlynn
McDermott's, Ballinaheglish v Church Street Station, Roscommon
Spell's, Ballaghaderreen v Kate's, Castlerea

AGM
Next meeting of Roscommon County Darts is on Tuesday the 7th of October at 9pm in Hannon’s Hotel Roscommon.
Committee changes-
Presidents- Liam Kerins and Atty Hynes.
Chairperson- Robbie Dolan.
Secretary- Mick Egan.
Treasurer- Martina McKeon.
P.R.O. - Martin Fleming.
Mens Manager-Tommy Beirne.
Ladies Manager- Martina McKeon.
Youths Manager- Luke Concannon.
Roscommon County Darts League proposals.
The Roscommon County Darts League for the most, will remain the same format as last year.
*Team or Publicans fee is €200, to be paid before the draw is made.
*Player fee €20 per player. And €10 per Youth player to be paid before the draw is made.
*Maximum of 12 players per panel-all of whom must be named and paid players fee before draw is made. No player can join a team thereafter.
*Games will start at 10pm Sharp.
*Game Dartboards must be in playable condition throughout the league at correct height.
*Oche must be in place on game nights and be correctly fixed in place and measure correctly.
*Away team throw for the Bull first to decide which team wins the darts in Games 1, 3, 5, and 7 on the night.
*7 Games of Singles on the night, best of 5 legs per game. Maximum of 7 points available on the night.
*Team Captains will be required to maintain the scores on the night, so that points and leg count should be 100% accurate at the end of the League. At the end of each night both Captains will sign the scoresheet making sure all details are accurate. Scoresheets must be kept in good and readable condition.
*The League will be decided on points scored, with the top four to playoff for overall League title.
*Should any number of teams be tied on points at the end of the League stages -positions will then be decided on legs scored.
*If the unlikely event teams are level on points and legs- a playoff will take place to decide who advances. The playoff shall take place at a neutral venue decided by a coin toss between team captains. Winning Captain has the choice of Venue which must be from within the League.
*The provisional start date for the 2008/2009 Hannon’s Hotel Roscommon County Darts League is the Friday, 17th of October.
These and other additional rules will be finalised at the next meeting of Roscommon County Darts on Tuesday night the 7th of October in Hannon's Hotel, Roscommon Town. If all is agreed at that meeting the draw will take place and the League will begin on October 17th.

Roscommon Darts AGM.
The Roscommon County Darts AGM will take place in Hannon's Hotel Roscommon town on Tuesday the 23rd of September at 9pm. All interested players, publicans and supporters of darts in Roscommon and who wish to continue to improve the sport within the county are urged to attend.

THE I.N.D.O. IRISH MASTERS WEEKEND
West County Hotel, Ennis, Co. Clare.
€3000 PRIZE FUND SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 20th
IRISH MASTERS DOUBLES
MEN & LADIES PAIR
ENTRIES AT VENUE, UP TILL 5.30PM
GAMES START 6.30PM
ENTRANCE FEE €20 PER TEAM
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 21st
THE IRISH MASTERS SINGLES
MENS LADIES & YOUTHS
NO ENTRIES ON THE DAY
ENTRANCE FEE: MEN €20, LADIES €15, YOUTHS €10.
GAMES START 12 NOON SHARP
ALL ENTRIES THROUGH YOUR COUNTY SECRETARY OR
I.N.D.O GEN.SEC. Brian O Farrell @ 0863597007

THE IRISH OPEN SINGLES
White's Hotel, Wexford.
W.D.F RANKED
SEPTEMBER 13TH & 14TH
€6000 PRIZE FUND
MENS LADIES & YOUTHS
MENS ENTRIES €30 LADIES €20 YOUTHS €10
CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES SEPTEMBER 6TH
ACCOMODATION PACKAGE AVAILABLE FROM HOTEL @ 053 9122311
LADIES AND MENS CHECK IN AT 11AM. YOUTHS 2PM ON SATURDAY 13TH
MENS GAME START AT 12 NOON LADIES @ 2 PM YOUTHS @ 3PM
ENQUIRIES TO BRIAN O FARRELL @ 086 3597007
ALL YOUTH COMPETITIONS ENTRIES WILL BE TAKEN EACH DAY UP TILL 12 NOON. PRIZES AND TROPHIES WILL BE GIVEN FOR BOTH COMPETITIONS.

Darts Open Singles
in the sports complex Rathdrum Co. Wicklow
Saturday 20th September
Check in 10am - 11am
Entry fee €20
First prize €500.
In aid of Chernobyl childrens aid
Also ladies tournament on the day
details on the day.
For further information contact
Nevill Doyle 0863902612
or Martin Kinsella 0872248389

Concannon Conquers in Kilkenny!!
Ballinaheglish and Roscommon Darts player David Concannon was last Sunday crowned Ireland's Youth Darts Championship winner for 2008 on what was another special Sunday for Roscommon Darts. The finals were held in front of a packed crowd at The SpringhillCourt Hotel in Kilkenny- the same lucky venue in which David captained the Roscommon Youths to their third All-Ireland in March.
Qualification for Sunday's finals began last September with seven top class ranked championship rounds taking place at various venues across the island. At noon on Sunday last the battle commenced with 32 men, 8 women and 16 youths in four different grades.
Roscommon's only representatives were at youth level. David Concannon, Mark Finneran and Gary Concannon took part in the Youth Championship for the overall title while Thomas Concannon took part in the Youths Plate section in which he ran out easy winner- winning in the final on a 3-0 scoreline.
Gary Concannon made an early exit to a decent performance from Kilkenny's Paddy Meaney. Mark Finneran progressed to the semi's by beating Kildare's John McKenna 3-0. David Concannon was very impressive to see off Cork's Ryan Courtney in his opening challenge of the day hitting a 180 with his first three darts with winning legs of 14,16 and 23 darts. David maintained this form in the semi-final beating Kerry's Jason Hahessy 3-0 with 17,22,and 24 dart legs. In what was the performance of the day by a Roscommon player Mark Finneran beat Paddy Meaney 3-2 having been 2-0 down. Three priceless checkouts of 49, 70 and a match winning effort of 61 left the Kilkenny player reeling. Finneran had defeated Meaney in similiar fashion to win Roscommon that All Ireland in March.
Although the Championship title was already going to Roscommon- the on stage final between Mark and David was as tough as the earlier rounds. David got the better start winning the first leg. Mark replied with a 22 dart leg but failed to build on that. In what was a short format for a final both players were improving as the game wore on as David took the third in 23 darts and took out the winning leg in 21 darts with Mark sitting on easy finishes.
The Senior mens title and the top prize of over €2,000 went to Antrim's Daryl Gurney after he ended his dominant day with a 6-3 win over Dublin's Gareth Gray- accounting for last years winner Paul Irving along the way. Kildare's Sharon O' Brien captured the womens title after a deserved 4-2 win in the final against Fermanagh's Denise Cassidy.
Television coverage will be broadcast on TG4 on Saturday the 6th of September.

Upcoming Fixtures.
September 13th and 14th:The W.D.F. Ranked Irish Open Singles, Whites Hotel, Wexford. Prizefund €6,000.
September 20th and 21st: I.N.D.O. Irish Masters Weekend. Prizefund €3,000.
Details of both and more on RTE 2 teletext page 426.

The draw for the finals of Ireland's Players has been made. Takes place next Sunday August 10th in the Springhill Court Hotel in Kilkenny City.

Men's Championship:

Group {1}: Shane O'Connor ; Brian Cathcart ; Mervyn Robinson ; Kevin Hanly.

Group {2}: Sean Marshall ; Daryl Gurney ; Ben Corcoran ; Andrew Dempsey.

Group {3}: Martin Murphy ; John O'Shea ; Brian Doheny ; Simon Wykes.

Group {4}: Roy Bailie ; Ali Powell ; John Elder ; Eugene McArdle.

Group {5}: Damian O'Driscoll ; Michael Blair ; Jack McKenna ; William O'Connor.

Group {6}: Denis McCarthy ; Garrett Gray ; Aodhagan O'Neill ; Jamie Shearer.

Group {7}: Johnny Donovan ; John Ward ; Noel Redmond ; Paul Irving.

Group {8}: Benny Grace ; Patrick Keane ; Connie Finnan ; Jason Cullen.

Ladies' Championship:

Group {1}: Joan Flynn ; Maureen Kelly ; Theresa Maher ; Maeve O'Connor.

Group {2}: Sharon O'Brien ; Kay O'Carroll ; Martina Scallon ; Denise Cassidy.

Youths' Championship:

Paddy Meaney v Gary Concannon

Mark Finneran v John McKenna

Sean McArdle v Jason Hahessy

David Concannon v Ryan Courtney

Youths' Plate:

Philip Doheny v Kian Barker

Dylan Rutledge v Martin Doheny

Thomas Concannon v Dean Forde

Paul Donovan v Craig Casey

Irish U-21 Panel decided.
David Concannon, Mark Finneran and Gary Concannon all booked their places on the 2009 Republic of Ireland Youth Friendship Trophy team after the final round of trials were completed in Egan's Hotel, Portlaoise on Sunday.

Ballinaheglish's David Concannon made it a winning end to his qualification run as he beat Dublin's Sean McArdle 3-2 in the final. It will be David's fourth time to represent Ireland at U-21 level having participated in Scotland, Derry, and Derby, England in recent years. David's younger brother Gary will also be taking part in next years event along with Ballymacglancy's Mark Finneran. Both Gary and Mark played in this years event in Derby.

Ballaghaderreen's Sean Fleming automatically qualified for the event following his excellent performances in this years event in Derby and it will be his seventh successive year to be involved.

Wexford Open Result.
The Youths of Roscommon made the long journey to Rossslare, Co.Wexford at the weekend for the I.N.D.O. Wexford Open. It was a to prove to be a worthwhile journey with David Concannon, Mark Finneran and Gary Concannon all featuring well in three different grades.
In what was two very impressive results David Concannon added to his tally of ranking points for the season after reaching the Quarter Finals of both the U-21's and Wexford Mens National Open event. Over 70 players took part in the mens event which was won by Kilkenny's Shane Nolan.
Mark Finneran was beaten in the last 16 of the U-21 event and was a beaten Semi Finalist in the Wexford Youths Open in which a credible 30 players took part.
Gary Concannon was also a beaten Semi finalist of the Youths Open- and made a first round exit in the U-21 event which had 35 participants and was won by Kildare's John McKenna.
David, Mark,and Gary along with Thomas Concannon will all represent Roscommon at the Ireland's Players Championships Youths finals to be held in Kilkenny in August. That event will be televised on the day by TG4.

The Connaught's Darts Final.
The Ship Inn, Sligo Town 5 Creaton's, Loughlynn 3.
The Ship Inn won the 2008 Connaught Darts Championships Final on Friday night in Walsh's Public House, Charlestown, defeating Creaton's of Loughlynn on a 5-3 scoreline.
Creaton's put up a good performance against a team who all represent Sligo at county level- but some poor finishing at crucial times, swung the match in favour of the Sligo men.
Mick Egan and James Reilly won the first pairs game for Creaton's. Despite not playing well, they picked off the win with good finishing, to defeat Geoff Cox and Bob Alexander. Sean Finan and Tony Thacker seemed set for victory in the second pairs, but poor finishing allowed Sean McGowan and Joe Beirne in to take the game. This was a big let off, as Creaton's should have won this game. Paul Fox and Michael Cox then took the last of the pairs against Joe Crawley and Pat Reid, to give the Sligo men a 2-1 lead at the interval.
In the first game of singles, Paul Fox defeated Mick Egan in the opening game. Egan missing shots for the first leg, and Fox hitting a 15 darter to win the game with Egan in a good position. James Reilly got Creaton's back into it, with a good win against Bob Alexander. Reilly played well and wrapped up his game with a 96 checkout. Sean Finan levelled the match at 3-3 with a win over Geoff Cox, with Finan scoring and finishing well. Tony Thacker put in a good performance for Creaton's against Joe Beirne, but lost out with some poor shots at checkout time allowing Beirne to get in for the win, and give the Ship Inn the 4-3 overall lead. Again, that was a game that maybe Creaton's should have won. Sean McGowan then defeated Joe Crawley in what was to be the decisive game. McGowan- previously Irish Number 1 and current Irish International coped well with any pressure he felt and hit the only 180 of the night on his way to a good win.
Presentations of trophies to both teams and that of the prestigous Connaught's Cup were made by tournament organiser Pat Walsh.

Creaton's set for Connaught's Final.
Connaught's Darts Final @ Walsh's Public House, Charlestown, Co. Mayo.
Friday 20th June at 9pm.
Creaton's of Loughlynn v The Ship Inn, Sligo Town.
Format- 3 games of Doubles-Best of 3x501. And 6 games of Singles if necessary Best of 3x501.

The 2008 Connaught Darts Championships Final will take place next Friday night the 20th of June in Walsh's Public House, Charlestown.
The Connaught's is one of the most prestigious tournaments of it's kind in the region attracting teams from Mayo, Sligo, Roscommon and further afield every single year for almost 50 years.
Creaton's of Loughlynn-led by Matt Scally will take on The Ship Inn of Sligo for what is sure to be another Classic Final in the East Mayo venue. Creaton's who were Roscommon County League Champions in 2005 and Shield winners in 2008 have won the Connaught title in the 80's and 90's but have suffered a barren spell in the tournament since- not making the final since 1993.
Reid's of Newport have dominated the Tournament in recent times but had their attempt at a 7-in-a-row stopped in the last 8 by The Ship Inn who make a re-appearance in the Connaught's this year- having not took part for a couple of years.
Creaton's have added some useful players to their already strong line-up, with Knockcroghery's Mick Egan and Jimmy Reilly playing an important part in their semi-final victory over Kilkenny's of Knock. Sean Finan, Padraig Finan, Tony Thacker, Joe Crawley, Pat Reid and Eugene McDonagh will all do what they can to make sure the Cup comes back to Creaton's. Best wishes to Creaton's from all involved in Roscommon County Darts!!