GET ready for a bonanza of finals in the weeks ahead as movers and shakers line up before the first series of All-Irelands at Ballinagree on July 11th and 12th.

Sam’s Cross was the venue for a Pool C junior veteran final between John Cahalane, Skibbereen, and Denis O’Driscoll, Drimoleague, playing for a stake of €2,200 a-side.

Cahalane opened with a huge first shot that went full sight at Santrys. After two more he had almost a bowl of odds and raised it fully at Shortan’s Wall. He held this bowl of odds after two more to the New House. O’Driscoll got a good bowl to the hedging and followed up with a huge ninth shot to Collins Farm – Cahalane missed this tip, his next was too tight left and now his odds were back to 30 metres.

O’Driscoll went full sight to the Blue School and Cahalane went sight also and was very lucky to come off the right ditch to beat the tip by one metre. O’Driscoll unleashed another huge bowl past the novice line to Brennan’s that gave him his first lead. Cahalane’s 12th shot fell left to the end of the layby where he had no sight and O’Driscoll went sight.

Cahalane made it past Cullinane’s cottage with his next and O’Driscoll was right of play and missed Cahalane’s tip by five metres. O’Driscoll buried his 14th into a right-hand bend and Cahalane punished him with a huge bowl that O’Driscoll missed to give Cahalane a bowl-of-odds win. Trevor O’Meara will join John Cahalane in the junior veteran final when he beat Mickey Hurley by the last shot at Carrignavar. We await the winner of Pool b.

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Templemartin was the venue for the Pool B junior A final between Brendan O’Neill and Sean Murphy, they played for a stake of €2,000 a-side.

As they say a score is never over, as was the case in this score when O’Neill was in control going for two bowls of odds almost at one stage. O’Neill went out Slyne’s bend in five average bowls where he had almost a bowl of odds. Murphy was playing with plenty of speed but his accuracy was wayward – his ninth shot caught right and missed O’Neill’s tip to fall a bowl down.

Up past O’Riordan’s and on for Collins Wall, O’Neill held a bowl and 60 metres of an advantage. O’Neill got a huge bowl just back of the school cross and Murphy made the upper side of the cross. O’Neill missed full sight at the stone-field bend from the cross and Murphy went well around it.

O’Neill was still throwing over 50 metres with the bowl and got another huge bowl to Buttimer’s. Murphy’s 17th shot was a bullet and he was looking down at the monument straight road. But a bad blunder here from O’Neill, when his bowl turned in left, and now he was only throwing his odds and beat Murphy’s tip by 50 metres back of the monument.

Murphy’s next was an extraordinary shot – down the left track, it turned out nicely for him and he made just back of the pub cross, a huge bowl. O’Neill made the back of the pump house, missed the tip and gave Murphy his first lead.

O’Neill had no big bowl to make the far side of the pub cross but he was too tight left and caught up. Now Murphy was in control and made the upper side of the cross 60 metres ahead. O’Neill made the end of the wall. Luck was on Murphy’s side as his 20th shot looked buried in left but speed got it out of trouble and now he had 70 metres for the last shot. O’Neill missed the line and Murphy beat it.

Cork minor football goalkeeper Rory Twohig beat Cathal O'Donovan in the boys U18 final at Lyre.

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Lyre held the Pool C junior A final between Johnny O’Driscoll and Gavin Twohig, playing for €2,200 a-side.

There was one lead for Twohig, that being his first shot in this score. Up past the forest entrance in three, O’Driscoll had 40 metres of odds. A huge fifth shot from O’Driscoll over the tunnel raised a bowl of odds for him, and he got another phenomenal shot, his eighth up and around Crowley bend. Twohig missed this well.

After two more to McCarthy’s bend it was under the bowl of odds by 25 metres as Twohig went up and around and O’Driscoll was too tight left, but he recovered well with a huge bowl to the rose bed. Twohig got caught at McCarthy’s wall to fall a bowl behind again. O’Driscoll powered over the line in three more to win by big odds.

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Castletown held a first-round score in the Christy Teegan Cup where Aidan Murphy beat Tommy O’Sullivan by one bowl, playing for a stake of €3,250 a-side, which makes it two from two for Murphy over O’Sullivan having recently defeated him in the Mother Hegarty Cup tournament at Lyre.

Ballygurteen held the last score in the first round of the Paddy Murray Cup where David Shannon beat Sean Paul McDonagh by the last shot for a stake of €1,750 a-side.