SERIES two of the All-Irelands at Keady-Tassagh in Armagh was the main focus this past weekend.

Johnny Campbell put his recent loss at Ballinagree in the U18 decider behind him when he beat Newcestown’s Jack Allen by the last shot in the boys’ U16 final.

Allen got off to the worst possible start, getting no great distance out of his first two shots, but recovered well in two more to the bus shelter. Campbell had 80 metres of odds and Allen only beat this tip by ten metres with his fifth.

Campbell opened Twynams Bend with a massive fifth shot that raised the bowl of odds. There was no let-up from Campbell as he followed long shots of Allen's to the Creamery Lane to hold his bowl advantage.

Allen got a super bowl to McCann’s that looked like it would knock odds but again Campbell followed it and beat it well. Allen followed up with another great bowl down the hill past the Esso sign but Campbell was in blistering form and lined a well-played bowl, got a run and beat the line.

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In the return route, Macroom’s Ailbhe O’Shea, with her huge crowd of support, put in a fantastic finish to take the ladies intermediate title from Lily O’Rourke. They played for a stake of €5200 a-side.

Two poor opening bowls each to McCann’s where O’Rourke had a six-metre advantage. O’Shea took her first lead by 30 metres with a big third shot. She had an opportunity to raise big odds when O’Rourke’s fifth was of a short order but O’Shea only beat this tip by 50 metres.

O’Rourke was very right with her next and almost a bowl of odds down. The Ulster champion then got a huge rub to the railings with her seventh while O’Shea was very right again and dropped a lot of odds to one metre.

Next, O’Rourke played a super bowl past the Creamery Lane that won her back the lead by three metres, but O’Shea was back in front after her next.

Out and around Twynams Bend it was still anyone’s score. O’Rourke got an incredible 15th shot that just fell short of the last bend but O’Shea did well to come within five metres of it.

O’Shea threw a smashing shot looking down at the line. Then, a bad mistake at the wrong time from O’Rourke when her bowl turned into the right bank at the bus shelter. She opted for a parley que with her next that was too weak and fell right almost a bowl for O’Shea.

There was no doubt about O’Shea’s last shot, perfect over the sop and beating the line.

Macroom's Eoin O'Riordan in action in the veteran All-Ireland final in Armagh. (Photo: Gretta Cormican)

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The final score on Saturday was the junior B between Ruaírí O’Reilly and Ger Connolly, playing for a stake of €8600 a-side.

Connolly got off to a great start, was well up and around past the bus shelter in three but his third shot was ‘called’ and his second effort only beat the tip by 15 metres. Both missed Twynams Bend with their fourth but O’Reilly took his first lead. Connolly played a beautiful fifth when he pitched it out around the bend that O’Reilly missed, but what a huge run he got with a totally misplaced sixth shot into the hollow.

Two more each to the Creamery Lane with both players playing some big shots. Nothing separated them in three more heading for McCann’s, O’Reilly with a 25-metre advantage. Connolly’s score from here went downhill – his 13th shot was way left, caught a cone and suddenly he was almost a bowl of odds down.

O’Reilly, on the other hand, was finishing well and raised the bowl with his 16th shot past McKee’s Wall. Connolly got a good bowl past the bridge but O’Reilly got a massive touch off the kerbing that secured the All-Ireland for him.

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Macroom man Eoin O'Riordan took the veteran All-Ireland from Johnny Kelly, and brought a second cup back to the Gaeltacht region – he was a trap-to-line winner. There was no stake in this one.

It was three shots each to the bus shelter where O'Riordan had a 25-metre lead. After three more each out and around Twynams Bend, O'Riordan extended his lead. He should have done better with his seventh, as Kelly only made the piggeries, but his bowl was wide and his odds were only 30 metres.

Three more excellent shots to the Creamery Lane raised the bowl of odds for O'Riordan. He followed up with two more into the hollow where he had a lead of almost two bowls. There was no way back for Kelly from here.

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There were high hopes for Rosscarbery’s Meabh Cuinnea to make history. She already had the U18 All-Ireland under her belt and her favouritism made it look like it was only a matter of form.

But young Connie Mallon, daughter of All-Ireland senior winner Dervla Toal-Mallon, had an agenda of her own in creating history by becoming the first mother-daughter duo to win All-Irelands in the same year.

Mallon was a winner from start to finish. She started with two blistering shots to the railings before the Creamery Lane. Even though Mallon was very left with her sixth, it ran kindly with the brow into the dip. Cuinnea threw a good seventh and Mallon's bowl was very wide right. But Ross teenager Cuinnea was very unlucky with her ninth – it was played to perfection down the left track but picked in left, and she fell a bowl of odds down. Mallon went out full sight at Twynams Bend in two more and Cuinnea was caught for sight.

Mallon was just short of the bus shelter in two more, extending her lead. Two more over the finish line saw Mallon crowned U16 champion.

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To bring the curtain down on this series of All-Irelands, we had the men's senior final between Fermoy’s Arthur McDonagh and Colm Rafferty, playing for a stake of €7200 a-side.

There is only one word to describe McDonagh's performance in the score: awesome.

He made the bus shelter in two huge shots up the rising road. Rafferty made a bold bid for Twynams Bend in two more but fell short. McDonagh’s fourth was a huge shot out and around full sight, while Rafferty played a smashing bowl to the piggeries, but there was no let up from McDonagh – a scorcher up the right track to Gilloghy Height raised a bowl of odds for him as Rafferty's sixth was very left.

Rafferty knocked the bowl of odds briefly with a super seventh towards the Creamery Lane, but McDonagh restored it again when he passed the Creamery Lane and Rafferty buried his right.

McDonagh raised a second bowl between the Creamery Lane and McCann’s. McDonagh’s tenth shot was another huge bowl past the Esso sign that took his winning margin to almost three bowls. Rafferty got a huge 14th well past the junior finish, but McDonagh finished on a high, took the crown and created a new record for the road.

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Ból Chumann are preparing for the third and fourth series of All-Irelands, the third involves boys and girls’ U12 and U14 to be held in Madden, Armagh on August 15th and 16th. The fourth series will involve the junior C and all four novice grades to be played in Aughagower, Co Mayo in September.