A TOUR de force from Thomas Mackle earned him a fifth King of the Roads crown while Silke Tulk made it three Queen titles on the trot in a thrilling 38th hosting of the famed festival.
‘The Boys from the County Armagh’ was sung lustily at Ballincurrig on the Sunday evening after Mackle delivered one of the truly great final performances to deny a gallant David Murphy.
There was a sense that the wet road surface might militate against the northerner given the speedy, lengthy run-in he utilises in his delivery, but he revelled in the conditions.
With the stake finally balanced at a €64,000 total, Murphy had a powerful opener. Mackle was in front after two before a defining exchange stunned the road. Murphy – who produced a great fightback against Gary Murphy the previous day – lined a superb third to Geary’s green and it looked sure to regain the fore bowl but Mackle replied with an awesome drive and beat the tip by 80 metres.
Relentless, Mackle fired another brilliant effort to the second line at Heaphy’s at which point Murphy, without making any errors, trailed by a bowl of odds. The defending champion from Brinny was a shade unlucky with a thundering drive on the long straight and hung in doggedly as Mackle hit the big turn in ten.
Murphy’s power enabled him to cut an excellent 12th up the short straight but Macke was equal to it and came close enough to retain most of his lead. Murphy’s next went right and with it his chance of staging a comeback.
Mackle powered on to the last bend in 14, where a sporting Murphy was finally forced to concede his crown. The win has put the gloss on a magnificent season for the All-Ireland champion, whose string of triumphs include, Ból Fada championship, Joe O’Sullivan Acorn Life Cup and now the Hurley’s of Midleton King of the Roads trophy.
Queen of the Roads champion Silke Tulk with, from left, Veronica O'Mahony, semi-finalist, Anke Klopper, runner-up, and Geraldine Curtin, semi-finalist.
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Dutch champion Silke Tulk remains peerless at Ballincurrig. The wind and rain finally relented just as the Kingston New Homes Queen of the Roads final got underway. With no Irish involvement, the cup holder was the strong favourite against Anke Klopper but the German champion showed plenty in her semi-final win on Friday to indicate a challenge.
That is how it panned out as Klopper sped away to a big early lead mainly fashioned by a super third shot. An upset was on the cards when she rose a bowl of odds with her fourth and then followed a massive sixth of Tulk’s to hold her lead to the big turn.
It began to unravel a little for the FKV star in the shots down the long straight. Tulk knocked the bowl of odds and when Klopper failed to take advantage of an average eighth by the Dutch champion, the gap was down to 30 metres. The sheer power of the defending champion got her out of trouble at the acre and a speedy run to Hegarty’s’ brought her in front for the first time since the opening exchanges.
Tulk extended her lead in the next shots and responded well to Klopper’s big 14th through the green with a powerful drive towards the line. It was her third win in a row and seventh overall. The stake amounted to €1,700.
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Bandon’s Brian Wilmot was another impressed at the weekend. He has been enjoying a successful year on bowling roads north and south and captured the Jim O’Driscoll Cup in some style with a two-bowl victory over Ulster’s Shaun Donnelly in the opening score on Sunday.
For a €6,000 total, Wilmot – behind in four to the green – looked in a spot of bother when his fifth went left off the play. Donnelly didn’t quite take advantage and only 50 metres separated them at the lines. Wilmot found his groove with big shots on the long straight and took a bowl-of-odds lead with his 11th at the big turn.
Donnelly fought it well to keep it under the bowl as they played to the sycamores, but Wilmot held his lead to win the O’Driscoll Cup for the second time – 12 years after his first.
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The Proto-Mark Technologies Youth International Triple-Crown was a lively affair with bowling’s upcoming talent from the continent offering plenty but were ultimately forced to give best to Ireland’s U18 champions, Tommy O’Sullivan and Ellen Sexton.
Dutch girl Lotte Telgenof Oude Koehorst fired a super sixth to the big turn to go a shot up on both German and Irish partnerships but Ellen did well to keep it at that with a fine effort of her own to the big turn. Tommy’s perfectly executed eighth shot around to the long straight levelled it up and from there they held off the continental challenge. Germany’s Tonke De Viries was instrumental in her team coming second.
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As dusk fell on Sunday evening, piper Pádraigh O’Brien led the newly crowned King and Queen back to the presentation rostrum. There were tributes from all and sundry to Séamus Ó Tuama, Mick Hurley and their Ballincurrig officials for their trojan efforts. The production of a colourful and informative programme booklet added much to the occasion as indeed did the presence of so many from Germany, Holland and Northern Ireland, who came in droves to support their compatriots. The 38th festival had lived up to its billing in every respect.
