A JERRY Desmond Cup score was played at Grange between newly promoted intermediate players Cillian Kelleher and Anthony Crowley, playing for a stake of €3,300 a side.

Nothing separated them after the first shot. Kelleher led by one foot, and that was to be his only lead of the score. Crowley got incredible second and third shots out the stud farm bend, where he had almost a bowl of odds, and he raised it fully with his next up to Holland's Wall.

Kelleher kept it to the bowl of odds with a super seventh shot to De Barra’s. Crowley was lucky to come out of the right dyke and it dribbled over the tip to hold his bowl advantage.

Two more each to the start of the green, where it was under the bowl by one metre. After two more, Kelleher had the odds back to 30 meters. Crowley got an unreal bowl up past Mickey Sullivan’s to the big tree but it was 'called' and his second effort only beat Kelleher’s tip by 30 metres.

Kelleher made the big tree with his 12th and Crowley’s bowl fell left at John Bill’s. Kelleher misplaced his next well right and Crowley punished him with a huge bowl well past Noelie’s bungalow. Kelleher did well to beat this, keeping it under the bowl of odds.

Crowley’s 14th was perfect but picked right out of the track. Kelleher didn’t take full advantage of this and again misplaced his bowl right and missed the tip to fall a bowl of odds down.

Kelleher made back of Fiona’s bungalow with his next and Crowley beat this tip by ten metres. Kelleher got an incredible shot out sight at Barry’s bend and down to the pub, but Crowley played his equally as perfect and beat the tip, and won the bowl of odds.

In a return score, Dylan O’Brien came from a bowl of odds down at the green to win by the last shot from Thomas Maloney for a stake of €1,700 a side.

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The Gaeltacht region held the second semi-final of their junior a tournament at Baile Bhuirne between Cathal Creedon and Micháel Desmond, playing for a stake of €1,570 a side. Desmond raised an early bowl of odds at the long wall, and he held this odds to the school bags in five shots.

Creedon knocked the bowl of odds with his next and got a huge bowl past the island, where Desmond now had a bowl to beat, but wasn’t fazed and lined an absolute train of a shot that almost restored his full bowl of odds advantage again as Creedon buried his next in left and just beat Desmond’s tip again. Desmond let rip another phenomenal shot and Creedon missed this to fall two bowls down.

Desmond will now play Cillian Kelleher in their final.

Anthony Crowley took victory from Cillian Kelleher in the Jerry Desmond Cup at Grange.

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If you ever wanted to see how the play of a road could be abused, then Bottlehill was the place to be last weekend, where Patrick Flood, Timmy McDonagh and Tommy O’Sullivan, who has been off bowling for a few months, played in the Eamonn Bowen Memorial Tournament semi-final.

Flood and O’Sullivan started well and had almost a bowl on McDonagh at the layby.

Poor bowls from Flood and O’Sullivan left McDonagh back into the score. McDonagh followed up with another huge bowl shot that won him the lead from O’Sullivan and both had a bowl on Flood.

Flood’s bowling fell totally apart, bowls going left, right and nothing hitting the sops. At the bridge, Flood was still a bowl of odds down and McDonagh led O’Sullivan by 10 metres.

Short bowls from all three from the bridge, at the Holy Well positions remained the same. O’Sullivan led McDonagh by 25 metres and Flood was still trailing by a bowl of odds.

McDonagh was back in front after his next as O’Sullivan dropped his bowl and it turned in left. Flood delivered his best of the day and knocked the bowl of odds on O’Sullivan, and McDonagh only beat O’Sullivan's tip by five metres, now both throwing their odds on Flood.

O'Sullivan got a huge bowl out the double bends and won back the lead again by 25 metres. McDonagh’s next crossed right not out full sight, Flood buried his bowl in left and conceded, and O’Sullivan got a huge bowl but also missed full sight.

McDonagh went sight for the finish line and was back in front by 20 meters for the last shots. O’Sullivan’s last was rasher tight on the left but rose out and just fell short of the line. It was 'called' but over-ruled by the referee. McDonagh put down nothing for O’Sullivan to beat, and the latter will now play either Michael Bohane or Eugene McVeigh.

Meanwhile, at Beal Na Marbh on Saturday, November 14th the overall vintage final featuring Noel Gould v David Walsh v Mick Murphy will start at 2pm.

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Bol Chumann carried out the grading of their senior and intermediate players for the 2027 season.

Senior for 2027 are 14 players: Michael Bohane, Martin Coppinger, Gary Daly, Patrick Flood, Arthur McDonagh, Aidan Murphy, David Murphy, James O’Donovan, Denis O’Sullivan, Tommy O’Sullivan, Seamus Sexton, Paddy Stokes, Páidín Stokes and Brian Wilmot.

The intermediate grade got a big shake-up, with last year’s premier junior As – Darragh Dempsey, Brian O’Driscoll, Anthony Crowley, Shane Crowley, Cillian Kelleher, Michael John O’Brien and Sean Paul McDonagh – joining Paul Buckley, Michael Harrington, Timmy McDonagh Jnr, Michael Murphy, Killian Kingston, John O’Rourke, Wayne Parkes and Tim Young.