Big crowds expected in Granard this weekend for major archery event

One of the biggest outdoor events for Archery in Ireland, the Irish National Outdoor Target Championships, will be taking place in Granard this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, September 9 & 10.

Wolfshead Company of Archers, which were formed in March of 2021, at which point the club was based at the Knights & Conquests centre, are running the Irish National Outdoor Target Championships.

Mark Higson, Treasurer of Wolfshead Company of Archers, explained, “The club is affiliated to Archery Ireland. We remained at the Knights & Conquests centre until the beginning of this year, at which point we took up the lease on the old ‘Pitch and Putt grounds, situated in the Granard Sports Complex (G.S.C.). We are developing the old ‘Pitch and Putt’ grounds into an Archery Academy, that will serve our members and provide facilities for the wider community of Granard and the county of Longford and beyond.”

The G.S.C. also provides the club with a competition venue and they also express thanks to the Granard Showgrounds committee who allow them use their showgrounds field.

The Wolfshead Company of Archers is made up of approximately 30 archers from all over Longford, Cavan and even further afield with one archer from as far away as Denmark.

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Mark outlined, “This year we have been involved with the Longford Sports Partnership, doing various events for them with youth groups, schools, etc and have started doing historical events around the country such as the ‘Boyne Valley Viking experience’ in Slane.”

Mark said Wolfshead Company of Archers are looking forward to running the Irish National Outdoor Target Championships in Granard this weekend. “It is probably the biggest outdoor event for Archery in Ireland,” he enthused.

The majority of the club’s active members will be helping during the weekend, including the setting up of the competition field and the overall running of the competition over the weekend.

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Mark said the organisation of this event has been ongoing for nearly twelve months. “We will be starting the setup of the competition field on Friday, September 8. There will be a practice session that evening that will allow any interested archers to get an idea of the lay of the land etc.”

Both days of the competition, Saturday, September 9 and Sunday, September 10, will be open to the public as spectators and there will be safety signs at the venue that the club would like to ask spectators to adhere to for their own safety.

For the Archers the event begins at 08.30 with registration, the shooting starts at 10am and finish times both days is 5pm.

There are two archers from Wolfshead Company of Archers competing in the event - Ellen McGrory in the senior category on Sunday and Mark Higson in the Masters category on the Saturday.

Mark concluded, “As it is a National Championships, we do expect quite a large number of entries from all over Ireland. It is the biggest competition that Archery Ireland runs during the outdoor season and being chosen to host it is quite significant for us as a relatively new club. The competition will attract a large number of people, archers, family and supporters, to Granard for the weekend.”

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