Derry plays host to successful UK & Ireland Field Archery Championships

Oakgrove Integrated College played host to the UK and Ireland Field Archery Championship 2024 which saw over 120 archers compete over the two days last weekend.

This year’s competition, held in the city, was run by the Northern Ireland Field Archery Association (NIFAA) and the weather held up both days with only a few bouts of rain.

IN PICTURES: UK & Ireland Field Archery Championships at Derry's Oakgrove

The competition consisted of two rounds, where archers shoot at targets set around the school grounds, with distances ranging from eighty yards (seventy metres) to twenty feet.

Three courses were set out, each one consisting of fourteen targets shot twice over the day. Archers shoot four arrows at each target with a maximum score of twenty points. 

The points are tallied at the end of day two and the archer with the highest score in each bow style is crowned UK and Ireland Champion.

Each course was designed and laid out by local archers John O’Neill from Roe Valley Archery Club and George Heath from Foyle Valley Archery Club with the assistance of Eamon Doherty who shoots for Foyle Valley.

Oakgrove Integrated College senior teacher John, is a member of the NIFAA committee who organised the event and paid tribute to all who took part and helped organise the event.

‘A big thank you to the committee and the many volunteers who helped make the weekend’s competition such a success. I must pay a special mention to Caroline and Dessie Irwin and the other volunteers from Drumquin Archery Club.

‘Indeed, all those who shot were very impressed with the courses and found each one tested their archery skills to the limit. I must also thank the City and District’s Mayor, Lillian Seenoi-Barr for her attendance on Sunday. She also paid tribute to the many archers who took part in this year’s competition in the city.’

So competitive was the shooting that one category ended in a tie during Sunday, which meant a shoot off was needed to decide the winner. This is the equivalent of a penalty shootout with the two archers going head-to-head, shooting three rounds of four arrows from fifty yards away from the target, each time the target face getting smaller and smaller.

The Mayor, Lillian Seenoi-Barr pictured with the Ireland team at Sunday's UK and Ireland Field Archery Championships held in the grounds of Oakgrove Integrated College, Derry. (Photos: Jim McCafferty Photography)

The NIFAA committee also paid gratitude to the Mayor Lillian Seenoi-Barr for attending the event and having a go at archery for the first time.

John also said they would like to thank the Principal and Board of Governors for allowing the college grounds to be used for the competition. The school is also used as the NIFAA Field Archery Centre of Excellence.