IN county scores at the weekend the vintage grade had a fixture at Rosscarbery where Timmie Hennessy got the better of Harry Russell. Of more urgency are the county round scores in the junior C and novice grades and, ahead of a busy schedule put in place by fixtures secretary Richie Fitzgerald for next week, three went ahead on Saturday.
At Ballinagree, Mid Cork’s Trevor O’Sullivan and Gaeltacht’s Cillian Kelleher clashed in a junior C quarter-final. For a stake of €400 O’Sullivan emerged the winner here and will play the East/West Cork quarter-final winner in the semi-final. At Beal na mBlath in novice A, City’s Anthony Crowley showed why he could take some beating in his category by eking out a narrow last shot win from North East’s Jimmy Hogan. This was a stakeless contest. At the same venue, North East’s Jamie McDonagh defeated City’s John Donnellan in a novice C quarter-final played for €1,100 stake. McDonagh was a two-bowl winner.
The deferred county U16 final was played at Newcestown on Monday and followed a similar pattern to the U14 decider. Ross O’Brien and Culann Bourke again produced an interesting contest that stayed in the melting pot to the end. Both started with big opening shots before O’Brien took command with a massive second that Bourke only just matched in two.
The U14 Gaeltacht All-Ireland winner was in total control, rising a bowl in the next exchange and was on the cusp of doubling his advantage with another big brace to ‘Kingston’s’. Bourke was not finished and three massive shots to ‘O’Callaghan’s’ cut the O’Brien’s big lead to a throw out. With still three to go, O’Brien needed a big third last to stave off Bourke’s rally and when he produced, the Timmie Delaney Cup was his as well as the unique place in the records as U14 and U16 county champion in the same year. City’s Peter Nagle is, as far as can be ascertained is the only previous under-age exponent to achieve this feat which involves the use of different weighted bowls.
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Regional action abounded. It was a week of finals in the South West division. The novice A decider at Fisher’s Cross drew a big gathering to the seaside venue. The result marked another rise through the ranks for Ballineen’s Eoin McCarthy who scored a big last-shot win over John Connolly. It was a disappointing outcome for the Shannonvale man Connolly, who, having gone a bowl down in the early shots, rallied to lead with three to go. His finish did not do justice to a fine comeback and McCarthy closed it out. They played for a €4,000 total.
At The Pike the novice C final was fought out between Jason Harrington and Diarmuid Murphy. For a €1,960 total, Harrington’s opening shot diverted off a manhole cover which left him in big arrears and Murphy went on to rise a bowl of odds over the next two. Harrington made a swift recovery here and had it level by ‘White’s cross’ and he did better in the exchanges to ‘Draper’s’ by which juncture he had forged ahead by almost a bowl. Murphy came strongly over the closing stretch, but his Kilbrittain rival had enough in hand to win the championship.
In West Cork the big day was Saturday at Ahakista to where a large crowd descended for a five-score festival programme. Big stake events some were and among the winners on the Sheep’s Head peninsula were Kenneth Murphy who got the better of Ger Connolly for a €22,000 total; Noel O’Donovan who defeated Johnny O’Driscoll for €13,000, O’Driscoll rebounded with a win over Shane Shannon for €8,000 and there were doubles success for Finbarr Coughlan/Joseph O’Mahony and the Leap pairing of David Minihane and Darren Whooley.
The novice B final was played at Ballinacarriga on Bank Holiday Monday. Brian Horgan came from arrears to win this from Jimmy O’Leary by a bowl of odds for €3,100. Played in, O’Leary made a great start rising commanding odds by ‘Finn’s corner’ but a slip and good play by Horgan approaching the ‘creamery cross’ caused a turnaround. Dunmanway man, Horgan, went ahead at ‘Lynch’s’ and increased odds from there to the finish.
In novice E at Ballinacarriga, on Monday, Jerry Cahalane defeated Shane O’Donovan. In the second junior ladies semi at Drimoleague Emer O’Connell got the better of Grace Hickey and will play Marie Russell in the final. The novice E championship progressed with scores at Durrus. On Monday, here Jeremy Hurley won from Jamie Walsh for €640 and Darragh McCarthy won from Jack Murphy for €1,100. At Kealkil in E, Gavin McCarthy defeated Daniel King and Jack McCarthy defeated Jack Forbes.
Joshua Murphy is Mid Cork novice C winner after Sean Nyhan was forced to withdraw injured from Thursday’s final at Templemartin. Last year’s county runner-up, Siobhan Kelleher is out of the 2024 junior championship having gone down to Ciara Allen. On a good night for the Allen clan, U18 champion Rosin defeated Emma Jordan also in junior.
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