Cup tournament scores in Bantry and Beal na Morrive resulted in wins for Wayne Parkes and John Young. Clon man, Parkes, avenged a Caheragh Bill Barrett Cup defeat to Denis Wilmot when scoring a big last shot win over the Bandon man in their Mick Eoin Cup penultimate round score at Bantry on Saturday. Wilmot looked like repeating his June victory as he made the better start on Saturday last. He was close to a bowl up after five to ‘Cronin’s’ but a couple on the wayward side cost him his hard-won lead and Parkes needed no second bidding to level the contest. The Clon player was consistent over the last third forging into a handy lead as the line neared. They played for a total of €1,000. Parkes will play either John Creedon or Tim Young in the Mick Eoin Cup final. Back the road at Bantry, Caheragh’s Gavin Harrington defeated local, Darren Cronin, one bowl, for €800. Drinagh’s John Young travelled to Beal na Morrive on Saturday and secured a semi-final spot in the Nancy Hubbard Cup junior tournament with a one bowl win over City campaigner, Thomas Boyle. It wasn’t going Young’s way at the start as Boyle took a forty metre lead with three big shots to the first bend. Boyle still held sway to the ‘rock’, but from here Young took a stranglehold with a brilliant bowl to ‘Hubbard’s’. That superb effort yielded a bowl lead, and he kept a determined Boyle at bay in a competitive closing quarter, holding his advantage to the finish. The stake at issue amounted to €2,300.
The Togher Cross tournament final was one of the few fixtures to survive Sunday’s often incessant rain. Played late in the afternoon, James Hurley scored a surprise home win here over the higher graded county junior C champion, David Hegarty of Lyre. This lower ranking novice competition was interrupted by Covid and the intervening years has seen both finalists move up the rankings especially Hegarty who has made great strides this year. The Lyre man made the better start too firing an exceptional opening shot that yielded almost a bowl of odds. He might have made more of Hurley’s hesitancy in the subsequent exchanges but still held a shot lead in seven and eight to the ‘chips’. A mistake here proved costly, and the local contender made the most of the chance with a super shot to the ‘bridge’. A resurgent Hurley ‘made’ Harte’s with two more outstanding efforts resulting in a level contest as they entered the final phase. Hurley held a narrow lead for the last shots and duly took the winner’s prize when Hegarty’s final effort failed to get traction. They played for a €640 total.
In scores at Ballinacurra, Upton at the weekend, David O’Mahony of Fivemilebridge, overcame City’s Peter Nagle by almost a two-bowl margin. Starting at Brinny for a €4,400 total, Nagle raced to a bowl lead after a terrific throw at ‘Perrott’s’ but it was short-lived. O’Mahony found his groove with a brilliant four-shot sequence from the ’pitch gate’ to the junior C line and they turned the score in his favour. Nagle lost form over the closing stages leaving O’Mahony a comfortable winner. Also, on Saturday at Ballinacurra, Luke Connors defeated Deccie O’Mahony, two bowls, for €1,100 and Pat O’Sullivan (Shannonvale) defeated Deccie O’Mahony, one bowl, for €2,200. Still at the Mid Cork venue a Sunday score escaped the worst of the conditions and resulted in a win for Alan Brickley over James Kelleher. Two of the game’s rising stars are versatile performers in many codes and their bowling prowess shone at different stages of an absorbing contest. Brickley’s flying start had him away to a bowl lead after four and he repelled a good fightback by Kelleher with a monstrous last. They played for a €2,100 total. At Durrus, Muinter Bhaire’s Frank Arundel lowered the colours of recent Derrinasafa winner, Pat Daly when scoring a one bowl win over the Kilronan man for a €660 total. Also, at Durrus, Bantry’s David Hourihane defeated Ger O’Leary of Kenneigh by two for a €1,300 total.
One of the best of the weekend was the lady’s junior county semi-final at Castletownkenneigh on Saturday. Margaret Sexton from the South-West division and Ailbhe O’Shea of the Gaeltacht fought a magnificent shot for shot duel that ended with the Timoleague lady just shading the tips. Margaret rose a bowl of odds to the first bend before Ailbhe levelled it with two brilliant efforts down to ‘Kenneigh cross’. Macroom girl, Ailbhe was edging ahead on the straight but her third last did not run kindly and Margaret was back to the fore at a crucial stage. The South-West champion held on for the win and will attempt to capture the one championship that has eluded the famed Sexton household when the decider is played in a few weeks’ time. There is a bit to go on the other side of the draw as the Mid Cork regional final remains unfinished.
The vintage (over 60’s) championship progressed with a raft of section B and C scores around the county. With all section A first rounds completed the spotlight fell on the in the lower categories. Two likely contenders in section B, Christy Butler and David Desmond clashed at The Pike on Saturday. Butler, the outright vintage winner in 2017, came with a super-charged finish to win this one. For a €1,100 total it was a hard-fought encounter to ‘White’s cross’ where tips were level and again in the next sequence to ‘Draper’s’ where they were still locked together. Butler fired three of the best from here to advance to a second-round meeting with Durrus contender, Donal O’Mahony at Drinagh. Also, in section B at The Pike on Sunday morning, David Walsh defeated Pat McCarthy by a couple of bowls and will meet Skibb’s Donal Harnedy at The Clubhouse in the second round. In the same category at The Marsh Road on Saturday, John Nagle overcame Liam Hurley. The Ross man meets Jim Cronin in the second round at Ballinacarriga. In section C at Ballinacurra, Kevin O’Sullivan defeated Tommy O’Rourke and now has a match-up with Michael Brennan. Also, in section C (west) at Lyre, Batty Foley won from Robbie Limrick, one bowl, for €500. Pat Joe Sheehy is next up for Foley at Shannonvale. In section C East at Paddoes City’s John Twohig got the better of Connie Lehane.
The draw for round two in the vintage grade, unveiled at last Wednesday’s October Executive meeting, has thrown up a few interesting permutations. The A semi-final line up has Martin Connolly taking on Jerry Murphy at Beal na Morrive and Eugene O’Sullivan going head-to-head with Ted Hegarty at Castletownkenneigh. Among the section B (west) match-ups that will be closely watched are the clashes at The Pike of Patsy O’Sullivan and Mick Murphy and Dinny Nyhan versus Liam O’Driscoll. John Murphy and Connie Connolly meet at Lyre. In the lower section C there are sixteen second round scores between the Eastern and Western division of the county. In the latter section, Donal O’Sullivan plays Jim Walsh at Drinagh while Gene O’Callaghan and 2020 section C runner-up, John Tringle meet at Castletownkenneigh. The full draw is available on Bol Chumann’s Facebook page and Bol Chumann’s website www.irishroadbowling.ie.
Regional novice E scores are ongoing. In Mid Cork at Castletownkenneigh, Kevin Walsh won from Gene O’Callaghan while in the Gaeltacht, at Cill na Martra, Homer O’Connell defeated Danny O’Connell and Tim Scannell won from Jimmy O’Connell.
The October meeting also informed delegates on progress with the updating of the Association’s Code of Governance, Rules/Constitution and Code of Conduct. Jerome Casey, chairman of the working group, explained the documents to the meeting and recommended that they be accepted. The Hon Sec, Micheál O’Ceallacháin informed the meeting that he had sent the documents for Legal Review, and he had made a few changes to those originally published. He advised when the Code of Governance and the Constitution were complete, Bol Chumann would have to hold a Special Convention to implement them. This was agreed. The Bol-Chumann na hEireann Constitution has been challenged a number of times in the recent past and it has stood up to the test. In an important announcement too, the Honorary Secretary and Registrar clarified the new affiliation deadlines that will apply to registration for 2023. November 14th 2022 is the cut-off date for championship affiliation for the 2023 season. Regional grading will take place on November 21 with overall three-way grading on Wednesday November 30. Membership for the coming year will run from Jan 1st to December 31st.