McConville’s wait of 58 years is over

McConville’s wait of 58 years is over

30 April 2025

STRANGFORD Table Tennis Club staged another successful charity competition to raise funds for Marie Curie Hospice.

The event also incorporated the Lecale League individual championships.

It was a particularly successful night for Joe McConville now the longest player competing in the league.

He had gone through the league campaign unbeaten and topped it off by winning the individual championship title to end the season as the league’s top player.   

The earlier rounds were all fiercely contested with eight groups of four players going through to the main event and consolation knockout.

It was a busy night for the tournament referee Jimmy Sterling, but his faultless performance in keeping the competition on track and dealing with everything that came his way contributed to an enjoyable competition for the players and spectators.

McConville finished top in group one, as did Pat Mulholland in group two. Jim Mills topped group three with Vignesh Musthusamy, from the Banbridge club and always a popular visitor to Strangford, top in group four. 

McConville reached the semi-finals with victory over Terry Murphy, while Musthusamy’s forehand attack was too good on this occasion for John McCusker, who did well to reach this stage without much practice.

Jim Mills won a close affair with John McEvoy and Pat Mulholland, still recovering from an eye surgery, won an epic battle with Colin McKinty to complete the semi-finals line-up.

 The consolation event had also progressed to the semi-finals stage and with home players in the mix it was to prove an excellent competition for the Strangford club.

Owenbeg player Geraldine Magill had already booked her semi-final place and gave a good accounted of herself against the more experienced Peter Madine, losing in straight sets.

Now it was the turn of the Strangford duo of Nuala Hynds, who dedication to practice certainly paid off and booked her semi-final place at the expense of team-mate Michael Deeny, and Cormac O’Reilly. Cormac had his eye on the final and was just too good for Nuala on this occasion.

In the main event McConville needed all his experience to deal with Musthusamy over three sets. In the other semi-final Mills lost out Mulholland after a nip and tuck battle which went all the way.

The consolation final was between Madine and O’Reilly.

Madine has been in excellent form all season and has steered his team to the semi-finals of the Handicap Cup.

O’Reilly, ecstatic to have reached the final, describing it as a “gift from the stars.

He certainly gave a good account of himself but the result was never in doubt with Madine retaining the Consolation Shield.

With McConville and Mulholland through to the final of the main event, the seeding committee had got it spot on, but everyone in the hall knew this match could be too close to call.

In a previous final Mulholland had emerged the victor, but this was the one that McConville wanted.

He had waited a long time to get his hands again on the WF Magee Cup.

McConville won the first set 11-6. The second was close with the Mulholland backhand kill regularly finding winners to take the score to 10-10 before McConville went on to win 12-10.

In the third set McConville was always in control and cheered on by the home crowd come he won it 11-5. He had waited 58 years for this moment and had contested eight previous finals.

The Lecale Table Tennis League would like to thank Strangford Table Tennis Club for the staging the competition and for providing the refreshments.