PLAYERS and punters were divided this past weekend between the Dowtcha Boy West Cork Distillers Fundraiser for the Victoria Hospice organisation at Skibbereen, and at the other 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 proceedings under way at the Marsh Road, for a total stake of €13,000. It was four shots each to Longs Coach entrance where O’Driscoll had a slender lead of 15 metres. 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, but his good bowling fell apart when his seventh broke badly left of the play and O’Driscoll 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 30 metres for the last shot, but O’Driscoll only made the railings and Kelleher had nothing to beat.
In a double score back in the road, the brother and 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 Dempseys led by 15 metres, but after two more out and around the Steps bend O’Regan/Hegarty led by five metres. Two more huge bowls from all four to the silvery gate where the Dempseys held a lead of five metres, and 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 metres. They rose the bowl of odds with two great bowls to the Skibb sign, held this to Longs Coach entrance and on to the Mart entrance – they 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 80 metres, while O’Regan’s bowl slashed left and caught a cone, missed the tip and victory went to Skibbereen.
The third score at the Marsh road saw Caheragh man Denis O’Sullivan take on Micháel Desmond from 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 80 metres of odds. Desmond reached the silvery gates in four more, though O’Sullivan beat this by 50 metres to keep it under the bowl. Desmond made sight at the Steps in three more, while O’Sullivan had no sight here, but got two great bowls that won him back the lead as Desmond made a dreadful blunder with his 13th shot. Two more shots each out of sight for the finish line where Sullivan had 30 metres. 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 a lead of 60 metres. He made sight at the silvery gate in three more where Bohane had 70 metres. Sexton cut the odds to 40 metres with a super eighth 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 were down to 30 metres. 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.
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And so on to the big one: James O’Donovan v Gary Daly. The stake broke even at €16,400 a-side. This was a score of two halves, the first was Dalys and the second belonged to O’Donovan.
After four each to the council yard wall Daly had 40 metres. His fourth, fifth and sixth shots covered an unreal amount of road, so much so that at the silvery gate Daly had almost a bowl of odds. He rose the bowl with his seventh shot that got a nice touch off the left brow, while Bandon bowler 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 to the steps where he had the odds down to 50 metres, nine and ten shots each. Two more to the back of Thornhill Cross for O’Donovan, and Daly was only hanging in by 50 metres.
O’Donovan cast out a beautiful 12th up past Ballyhilty cross and Daly, too tight to the left, missed this by over 100 metres but got a great bowl to the Avenue that O’Donovan only beat by 20 metres. Daly missed Crowley’s lane and O’Donovan put a valuable 40 metres on this for the last shot. Daly lined his last perfectly; they said it was robbed and should have gone another 40 metres. O’Donovan was very tight left, came out of the dyke and beat the tip by two metres.
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Bowling made a welcome return to Beál Athán 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 1990s on the Ceim An Fhia/Guagan Barra Road. The club is 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 run. Good luck to the club going forward.
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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 beating Shane Crowley/Anthony Gould for a total stake of €6,500. In the second score Eamonn Bowen lost to the youth of Darragh Gribben for a total stake of €16,000. The third score was a senior clash between Aidan Murphy and Colm Rafferty, playing for a total stake of €20,000, and Rafferty won. The fourth and final score in Armagh saw Gavin Twohig/Flor Crowley finish strong to beat Paul Rafferty/Franko Oliver for a total stake of €20,000. Armagh continued on Sunday where Paul O’Reilly beat Anthony Crowley for €14,620 a-side. Back in the road, Jim Coffey defeated Barry O’Reilly, for €12,500 a-side. 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.
