AIDAN Murphy bridged a 16-year gap since he last won the Joe O'Sullivan Acorn Life Cup, as he came out on top in Castletownbere last weekend.

Up against Gary Daly, for a stake of €8,500 a-side, Murphy was on the front foot from the start when Daly got off to the worst possible start – it took him four shots to make the truck park where he was almost a bowl of odds down.

Murphy raised the bowl fully in two throws past the graveyard. 

Daly had a poor seventh to the back of Harrington’s quarry, and though Murphy had a huge opportunity to close out this score, he didn’t take it when his sixth shot fell left. 

Encouragingly, Daly got a super eighth shot that knocked the bowl of odds and put him up for a loft. His loft was desperately unlucky – it broke left when it landed. If it had broken right, he would have levelled the score. 

Daly threw a massive 11th to the start of the Council yard and Murphy made the upper end, holding valuable odds. Daly’s 12th shot was an incredible one and went full sight and would have given him his first lead but it was ‘called’. He missed sight with his second attempt. 

At the junior finish, Murphy raised the bowl of odds again. Daly wasn’t giving up without a fight and knocked the bowl of odds again with huge 15th and 16th shots that pushed this score to a last shot.

Murphy beat the line but his bowl was ‘called’. His second attempt was even better and beat the finish line again, securing the Joe O’Sullivan Cup for the third time. Aoife O’Sullivan was on hand to present the Joe O’Sullivan Acorn Life Cup. 

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Supporting scores for the weekend in Castletownbere saw David Hegarty beat Cathal Creedon for €9,000 a-side. Hegarty made the truck park in three shots where he was throwing his odds over ten metres. Creedon kept it to the bowl of odds after two more to the end of the graveyard wall.

Creedon had a crazy pull on his seventh shot to Harrington’s Quarry, while Hegarty was too tight left and made poor sight for the double chicane. Creedon missed sight with his next and Hegarty played well. Hegarty made the council yard in three more where he had big odds with the bowl. After two more, he was back of the finish line where he won by a big bowl of odds. 

In the return route, Gearóid Lucey enjoyed a last-shot victory over Alan Brickley, playing for €6,500 a-side. Lucey opened the first bend in one and it took Brickley two. 

Lucey followed up with huge second and third shots past the council yard that raised a second bowl for him. Brickley had it back to a bowl of odds after the double bends, and he got a huge ninth shot three-quarters of the way down the graveyard wall that knocked the bowl by ten metres. 

Next, Lucey got a huge ninth to the end of the truck park and Brickley had to make sight but failed when his bowl went right. Lucey followed with an astronomical shot that reached the back of the Co-Action centre. Brickley missed this well and conceded. 

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Back out again we had Tim Young playing Wayne Parkes for a stake of €6,500 a-side with Young carrying the favourite’s tag. 

Young opened with three great bowls to the truck park and was unlucky not to open the bend at the end of the graveyard wall in two more, but his fifth fell left, short of sight, though he was still throwing his odds over 30 metres.

Three more from Young took him out of sight at the double bends. While Parkes made poor sight, Young then made a bad blunder – he was too tight left and caught a stump of grass. His lead was cut to 20 metres. 

Parkes unleashed an incredible bowl from poor sight that opened the next bend for the council yard and gave him his first lead of the score, as Young’s tenth shot was well right. 

Parkes made full sight for the novice finish in two more, and sight for the last straight in another two where he had big odds. Parkes was on top of the finish line in two more, winning by almost a bowl of odds. 

Back in the road, Cian Young had to dig deep to get his win over Dylan O’Brien, playing for a stake of €6,500 a-side. Also, Thomas Maloney got only one lead and snatched a last-shot win from Dylan O’Brien in the final score at Castletownbere; they played for a stake of €3,400 a-side. 

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Mick Murphy beat Tom O'Donovan in the Pool B Vintage C final at Ballinacurra. The finalists are pictured with referee Tim Walsh.

Mick Murphy booked his place in the overall vintage C final when he had a close encounter with Tom O’Donovan. They played for a stake of €480 a-side at Ballinacurra on the pitch and putt road. 

O’Donovan opened with two big bowls past the level cross where he was throwing his odds over 20 metres, as Murphy’s third shot got thrown off course. O’Donovan got a big third shot that raised the bowl of odds for him. 

Murphy threw a super fifth, his best one out of five that O’Donovan only beat by five metres in two shots. Murphy made it past Judy’s cottage with his sixth that gave him his first lead as O’Donovan, like his previous two shots, was left. 

Facing up the pitch and putt road, Murphy was throwing his odds over ten metres. Murphy was back of the pitch and putt entrance with his ninth and O’Donovan got a super tenth shot well past the entrance. Murphy missed this tip by a metre. 

After excellent 11th shots from both men, Murphy went back in front again after his 12th shot. After two more past John Murphy’s entrance, Murphy extended his lead to 30 metres for the last shots. O’Donovan made a big effort for the line but it just fell short and Murphy beat the line. He now plays DD Carroll and Michael O’Leary in the final at Lyre on Saturday, November 7th, at 2pm.

In the other two vintage grades, it’s Noel Bowen v Kieran O’Driscoll v Jerry Murphy in Vintage A at Jagoes Mills on Sunday, October 25th, at 11am. In Vintage B, it’s Patsy O’Sullivan v David Walsh v Pat Callanan at Clondrohid on Saturday, October 24th, at 2pm. The overall final is fixed for November 14th.