On Sunday, April 10, Darragh Love (Enniskillen Royal Grammar School) and Ewan McDowell (Model Primary School) travelled to Poppintree Community and Sports Centre to compete at the Dublin Open Freestyle Wrestling Competition.

This was the first Irish national competition since pandemic restrictions were lifted.

Darragh was competing in the U-18 Cadets 74kgs section, and once again he was aiming to replicate his gold from the Helsinki Open International last November.

In Finland, the 17-year-old had won gold against Israel through a 10-point lead.

Again, he did not disappoint; throughout the three Dublin bouts, Darragh took control of his opponents, applying a wide range of skills and techniques to pin every opponent he faced.

The Fermanagh athlete returned with gold to the county.

Ewan weighed in at 51kg in the 54kg U-14 youth section.

This was Ewan’s first time on the mat since 2019, and definitely he was excited to be returning.

At 11, Ewan was the youngest and lightest competitor in his category but this did not stop him from achieving points in his matches, and putting in an outstanding effort.

Unfortunately, Ewan did not place this time; however, he gained a wealth of mat experience which he will build upon for his future competitions.

Erne Wrestling also at the weekend took part in two events helping to further and nurture the sport.

Head Coach Bruce Irwin was invited to participate in the Omagh Celebration of Sport where he demonstrated the positive benefits of wrestling.

Referee and level one coach Charlotte McGuigan, along with her sister and referee Cara, were mentored by Olympic referee Carlos Garcia at the British Referee Conference in Manchester.