Bowling Report - Week ending 16th March

There was no joy for Rosscarbery's Maria Nagle in her Ladies senior championship score played on the Masseytown road in Macroom against Ciara Buckley from Ballyclough. Nagle had to dig deep from the off to keep herself in this clash. A big second shot from Ciara over the hill and down sight gave her an early lead. After two more to the start of the railings Buckley led by a full bowl. Nagle made Bantry cross in two more great bowls, the kindness of the kerb saved Buckley as Nagle knocked the bowl. On past the “Gap” in two more Nagle was making inroads on Buckley’s lead. Buckley pin straight threw a super bowl over the “Knob” back of “Poundys Lane” but again Nagle beat this well. Buckley was right of play with her next and suddenly the odds were down to forty meters. Nagle got a beautiful bowl to the new house, Buckley while left of play got a kind rub that gave her a valuable forty meters with the line approaching. Nagle missed the line in two more and Buckley beat the tip to progress.

Ballinacurra held a Junior B tournament score, as a very promising up and coming player Shane Crowley, Schull played Kenneth Murphy, Brinny for a total stake of €4,000. Three each to Brinny cross where Murphy took his first and only lead in the score. Murphy made Foleys entrance in two more and Crowley made the Waterworks, it was two more each down to Perriots and Crowley was rising odds. Murphy got a super eight half way to the GAA entrance, Crowley beat this by forty meters. From here Murphy’s score fell apart, after another big bowl from Crowley to the bridge, Murphy was a bowl down. He next was back of the double gates and Crowley made back of the D line, Murphy missed this tip 2bls were up.

O'DRISCOLL PROGRESSES TO GRANGE FINAL.

Jimmy O’Driscoll booked his place in the Grange junior a 9-man tournament with a convincing win over Noel O’Donovan and Gavin Twohig. Playing for a total stake of €9,000. O’Driscoll was out the stud farm bend in three good bowls where he had twenty five meters on O’Donovan and almost a bowl on Twohig, the latter never got going in this score at all. O’Donovan took his first lead in the shots to Holland’s wall. O’Driscoll and O’Donovan were down to the green in three more each where O’Donovan had sight and O’Driscoll was caught for sight. After two more back of the muddy passage the odds were down to ten meters as O’Donovan scattered his ninth badly left and caught a tree. Twohig was almost two bowls down here. Two more back of Noelies bungalow and it was O’Donovan with a marginal lead of ten meters. O’Driscoll unleashed a very impressive twelfth shot up the right track and pulled it to the middle where it held and won him back the lead by a fifty meter margin, and followed with another phenomenal shot to Fiona’s house, even though it was under the bowl here, O’Driscoll made the Pub and O’Donovan missed sight to concede a bowl, and O’Driscoll progresses to the final where he will play Noel O’Regan and David Hegarty.

LUKA BOWEN TAKES THE DENNY/FRANKIE CUP

Schull held the final of the Denny/Frankie Cup, in opposition here we had two local men James Murphy and Luka Bowen taking on Denis Murphy from Skibbereen playing for €650 a-side. At the B & B James Murphy led Luka Bowen by fifty meters and Denis Murphy by sixty meters, and there wasn’t much of a change from there to McFarlane’s. All three were still in the running with three shots to go and where Luka Bowen had taken up the lead from James Murphy with Denis Murphy trailing by fifty meters. Denis Murphy put in a good finish but Luka Bowen was not to be denied getting his name on the Frankie/Denny Cup for 2025.

The new format of junior A got up and running at Conna where Timmy Murphy from the North East played Craig Moynahan from the City for a total stake of €1,600. After six each to Cullinan’s cottage they were all square. Murphy rose a bowl of odds with a huge seventh out sight at the bridge. Moynihan got a superb bowl to the Silver Pole and knocked big odds, however Murphy replied with a great bowl to Mullins cottage and on through the double bends, Moynihan lined a great bowl to the gas line corner but could not reel in Murphy. At Walsh’s house fifty meters separated them but from here Moynihan only got a poor bowl and Murphy held out to win by a bowl.

WEST CORK BOYS AND NORTH CORK GIRLS CAPTURE COUNTY YOUTH TEAM EVENTS.

Bol Chumann held the finals of the county youth team event at the Phale Road. Here the West Cork boys of Oisin Murray, Jason Deane and Tommy Coppinger blitz a trail and came in almost 200 meters further that then nearest rivals, Gaelteach and South West. In the girls it was the North Cork team of Jenna Healy, Chloe Hubbard, and Layla Flemming, who came in 100 meters ahead of Gaelteach and Carbery. Both teams received the Denis Kelleher memorial shields. Willie Murphy chair of Bol Chumann thanked all the regional youth officers for running off their own team events, he thanked the parents for their dedication, and all who helped out on the morning, he thanked the Kelleher family for the two beautiful shields in honour of Denis Kelleher, a great youth man, he was a little bit disappointed with the turnout, out of a possible eighteen teams only eleven showed up.

Lyre was the venue for a junior A tournament score on Monday where Mark Bourke was back again after his success of the previous week to play Noel O’Regan, they played for a total stake of €6,500. O’Regan was a trap to line winner in this score. Three bowls each past the forest entrance O’Regan had eighty meters of odds. O’Regan rose the bowl back of the tunnel, Bourke knocked the bowl with a great seventh to Crowley’s wall. Both up to Crowley bend in eight and nine shots where it was under the bowl. O’Regan missed the crossover and Bourke went full sight. It looked like a level score here but O’Regan got a nice touch off the left dyke that took him half way to McCarthy’s bend. Bourke made full sight at McCarthy’s bend and O’Regan got a nice break off the right ditch but his bowled was “called”, his next stuck in a stone and the odds was down to twenty five meters, Bourke got caught at the high wall and O’Regan got a huge bowl to the big tree and followed with another huge bowl that raised the bowl and secured his victory.