THE busy seasonal schedule of road bowling continued into the new year.
At Lyre, Ger O’Driscoll put in a top-drawer performance to beat Liam Hurley. O’Driscoll had almost a bowl at the forest entrance and rose it with a huge third shot. Two more great bowls over the tunnel where he had two bowls and a phenomenal sixth shot rose the third bowl and a further bowl at Crowley’s bend was where matters were terminated.
Bottlehill brought the curtain down on two hugely successful annual Christmas tournaments with an entry of 60 players in two categories, divided into teams of three. The tournaments came to conclusion on New Year’s Day with Joseph Murphy/Dylan McDonnell/Dylan Murphy beating Stephen Cahill/Martin Daly/Kieran Daly in final A, and Tom O’Donovan/Alan Daly/Eddie Barry beating Ryan Buckley/Ryan Delaney /Michael Cahill in final B. This is an annual event run by the Carrignavar/Bottlehill clubs; the preliminary rounds were played at Carrignavar and the semi-finals and final at Bottlehill.
It was an all-Skibbereen affair in the Marsh Road mixed doubles tournament final, as Brendan O’Driscoll and Denis Murphy beat Ritchie Harnedy and Michael O’Leary for no stake.
Killarney man Jim Coffey had mixed fortunes at Ballinacurra on New Year’s Day. In his first score with Eoin McCarthy, he lost by the last shot for €4,400. In his second score with Eoin O’Riordan, Coffey got a bowl-of-odds start and won by two bowls for €3,600. In Coffey’s final score, Eoin O’Riordan reversed the result; they played for €1,800.
The past weekend was a washout for all clubs, as rain, sleet and snow put a stop to all bowling activities. All fixtures to be rescheduled.
***
Ból Chumann lost one of its stalwarts of road bowling during the week. Johnny Creedon, originally from Clondrohid but residing in Ballincollig for many years, passed to his eternal reward.
Johnny had many memorable highlights, including his senior county win over Donie Lehane at the Miles in 1960. In 1968 he beat Mick Barry in the senior final at Nadd and went on to beat Danny McParland in the All-Ireland final also at Nadd. In 1979 Johnny beat Donie Coveney in the senior final at Ballyshonin but had to give way to Pat Mallon in the All-Ireland at Blackwaterstown, Armagh. In 1987 Johnny beat Tim O’Halloran in the intermediate county final at Ballyshonin and went on to win the All-Ireland from Pat Mallon in dramatic fashion at Tassagh, Armagh.
The Southern Star report at the time said: ‘They will all talk about Creedon’s last bowl at Tassagh for years to come and certainly it’s one for posterity to recall. Where the Corkman got the strength or the speed to deliver this exceptional throw left us all puzzled.
‘Pat Mallon had a considerable advantage but he now had a good tip to beat. To his credit he tried it hard and with a little luck it would have been a repeat of Blackwaterstown in 1979 all over again. The bowl ran straight off the play but never swung with the centre track as it was expected to do, it missed Creedon’s mark by about thirty meters.
‘For Johnny Creedon and the Cork contingent it was one of the sweetest All-Ireland victories of all time.’
To his wife Clare and family Pat, Michael, John and Helen, Ból Chumann extends its deepest sympathy. Ar dheis dé go raibh a anam.
