The Hen Mountain was bathed in fabulous sunshine on Saturday 27th August 2022 for the annual Peárce Branagan Memorial Poc Fada. Participant numbers are soaring each year and it was magnificent to see so many young boys and girls taking part.First off was Peárce’s brother Lorcan followed by other members of the Branagan clan.
Young Jonjo Fitzpatrick was first home but the important statistic was the number of pocs required. It was only clearcut in the U15 Boys section – JohnJoe Boyle (16 pocs). All other sections required a tiebreak Poc-Off! Three young girls tied in the U12 section – Hannah Brown, Mya Burns and Jenny Lennon (25 pocs)- with Hannah winning with the longest poc. In the U16 girls the reigning champion Sinead McPolin had tied with Niamh McConville (20 pocs)- experience counted in this case with Sinead coming out on top. In the Boys U13 section Sean Óg Cowan and James Morgan were tied at the end (20 pics) – Sean Óg won the Poc Off.
In the men’s section four Hurlers were tied on record equalling score of 16 pocs apiece – Brothers Rían (a former Champion) and Paddy Branagan (Reigning Champion), former multiple-times Champion John Murphy and newcomer Lorcan McAteer had to Poc-Off up the mountain with Rían emerging the winner by the narrowest of margins.
At the end of the proceedings Lorcan’s dad Tony presented the prizes to the various group winners:
U12 Girls – Hannah Brown
U16 Girls – Sinead McPolin
U13 Boys – Sean Óg Cowan
U15 Boys – JohnJoe Boyle
Senior Men and recipient of the Peárce Branagan Memorial Cup – Rían Branagan.
It was a wonderful evening on the Hen Mountain with some very young children, and not quite so young adults completing the trek around – one dad did it with his daughter on his back! Roll on next year!
