Bowling Report - Week ending 23rd March

MARSH ROAD RAISE €6100 FOR WORTHY CAUSE

Players and punters were divided this past weekend between the Dowtcha Boy West Cork Distillers Fund-Raiser for the Victoria Hospice Organisation at Skibbereen, and at the other extreme end of the country in Armagh for the Southern Area Hospice Services in Memory of Damien Daly. Cillian Kelleher, Kilnamartyra and Brian O’Driscoll, Drimoleague got proceeding under way at the Marsh Road for a total stake of €13,000. Four each to Longs Coach entrance where O’Driscoll had a slender lead of fifteen meters. Kelleher took his first lead with a huge fifth to the Veterinary Clinic entrance. O’Driscoll got two super bowls to the silvery Gate where he had almost a bowl of odds, O’Driscoll good bowling fell apart when his seventh broke badly left of the play and he missed out sight to the steps in two more where Kelleher won back the lead. Kelleher missed sight for Ballyhilty in three more and his odds was down to thirty meters for the last shot, but O’Driscoll only made the railings and Kelleher had nothing to beat.

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

In a double score back in the road the brother, sister combination of Darragh and Natalie Dempsey played Noel O’Regan and Lisa Hegarty for a total stake of €8,500. As you would expect in mixed doubles scores the lead changed hands several times in this score. Past Thornhill Cross in three each the Dempsey’s led by fifteen meters, two more out and around the Steps bend O.Regan/Hegarty led by five meters. Two more huge bowls from all four to the silvery gate where Dempsey’s held a lead of five meters Darragh followed a huge bowl of Noel O’Regan’s to here. After two more to the lollipops O’Regan/Hegarty were back in front by ten meters, they rose the bowl of odds with two great bowls the Skibb sign and held this to Longs Coach entrance and on to the Mart entrance and looked destined for victory. No one could believe what unfolded, Darragh got a good bowl over the finish line but O’Regan/Hegarty had two to beat it, however Hegarty’s bowl was right and weak and missed the tip by eighty meters, O’Regan’s bowl slashed left and caught a cone, missed the tip and victory went to Skibbereen unbelievable.

The third score at the Marsh road saw Caheragh man Denis O’Sullivan take on Micháel Desmond form Macroom for a total stake of €10,200. After four shots and a huge rub off the kerbing for Desmond to Longs Coach entrance he had eighty meters of odds. Desmond out sight at the Silvery Gates in four more, Sullivan beat this by fifty meters to keep it under the bowl. Desmond made sight at the Steps in three more, Sullivan had no sight here, but got two great bowls that won him back the lead as Desmond made a dreadful blunder with his thirteenth shot. Two more shots each out sight for the finish line where Sullivan had thirty meters. Desmond missed the line in left, Sullivan in left also but the dyke was kind to him and he beat the line. In a return score Alan Brickley beat Kevin Coughlan by the last shot for €3,000 a-side.

Sunday drew the spectators back to the Marsh road where Michael Bohane beat Seamus Sexton for €5,500 a-side. After four each to the council yard wall Bohane had sixty meters, Bohane made sight at the Silvery gate in three more where he had seventy meters. Sexton cut the odds to forty meters with a super eight but undid all his good work with a poor ninth in right, after two more out the steps Bohane had almost a bowl. Bohane got no justice for his next two shots and at Ballyhilty corner the odds was down to thirty meters. Three more each to Crowleys lane and it was a last shot finish that Bohane played well and took the honours. Back in Shane Shannon beat Brendan O’Neill by one bowl for €4,000 a-side.

BANDON BOWLER GETS THE BETTER OF GARY DALY IN DOWCHA BOY HEADLINER

And so on to the big one, James O’Donovan v Gary Daly, stake broke even at €16,400 a-side. This was a score of two halves, the first was Daly’s and the second belonged to O’Donovan. After four each to the council yard wall Daly had forty meters, Daly’s fourth, fifth and sixth shots covered an unreal amount of road, so much so that at the silvery gate he had almost a bowl of odds, he rose the bowl with his seventh shot that got a nice touch off the left brow, O’Donovan spun his bowl right and missed tip by a big margin, But from here on it was O’Donovan who upped his game, two fantastic shots out the steps where he had the odds down to fifty meters, nine and ten shots each. Two more back of Thornhill Cross for O’Donovan and where Daly was only hanging in by fifty meters, O’Donovan out poor sight, Daly should have done better here but only beat the tip by two meters, O’Donovan cast out a beautiful twelfth up past Ballyhilty cross and Daly too tight left missed this by over one hundred meters but got a great bowl to the Avenue that O’Donovan only beat by twenty meters. Daly missed Crowley lane and O’Donovan put a valuable forty meters on this for the last shots, Daly lined his last perfectly, they said it was robbed and should have gone another forty meters, O’Donovan was very tight left came out of the dyke and beat tip by two meters.

BOWLING MAKES ITS RETURN TO BEAL ATHÀN GHAORTHAIDH AFTER 23 YEAR HIATUS

Bowling made a welcome return to Beal Athan an Ghaorthaidh this past weekend after a 23 year hiatus. The most western club in the Gaelteacht region was an All-Ireland venue in the late nineties on the Ceim An Fhia/Guagan Barra Road. Under a new committee now including Chairman Ronan Lynch, Frank/Cian Dineen, Finbarr Moynihan, Gearoid Lynch and Brian/Diarmuid Twomey. The Ballingeary men ran three championship scores on Sunday on a new road with the start at the Eastern side of the village near the GAA pitch heading out for Kilmore on the scenic Inchigeela. The scores attracted a decent crowd and were well ran, and good luck to the club going forward.

On a very wet Cathedral road in Armagh on Saturday, things were not going good for the Cork players, they were down 3-0 after three scores, the first score had the pairing of Mick O’Neill/Oisin Gribben playing Shane Crowley/Anthony Gould for a total stake of €6,500, the Cork pair were cruising along nicely and had a bowl of odds at Campbell’s corner. Gribben was the star of this score he threw some incredible shots and the Armagh pair reeled in the bowl of odds and took their first lead at Campbell’s coal shed. Shane Crowley won back the lead with a huge bowl to Brannigans, Cork had a fifty meters advantage with three shots to go, Gribben put down a huge last that Crowley missed well.

In the second score Eamonn Bowen took on the youth of Darragh Gribben for a total stake of €16,000. This was a trap to line win for Gribben, At Brannigans Gribben had sixty meters, and he got an unreal fourth to the coal sheds that rose the bowl of odds almost. Gribben extended his lead to two bowls at McVeigh’s Stone and three bowls at Haughey’s Gate.

The third score was a senior clash between Aidan Murphy and Colm Rafferty playing for a total stake of €20,000. Out Campbell’s corner in three Murphy held a forty meters advantage, but two poor bowls from him here to the Well but Rafferty did not take full advantage and only led by twenty meters. Conditions now were absolutely atrocious. At Starr’s Hill Murphy had the lead by five meters but Rafferty was back in front by fifty meters at the Coal sheds, and had almost a bowl with three to go, and held this to the finish.

The fourth and final score in Armagh had Gavin Twohig/Flor Crowley playing Paul Rafferty/Franko Oliver for a total stake of €20,000. They were level at the top of Starr’s Hill, but Armagh rose a bowl of odds between there and Haughey’s entrance, Armagh held this lead and fifty meters with three shots to go. But Twohig and Crowley were not giving up and reeled the Armagh boys in with two never before seen shots that won the lead and took the honours.

Armagh continued on Sunday where Paul O’Reilly beat Anthony Crowley for €14,620 a-side. Out Campbell’s in three each O’Reilly fore by twenty meters, after three more into the hollow O’Reilly held the same odds. Crowley took the lead by twenty meters at McVeigh’s monument. Crowley squandered a chance at the coal sheds to raise the bowl. O’Reilly a massive bowl to Brannigans and the odds was down to twenty meters. O’Reilly forged ahead for the last shots and won out when Crowley missed the line.

Back in the road Jim Coffey played Barry O’Reilly for €12,500 a-side. O’Reilly took the early shots in this score, Coffey got an incredible bowl past the coal sheds that won him the lead, that he would not relinquish anymore, he rose the bowl at the bottom of Starr’s Hill, and held this out to the well and on for the finish line. In the two last scores David Murphy/Davey Clarke beat Shaun Donnelly/Gene McVeigh for €3,500 a-side and Kevin/Jake Cullen beat Conor Daly/Phillip Horgan for €3,000 a-side.

At Ballinagree in a junior a championship score Eoin O’Riordan got the better of Aidan Hurley for a total stake of €1,000. This was a below average performance from both players, the lead changed many times in the first nine shots to the pink house, at this juncture O’Riordan had a twenty meter advantage. Heading on up past the Post Office O’Riordan had minimal odds of one meter. O’Riordan held this odds to the Quay Wall. From here in O’Riordan put in a strong finish and won by a bowl.B