Norman skippers the Irish team

There was a strong local representation in the 12 person Northern Ireland team which was captained by Banbridge shooter Norman Sally.

A steady first day’s performance by all Northern Ireland shooters left the Senior Team sitting in third place behind strong England and Ireland teams. Kirsty Barr who has strong family links with the Banbridge area led the ladies competition with a 64/75 and a six point margin over second place. Rathfriland club member and junior shooter David Henning finished the first day with 62/75 and a tie in first place.

A new trophy was introduced at this year’s International which was a combined Lady, Junior and Veteran competition. Poyntzpass shooter Peter Rooney represented Northern Ireland as the veteran and after the first day they were tied in first place with Ireland.

Day two started with difficult light conditions for all squads but as things improved so did the scoring but unfortunately the Northern Ireland senior team slipped further down the leader board with too many 19 and 20’s while the other teams put in consistent 20+ scores.

In the Ladies competition Kirsty Barr took a resounding lead with another 64/75 which gave her a winning margin of 11 targets.

David Henning shot out of his skin with a 67/75 to tie with Irelands experienced Junior Robert Carter. A single barrel shoot off was needed to separate the two juniors who tied on 129/150. David took the shoot off with 20 targets hit single barrel compared to Roberts 18.

The Northern Ireland combined L/J/V team of Barr/Henning/Rooney finished strongly on the second day and won the event by five points over Ireland.

The High Gun of Northern Ireland was won by David Beattie with 133/150. The runner up spot of the Northern Ireland team went to another local member of the team, Banbridge’s Jeffrey McCready with a score of 126/150. Norman Sally posted a 124/150 to ensure his score counted for the team in the competition.

Although the Senior Northern Ireland team had not a good run, three of the five major awards were won by their individual members.