David Murphy has won everything there is to win, and numerous times at that, but he still wants more.
DAVID Murphy has won everything there is to win, and numerous times at that, but he still wants more.
His recent All-Ireland senior bowling championship victory in Grenagh completed a hat-trick of those titles, to go along with his four King of the Road crowns, three European gold medals and four Munster senior titles.
His collection at home in Crossbarry is the envy of many, but the 34-year-old isn’t finished yet.
A fifth King of the Road title is his next target.
‘All you can do after winning everything is to try and stay up there competing and make a few more finals and see what happens,’ Murphy said.
‘The King of the Roads is on in Ballincurrig near Midelton at the end of September. You’ll have the Ulster champion, the Munster champion, a bowler each from Germany and Holland and two qualifiers through the Mick Barry Cup.
‘It’s a separate competition from the championship but you still carry confidence from one into the other.
‘Every fella in this is after winning something so you’ve the best around competing.’
Murphy, again, is the best in Ireland, his third All-Ireland senior title following on from his wins in 2008 (against Michael Toal in Skibbereen) and 2015 (against Thomas Mackle in Portmor-Blackwatertown).
All three All-Ireland senior wins hold equal importance, he says, but his 2015 success against Mackle in Armagh was the hardest won.
‘It’s a lot harder to win away from home. They are only small things but when it’s on here in Cork, you wake up in your own bed the morning of the final, those little details make the difference instead of waking up in a hotel,’ Murphy explained, before reflecting on his recent victory over Mackle in Grenagh.
‘I’ve met Thomas in a couple of King of the Roads and Ból Fada finals and he seems to have the upper hand in those, but I am after beating him in two All-Ireland finals now,’ he said.
‘The two of us started bad enough but I had three big bowls in the middle of the score, to go down to buala lane, a really sharp corner, a shot ahead.
‘I had three more good shots then up to the no-play line and there were only three more shots left then. It was the middle of the score that turned it for me.’
Now that he has won his third All-Ireland, he wants more, but it’s hard to win a Munster title, never mind at national level.
‘Of course I want to win more. I’ve three won since 2008 so they’re spaced out so hopefully I can put a few more together in the next few years.’
Before that it will be the King of the Roads in a few months for this bowling royalty.
