Moran's double five secures cup for relieved Beach Tree

This year's Paddy Gilgan Memorial Cup darts final could truly only be described in three words - 'what a final'. Following 11 tense and tight games on Friday night, the Beech Tree were crowned this year’s champions with a 6-5 victory over a gritty Wagon Wheel side, at the impressive Platform 5 venue at Clarke's Bar, Mullingar.

Having seen a 5-2 lead whittled away, it was relief for the Streamstown side in a memorable final.

In front of a bumper crowd, in excess of 100 people, set with the backdrop of an amazing stage setup, the Beach Tree led 5-2 before eventually winning 6-5 in a thriller to emulate Clarke's B and the Maypole Bar in recent years. As Davey, Paddy's son said at the end of the night, it was fitting that these were the two sides playing off as it was the venue where Paddy won his first Cup Final (Wagon Wheel) and also the last location he threw darts in (Beech Tree).

After Derek Maguire won the darts for his side in the bull off, Wagon Wheel took a 2-0 lead from the trebles section, thanks to a 65 checkout from Wayne Kelly and 56 from Padraig White in a leg where he hit two 140s also. Beech Tree could have nicked the second game however as Johnny Broughton missed D18 for a 150 checkout which would have raised the roof.

In moments like this on big finals nights characters of players shine either way and the deficit lit a fire under the Beech Tree who had to respond and did in kind taking all three doubles games to lead 3-2, with 180s called for Johnny Broughton, Derek Maguire and Graeme Corcoran. Wagon Wheel will rue an opportunity they carved out in the second doubles game as they had 113 left and didn't get a dart at a double despite having nine darts to take it out.

That brought us to the singles segment of the night and the Beech Tree took advantage of this momentum swing by taking the first two matches through Mark Corrigan and Broughton, who checked out 78 (Treble 18, 12, Double 6) and 112 (Treble 20, 12, Double 20) respectively to leave them three clear and on the brink of glory, with just one more game required.

The mood in the room among spectators was, that was a lead simply too big to reel in, but the Wagon Wheel weren’t done by any means as Jack Doran defied four match darts from Chris Connor to make it 5-3. Padraig White then made it 5-4 with a 2-0 win over Graeme Corcoran, before Gerry Keon checked out 35 against Ian Meares to take game 10 for the ‘WW’ and incredibly bring us all the way.

At this stage Platform 5 was rocking in great voice from both sets of supporters and the game tapered up to a finish it deserved.

Willie Moran and Thomas Murtagh took to the oche for game 11. Willie had first dibs on a finish in the first leg but busted 64, but unfortunately Thomas was unable to checkout, which allowed Willie to right his wrong with a treble 16, double 8 combination to lead 1-0. More significantly, it was a key break of throw. Having thrown steady in the second leg, there were two missed attempts at doubles of a 56 finish to give the Wagon Wheel one last chance to save themselves with a 167 finish that couldn't be taken. With the crowd silent, Willie slotted D5 in the top left hand corner of his target to take the decider and ensure the Beech Tree as the next name to be engraved on the trophy.

Following a short intermission, the Gilgan family and Aidan Geerah from Daybreak Ballinalack oversaw the presentation ceremony where Johnny Broughton was named the ‘Player of the Match’ as sponsored by J.A. Shaws & Co. LLP Solicitors for his efforts on the night and respective captains Martin Keville/Graeme Corcoran gave thanks to all involved for a great final. Andrina, Niamh and Davey Gilgan proudly presented the 'Paddy Gilgan Memorial Cup' to the Beech Tree to begin a night of celebrations.

Overall, this was a super final, one fitting for the memory of a great man/character of Westmeath Darts in Paddy Gilgan.

WDL Shield Final preview - Wagon Wheel vs Clarke’s - Sponsored by McNamee Tyres

Finals weekend kicks off this Friday night at 10pm as the Western Gem in Ballinalack is the venue for the WDL Shield Final between the #1/2 seeds in the competition. Wagon Wheel are 2-0 up on Clarke's in the regular season with a 5-4 win in Mullingar backed up with a 6-3 home result but knockout games take on a mind of their own. The feeling will be that the consistency of the Wagon Wheel should come through as they would have more perceived depth in their squad, headed up by Derek Maguire and Wayne Kelly, while Clarke’s will look to recently crowned WDL Shield Singles winner Killian Kelly and his father Terry Kelly to put in strong performances to give them the best chance possible.

Prediction - Wagon Wheel 5-3 Clarke's Bar

WDL Championship preview - Beech Tree vs Bridge Bar - Sponsored by Stephen Lynn & Co Accountants/Auditors

After 6 months of weekly battles, it all comes down to this for the €1,000 WDL Championship Final match which is a repeat of the 2025 Shield Final. #2 seeds Beech Tree come into this having only lost one game all year and with a triple threat of Mark Corrigan, Chris Connor and Johnny Broughton will look to use that firepower to extinguish any fire and flame that the Bridge Bar are planning. #4 seeds Bridge Bar earned their spot beating the three time finalists Kerrigan’s 5-3 in the semi-final despite having a 0-4 record over the top two teams all season. This shows truly that it is a case of 'Any Given Sunday' in this league. We know that Matthew Willoughby will turn up and perform on the night to his usual standard but can the likes of Jim-Bob Baker, Rory Matthews and Kevin Gilmore raise themselves that extra 10% which is needed for League Finals, we will wait and see. Action kicks off in McHugh’s, Raharney at 9pm on March 28.

Prediction - Beech Tree 5-2 Bridge Bar

League Sponsors

Continued thanks is given to Stephen Lynn & Co Accountants/Auditors, McNamee Tyres, J.A. Shaw & Co. LLP Solicitors and Geerah's Daybreak Ballinalack for their sponsorship and support for this year's Westmeath Darts League also.