Murphy Back on top in Castletownbere
Pool B Vintage C Final at Ballinacurra Mick Murphy bt Tom O'Donovan with ref Tim Walsh North East Nov-E Final at Carrignavar David Stokes bt Aaron Spriggs with ref Tom O'Donovan Nov-E at Newcestown Darragh Crowley bt Gus Kelleher with ref Stevie Lordan At Castletownbere Aidan Murphy beat Gary Daly Aidan Murphy won the Joe O'Sullivan Acorn Life Cup at Castletownbere At Castletownbere Gearoid Lucey bt Alan Brickley At Castletownbere David Hegarty bt Cathal Creedon At Castletownbere Wayne Parkes bt Tim Young
Aidan Murphy bridged a 16 year gap since he last won the Joe O'sullivan/Acorn Life Cup. Up against Gary Daly for a stake of €8,500 a-side. Murphy was on the front foot from the start when Daly got off to the worst possible start in this score when it took him four shots to make the truck park where he was almost a bowl of odds down all to two meters. Murphy raised the bowl fully in two more out sight past the graveyard. Daly got a poor seventh back of Harrington’s quarry, and though Murphy had a huge opportunity to close out this score away but missed up full sight with his sixth when it fell left. Encouragingly Daly got a super eight shot that knocked the bowl of odds and put him up for a loft. Daly’s loft was desperately unlucky, it broke left when it landed, and if it broke right he would have levelled the score. Daly got a massive eleventh to the start of the Council yard and Murphy made the upper end valuable odds. Daly’s twelfth shot was an incredible one and went full sight and would have given him his first lead but it was “called” and he missed sight with his second attempt. At the junior finish Murphy raised the bowl of odds again. Daly wasn’t giving up without a fight and knocked the bowl of odds again with huge fifteenth and sixteenth shots and pushed this score to a last shot, Murphy beat the line but his bowl was “called” and his second attempt was played better and beat the finish line again, securing the Joe O’Sullivan Cup for the third time. Aoife O’Sullivan was on hand to present the Joe O’Sullivan/Acorn Life Cup.
Supporting scores for the weekend saw David Hegarty beat Cathal Creedon for €9,000 a-side. Hegarty made the truck park in three shots where he was throwing his odds over ten meters. Creedon kept it to the bowl of odds after two more to the end of the graveyard wall.Creedon had a crazy pull on his seventh shot to Harrington’s Quarry, Hegarty was too tight left and made poor sight for the double chicane, Creedon missed sight with his next and Hegarty played well and out fully. Hegarty made the Council yard in three more where he had big odds with the bowl. After two more he was back of the finish line where he won by a big bowl of odds.
In the return route Gearoid Lucy had a last shot victory over Alan Brickley, playing for €6,500 a-side. Lucy opened the first bend in one and it took Brickley two. Lucy followed up with huge second and third shots past the Council yard and down sight that raised a second bowl for him. Brickley had it back to a bowl of odds after the double bends, Brickley got a huge ninth shot three quarter way down the graveyard wall that knocked the bowl by ten meters. Lucy got a huge ninth to the end of the truck park but was not out full sight, Brickley had to make sight but failed when his bowl went right. An astronomical shot from Lucy that made back of the Co-Action centre. Brickley missed this well and conceded.
Back out again we had Tim Young playing Wayne Parkes for a stake of €6,500 a-side with Young carrying the favourites tag. Young opened with three great bowls to the truck park and was unlucky not to open the bend at the end of the graveyard wall in two more but his fifth fell left short of sight but still throwing his odds over thirty meters. Three more from Young took him out sight at the double bends, Parkes made poor sight and a bad blunder from Young when he was too tight left and caught a stump of grass now only twenty meters fore bowl. Parkes unleashed an incredible bowl from poor sight that opened the next bend full sight for the Council yard and gave him his first lead of the score as Young’s tenth shot was well right. Parkes made full sight for the Novice finish in two more, and sight for the last straight in another two where he had big odds. Parkes was on top of the finish line in two more winning by almost a bowl of odds.
Back in the road Cian Young had to dig deep to get his win over Dylan O’Brien, playing for a stake of 6,500 a-side. O’Brien went out the first bend a bowl of odds up. A great fourth from Young below the Council yard knocked the bowl. O’Brien still had a bowl after their next but an unreal sixth shot from Young won him his first lead even though O’Brien did follow a big shot. O’Brien won back the lead with his next to Harrington's Quarry. Both missed sight for the Graveyard with their next Young back in front again. O’Brien got two opportunities at his ninth shot as his first was “called” and gained more road on the second effort. Young beat this tip by thirty meters. The next shots basically decided this score. O’Brien missed sight for the Grotto straight and Young went full sight. O’Brien was very left with his eleventh and Young made past the Grotto. O’Brien was left again with his twelfth and Young made the Co-Action entrance. One would say it was winning law however O’Brien got a huge last and Young got two chances to beat it as his first attempt was “called” and beat the tip by ten meters and his second attempt only beat the tip by two meters.
Thomas Maloney got only one lead and snatched a last shot win from Dylan O’Brien in the final score at Castletownbere, they played for a stake of €3,400 a-side. After three and four shots each to the Council yard Maloney was a bowl down, he went full sight at the next bend with a huge fifth but O’Brien followed and beat it. Two more each around the double bends and O’Brien still held a bowl advantage, Maloney got a huge eight shot past Harrington’s Quarry, it would have knocked huge odds had he not “called” O’Brien’s next, but O’Brien’s second attempt beat the tip by a big margin. Maloney looked totally out of this score at the Truck Park, but a poor eleventh shot from O’Brien only to the Grotto where he had seventy meters of odds, would be winning law in normal circumstances, but Maloney put down the most perfect last shot that didn’t stop until it beat the finish line, a truly incredible shot, O’Brien’s reply was too far right and caught the wall well hind bowl.
MICK MURPHY SECURES HIS SPOT IN VINTAGE C FINAL
Mick Murphy booked his place in the overall vintage c final when he had a close encounter with Tom O’Donovan, playing for a stake of 480 a-side at Ballinacurra on the Pitch & Putt road. O’Donovan opened with two big bowls past the level cross where he was throwing his odds over twenty meters as Murphy's third shot got thrown off course. O’Donovan got a big third shot that raised the bowl of odds for him. Murphy got a super fifth, his best one out of five that O’Donovan only beat by five meters in two shots. Murphy made it past Judy’s cottage with his sixth that gave him his first lead as O’Donovan like his previous two shots was left. Facing now up the Pitch and Putt road Murphy was throwing his odds over ten meters. Murphy was back of the Pitch & Putt entrance with his ninth and O’Donovan got a super tenth shot well past the entrance, Murphy missed this tip by a meter. Excellent eleventh shots from both men, Murphy back in front again after twelve. After two more past John Murphy’s entrance, Murphy extended his lead to thirty meters for the last shots. O’Donovan made a big effort for the line but it just fell short and Murphy beat the line. He now plays D.D Carroll and Michael O’Leary in the final at Lyre on Saturday November 7th @ 2.00pm.
In the other two vintage grades its Noel Bowen v Kieran O’Driscoll v Jerry Murphy Vintage A at Jagoes Mills on Sunday October 25th at 11.00am and in the Vintage B Patsy O’Sullivan v David Walsh v Pat Callanan at Clondrohid on Saturday October 24th at 2.00pm. With the overall final fixed for November 14th.
This weekend’s attention will turn to the City Region for their annual William Wolf Memorial tournament at Waterloo.
