LYRE was the venue on Saturday for a big day of bowling. In the morning they held the Mother Hegarty Cup semi-final, followed in the afternoon by the final of a novice A tournament.
Back to the morning score, Arthur McDonagh took on Aidan Murphy, the current holder of the Mother Hegarty Cup, for a total stake of €24,000. This was a trap-to-line win for McDonagh. Murphy’s fourth bowl was too far left and got caught, giving McDonagh an early bowl of odds on a below-par Murphy.
McDonagh’s fourth, sixth and seventh bowls were of the highest order – he went over the tunnel with his fourth, up full sight at Crowley’s bend with his sixth, and halfway to McCarthy’s bend with his seventh. He’s not the first man to reach Crowley’s bend in six, however, Seamus Sexton has done it before. Picked up after nine throws to the Rose Bed, a new record for the road, it’s his place in yet another final for McDonagh after the previous weekend’s win in the Dan Riordan Cup semi-final at Bantry.
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In a novice A tournament final at Lyre, young Cathal Creedon from Ballyvourney, another one of those young prodigies coming up, had a convincing win over Conor Lucey from Beal na Marbh. There was one lead for Lucey in this score, that being his second huge bowl to the Forest entrance that Creedon missed by 40 metres. But that was as close as Lucey got as Creedon powered up to Crowley’s bend in seven great bowls for the grade.
A small glimmer of light came here for Lucey when, from an impossible stand, he made full light before McCarthy’s bend. When Creedon pulled his bowl in right and had no sight, it looked like a half-level score here. But, again, Creedon produced a phenomenal bowl that was rasher-tight right and made full light at McCarthy’s bend and rose the bowl of odds again. The winner produced another huge one to the big tree when matters were terminated.
Cathal Creedon, left, won the Lyre Novice A tournament final against Conor Lucey, runner-up.
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Back Lyre was a vintage A championship score as Jerry Murphy, Templemartin, took on Jimmy Collins, Union Hall, for a stake of €1,100. A poor start from Murphy meant he found himself a bowl down after two shots, but he rallied well to the first bend at McCarthy’s where he had the odds down to 50 metres. However, Murphy fumbled his next bowl in right and the bowl of odds was up again.
Collins held this bowl advantage down as far as the Tunnel, where he took a fall on the wet road here and only beat Murphy’s tip by 40 metres in two. It looked level but Collins upped his game again and beat the line in three great bowls to win by almost two bowls. Ballincurrig give out a special prize for the best shot of the weekend; it would have been very difficult to pick a shot at Lyre on Saturday, with many awesome bowls thrown between McDonagh, Collins, Creedon and Harrington.
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Dunderrow hosted another vintage A score. Here Chris O’Donovan, Ballineen, took on Martin Connolly, Douglas. That first shot in Dunderrow is a vital one, and on this occasion O’Donovan missed sight and Connolly went out fully. Connolly made a blunder with his third and missed the bend and O’Donovan went out full sight.
O’Donovan took his first lead with a jet of a fifth shot up the rising road and O’Donovan held a 30-metre advantage at the first entrance to the Eli Lilly factory. Two more each to the second entrance to the factory and O’Donovan still held a 40-metre advantage. After a very poor ninth from Connolly, now O’Donovan had a chance to pull away but his bowl was left and only beat tip by 30 metres.
After two more to Nyhans Lane the odds was still only 35 metres in O’Donovan’s advantage. Connolly put down a great 12th bowl past Murphy’s House that knocked the odds to five metres before the bridge. Down to the bridge and up the hill O’Donovan raised big odds, Connolly was very tight right and missed the line, leaving O’Donovan a comfortable winner.
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Shannonvale hosted a first-round score for the Noel Phair Cup on Sunday, as Gary Daly played James O’Donovan; the total stake here was €21,000. The bowling was not of the highest order but yet it kept the crowd entertained for three-quarters of the way.
The lead changed on several occasions between the start and Kingston’s, both went out to Desmonds Cross in eight each with O’Donovan having a marginal lead of 15 metres, O’Donovan held this lead to the end of Kingston’s Wall, but from here he upped the ante and played two of the finest to Campbell’s Lane where he had over a bowl of odds. Two more shots each back of the Junior Line, and Daly conceded.
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Durrus in the western division completed a 32-man novice A/B tournament. In this final we had Peter Nagle from Rosscarbery taking on the local man Frankie Arundel, Durrus, for a total stake of €1,100. Both got big opening bowls covering the first straight. Nagle had the makings of a bowl of odds on a couple of occasions but Arundel kept chipping away at his lead. A very lucky rub with his third last gave Arundel nice odds and he finished the stronger to take the prize fund.
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At Templemartin Wayne Parkes took on Paul Buckley in the Tim Foley Cup semi-final for a total stake of €3,100. Buckley started the better of the two, raising almost a bowl of odds with his first shot, but Parkes reeled in this deficit, making Slynes corner in four bowls where he himself now had almost a bowl of odds. Parkes raised a further bowl between here and O’Riordan’s. Buckley brought this back to one bowl with a massive cast to the School Cross. It took them both two more to the Stonefield corner where Parkes still had a bowl. Parkes took the bowl down past the monument and out the last Cross and after another past the old pub, matters were terminated.
