CARBERY BOWLING: Sidney Shannon rises to the occasion to capture novice B title  

SIDNEY Shannon took the winner’s prize from The Marsh Road Club’s novice B decider on Sunday afternoon. 

After a solid start, little went right for local contender Shane McCarthy, who went a bowl of odds down after six. Shannon was consistent and repelled a late charge by McCarthy with a well-drilled 13th from ‘Coombe’s entrance’. It was looking good for the Skibb man after he hit a fine second shot that yielded a 30-metre lead but taking five more to ‘Jim Hurley’s bend’ handed the ascendancy to his Durrus rival. 

Shannon hit a super fourth and might have been further ahead with a better fifth. A shot up at ‘the bridge’, his lead was briefly threatened when McCarthy lined an excellent effort on the rise but two big ones past the ‘D line’ ensured his advantage stayed intact. Shannon’s winning margin at the end was a bowl of odds. 

There was no home joy either at Bauravilla where Darragh Dempsey’s John Joe Murphy Cup hopes came a cropper at the hands of Fermoy’s Timmie McDonagh. Following a recent winning run, this was not one of the Skibb youth’s better days and McDonagh took full advantage of a few wayward attempts to rise almost a bowl of odds at the ‘netting’. McDonagh’s 11 to the ‘bridge’ had him close to two bowls up and he held his odds for the remainder. On bank holiday Monday at Schull, it was a similar story when Caheragh’s Darren Lynch ended the Mick Flor Cup aspirations of local contender Stephen McSweeney. Lynch’s accurate play on the rise saw him rise a two-bowl lead.

Gavin Harrington’s liking for the Lyre road was evident again in a fine tournament semi-final performance on bank holiday Monday. Former county novice 2 champion Sean Nyhan was a formidable rival, but Harrington weathered a strong challenge and will contest a second final on the road within two years when he takes on Mark Deane in a few weeks’ time. Elsewhere, Finbarr Coughlan, defeated Alan Brickley at Ballydehob, and newcomer Rian Hayden, despite a solid display, lost out to Donal McCarthy at Togher Cross.

The Marsh Road Bowling club made a presentation of €2,400 to West Cork Rapid Response at The Corner Bar on Sunday evening. The proceeds from the five-score Johnny O’Driscoll Memorial hosted by the Skibb club on January 20th were boosted by ticket sales and personal donations and presented by Brendan O’Driscoll to Rapid Response representatives, Kate Crowley and Betty Hennessy. 

Results:

Ardcahan: Doubles, Barry O’Donovan/Finny Carroll defeated Jerry Murray/Conor Bursell, two bowls for €2,200; Andy McCarthy/Niall Forbes defeated John Madden/Gene O’Callaghan, two bowls, for €3,300.

Ballydehob: Finbarr Coughlan defeated Alan Brickley, two bowls, for €2,800; return, Brendan McCarthy defeated Bryan Regan, one bowl, for €1,000.

Bauravilla: John Joe Murphy Cup, Timmie McDonagh defeated Darragh Dempsey, two bowls, for €6,500; return, Denis O’Sullivan defeated Colm Crowley, one bowl, for €2,000.

Beál na Bláth: Damien Burns defeated Joe Madden, last shot, for €2,200; return, John Madden defeated Stephen Murphy, last shot, for €1,950. 

Durrus: Johnny Kelly defeated Damien Hurley, one bowl, for €600; doubles, Peter Kelly/David Deane defeated Connie O’Leary/Peter Hickey, one bowl, for €900.

Lyre: Mark Deane defeated Diarmuid Murphy, two bowls; Jonathan Deane defeated Kevin Coughlan, last shot, for €800; Gavin Harrington defeated Sean Nyhan, by one bowl, for €1,900. 

Marsh Road: Novice B tournament final, Sidney Shannon defeated Shane McCarthy, one bowl, for €2,300. 

Newcestown: Ger O’Driscoll defeated Eoin O’Riordan, two bowls for €1,600.

Schull: Mick Flor Cup, Darren Lynch defeated Stephen McSweeney, two bowls, for €740.

Shannonvale: Johnny O’Driscoll defeated Noel O’Regan, three bowls, for €8,000; doubles, John Connolly/Darren Harrington defeated Brian Horgan/Con O’Sullivan, two bowls, for €1,400; Anthony Lynch defeated Brian Horgan, last shot, for €3,000.

Togher Cross: Donal McCarthy defeated Rian Haden, one bowl.