Report: All Ireland Series 1 2025 at Castletownkenneigh

Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th July

Cork are finding it desperately difficult to win back the Hughie Trainor Senior Cup, as for the fourth year in succession it will head North after Ethan Rafferty beat Arthur McDonagh in a high-quality Senior final at Castletown. No lead for McDonagh in this score. Rafferty got one of the longest first shots ever thrown on the road, McDonagh beat it by fifty meters in two. McDonagh got a huge fourth to the sleepers and Rafferty throwing over 150 mt beat the tip by 100 mt a huge bowl. McDonagh’s sixth was very right and at the novice line Rafferty was almost a bowl up. Rafferty just fell short of full sight at Pynes corner, McDonagh followed this but also missed sight but was keeping it under the bowl of odds. Rafferty opened the bend before the netting in two more, McDonagh followed another huge bowl to keep it under the bowl of odds by forty meters. Rafferty raised the bowl of odds again at the netting, McDonagh missed Forshin’s cross with his twelfth and Rafferty was rasher tight left and came out full sight the makings of two bowls of odds. McDonagh finished with three great bowls but there was too much odds to be knocked and Rafferty won out by a bowl of odds. Rafferty becomes the second bowler to win All-Ireland intermediate and senior in successive years. Eddie Carr also from Armagh won Intermediate in 2002 and Senior in 2003.

HEARTACHE FOR MURPHY

Juliet Murphy got the worst possible start in her All Ireland Intermediate Final against Armagh Camogie captain Gemma McCann. She found herself a bowl of odds down after four bowls to the end of the railings. Murphy knocked the bowl briefly at the sleepers but McCann raised it again with a big bowl to Round tower cross, she held this odds and raised fifty meters with it when she went sight at Pynes corner, there looked to be no way back for Murphy at this point. But Murphy wasn’t done just yet she produced three super bowls out sight at the netting that knocked the bowl of odds. McCann had a dreadful left hand pull and it came against her with her shot from the netting. Murphy produced another super bowl and suddenly the crowd were on their feet, McCann missed the finish line by six meters with her fifteenth, Murphy was still in this score only twenty five meters between them for the last shot, but alas Murphy was very left with her last and it got accidently blocked but would not have put a bowl in front of McCann so glory went to the Armagh lady. There was a stake of €7,600 a-side.

ALL-IRELAND GLORY FOR BANTRY AND DRIMOLEAGUE BOWLERS

Back the road we had the Boy’s U-12 final between Tommy Coppinger, son of Martin Coppinger Bantry and Keigan Fullerton Armagh. These two young men got three super opening bowls out past the netting to the black gates where Coppinger had thirty meters of odds. Coppinger was out Pynes corner in two more but Fullerton followed long bowls and was keeping it under the bowl. Two more huge bowls to Round Tower cross for Coppinger where he raised the bowl of odds. Fullerton was below the cross with his ninth. Coppinger unleashed a super eight down past the sleepers where he had huge odds with the bowl. Fullerton got a super bowl of his own to Rory’s house and Coppinger beat this by ten meters. Three more to Spillane’s entrance and Coppinger lead was now out of the reach of Fullerton, he won out in the end by almost two bowls.

AN ALL-IRELAND TITLE AT LAST

P.J. Cooney Dungorney has finally got his hands on an all-Ireland title defeating Mickey Rafferty Ulster in the veteran final at Castletown, having previously lost two All Irelands, a Junior A in 1997 and an Intermediate in 2000. This one he will treasure, apart from Rafferty taking the lead in the second shot it was Cooney who dominated for the remainder of the score he regained the lead with his third and had big odds at Round Tower Cross, it looked like he would have a bowl at Pynes corner but Rafferty produced two great bowls but just fell short of full sight at the bend. Cooney was throwing over forty meters at this juncture. Cooney gave Rafferty his last chance when he missed sight for the netting, but Rafferty bowl was left and missed sight also. Cooney had almost a bowl at the netting and rose it fully with a great eleventh shot to Fehily’s Lane and he carried this out to Forshin’s Cross. Both didn’t get great bowls off the cross but still Cooney held his bowl advantage, Rafferty’s last fell short of the line and the Tony Murray Cup will grace the mantel piece of the Cooney home for the next twelve months.

CARR TRADITION CONTINUES WITH THE NEXT GENERATION

Next up we had the Boy’s U-16 Caolan Carr son of former Intermediate & Senior all-Ireland winner Eddie playing Culann Bourke from Berrings. Three good opening bowls each to Rory’s house Carr forty meters fore bowl. Bourke lined some good bowls up past round tower cross but Carr followed and beat them. Bourke kept it under the bowl in seven and eight each to Pynes corner. Carr raised the bowl with a super eight out sight for the netting, three poor bowls in succession and the odds was mounting on Bourke, after two more from Carr down to the netting and back of the line the winning margin was almost two bowls.

Back down the road we had last year’s U16 All Ireland winner Megan O’Reilly back to defend her title when she played Orla Ni Mhurchú. Like the Boy’s U16 final this was a trap to line win for O’Reilly. She lined three great opening bowls to the black gates where she raised a bowl of odds. Luck was also on her side as her fourth was misplayed very right but got a nice touch and up sight at the bend. Ni Mhurchú just fell short of sight at Pynes corner in two more and O’Reilly went down and around. Ni Mhurchú played a perfect bowl around Pynes corner and got a nice touch off the left dyke to beat tip by fifty meters and keep it under the two bowls, that was until O’Reilly unleashed a massive seventh shot down the hill three quarter ways to round tower cross. Ni Mhurchú beat this by forty meters in two and when O’Reilly played the most perfect bowl down the left track back of Rory’s house there was no more back for Ni Mhurchú, and O’Reilly sealed the score with another super bowl to the start of the railings.

O'DRISCOLL TURNS ON THE STYLE

Drimoleague were out in force to cheer on their hero Brian O’Driscoll in the Junior B All-Ireland against 2023 Junior C all-Ireland winner Barry O’Reilly. No stake in this one, O’Driscoll a sizzling hot favourite on a sun-drenched Castletown. On any other occasion and against any other opponent O’Reilly would have been a winner, but he came up against a grounded, well focused O’Driscoll who played most sops with precision and speed. There was no lead in this score for O’Reilly. Four super bowls from O’Driscoll well above round tower cross where he was twenty meters short of the bowl of odds. O’Driscoll was very right with his fifth but it was “called” and he done the same with his second attempt, but done the unimaginable and opened Pynes corner with a super sixth, that is huge bowling to that point and still his odds here was only a bowl. O’Reilly’s eight was always left and missed sight for the netting, this was a chance for O’Driscoll to close out the score but he blew his bowl right and missed sight also. O’Reilly knocked the bowl after two more to the netting. O’Driscoll’s tenth slashed left off the play and was back of Fehily’s lane, O’Reilly beat this by forty meters and had a chance of Forshins Cross. O’Driscoll missed the cross and O’Reilly’s looked like going out fully but caught a kerbing and missed line by ten meters. From here O’Reilly threw a perlicue and beat the second line by fifteen meters. O’Driscoll’s thirteenth whipped out lovely made the Enniskeane sign, O’Reilly beat this by fifty meters. O’Driscoll next got a nice touch off the right dyke and O’Reilly’s bowl fell left missed tip and the Denis McGarry Cup will sit nicely in the O’Driscoll home.

​Results in Summary 

P.J. Cooney bt Mickey Rafferty 1bl Veteran All Ireland Final

Caolan Carr bt Culann Bourke 2bls Boy’s U-16 All Ireland Final

Megan O’Reilly bt Orla Ni Mhurchú 2bls U-16 All Ireland Final

Brian O’Driscoll bt Barry O’Reilly 1bl ns Junior B All Ireland Final

Gemma McCann bt Juliete Murphy 1bl €7,600 as Intermediate All Ireland Final 

Tommy Coppinger bt Keigan Fullerton 1bl U-12 All Ireland Final

Ethan Rafferty bt Arthur McDonagh 1bl €2,000 as Senior All Ireland Final

Pre All-Ireland scores were played at Castletown to defray some of the costs that it takes to run an All-Ireland:

Shane Healy beat Thomas Maloney €2,000 a-side, Darren O’Driscoll beat Jer O’Leary €890 a-side, Jack O’Callaghan beat Brian Horgan €2,600 a-side, Cathal Creedon beat John Butler €1,350 a-side, Patrick O’Brien beat Alex O’Donovan €2,200 a-side, Jack O’Driscoll beat Paudie Crowley €700 a-side, Michael Bohane beat Wayne Parkes €1,000 a-side, Shane Healy beat Jack O’Driscoll €3,000 a-side, Cillian Kelleher beat Jake Cullen €4,300 a-side, Jim Coffey beat Eoin McCarthy €6,600 a-side, Colm O’Regan beat Flor Crowley €12,000 a-side and Flor Crowley beat Colm O’Regan €14,000 a-side.

Or read this report here