BOWLING was back on the famed Waterloo Road outside Blarney where the annual William Wolf Memorial Weekend took place.

In the first semi-final, Declan O’Leary beat John Hickey and Sean Óg Lucey, playing for a stake for 3 x €2,000 a-side. In the second semi-final, Shane Dennehy beat Stephen Spillane and Sean O’Leary.

In Sunday’s final, Shane Dennehy and Declan O’Leary played for a stake of €2,350 a-side with O’Leary a hot favourite. After four shots, Dennehy had a bowl of odds at the farmer’s gate. O’Leary missed full sight at O’Connor’s bungalow and Dennehy made full sight. O’Leary missed up to the next bend in two more shots and Dennehy raised a second bowl when he went full sight in two.

O’Leary knocked the bowl of odds briefly with his next to the end of the bungalow that Dennehy beat by 40 metres with the bowl in two shots. O’Leary was clawing his way back into the score, but a blunder with his tenth shot when it was very right and now he was almost two bowls down again.

Dennehy missed down sight in two and O’Leary went full sight, keeping it to a bare bowl of odds. A super loft from Dennehy was unlucky not to go sight, holding a bowl and 50 metres of an advantage. O’Leary opened the last bend at the new wall, Dennehy beat this to hold a bowl of odds. O’Leary got a phenomenal last shot that just missed the line, but Dennehy followed it and beat it to win by a bowl of odds.

Supporting scores for the weekend saw Trevor O’Meara beat Edmund Sexton by the last shot for €2,700 a-side. Also, Noel Bowen beat Mark Bourke for €1,800 a-side. David Hegarty got the better of Anthony Crowley by the last shot for €3,000 a-side, while Lisa Hegarty and Cellie Spillane beat Emma Fitzpatrick and Michael Gould by the last shot for €2,210 a-side. Jack O’Leary beat Ronan O’Donovan by one bowl for €2,250 a-side.

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The Mid Cork region are coming to the conclusion of their Dan Joe Holland Cup tournament. Two semi-finals were played over the weekend.

First up, we had Noel O’Donovan playing Tom O’Donovan for a stake of €1,000 a-side. Noel went through Brinny Cross in three super shots where he had 30 metres of odds. Tom’s fourth shot broke badly left to the post box. Two more from Noel to the Waterworks where he had 40 metres of odds. He raised a bowl of odds with a huge sixth shot to the muddy gap and increased this to two bowls at the Hurling Alley. Tom was very left of play with his two shots from the nooks.

Tom got a very well-played bowl to the bridge but was knocking no odds as Noel was bowling at his best. It was an even two bowls at the novice line, Noel reached the back of the junior C line with his 11th throw and Tom just beat this to fall almost three bowls down where matters finished.

In the second semi-final, it was cousins Kieran and Sean Murphy in action. Sean made the back of Brinny cross in three big bowls and had a bowl of odds. Kieran had it under the bowl after two more to Foley’s. Sean made the gas line in two more but Kieran was fighting back with a huge bowl to the muddy gap.

A massive ninth from Sean raised the bowl of odds again for him as Kieran’s bowl was too far right. Kieran missed sight for the bridge and Sean went full sight increasing his odds. Kieran got an incredible 12th shot past the Silvery gates but Sean followed and beat it well with the bowl. Sean made the avenue in two more, raising further odds with the bowl. Both missed sight for the line but Kieran’s hurdle was too much to knock and Sean will now play Noel O’Donovan in the Dan Joe Holland Cup final.

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At Castletown, Martin Coppinger beat Eugene McVeigh by the last shot for a stake of €2,000 in the Christy Teegan Cup first-round score. Coppinger raised a bowl of odds at Round Tower cross, but McVeigh had it just under the bowl at Pynes corner and he kept it under the bowl in three more to the netting.

Coppinger made the back of the junior line and raised the bowl of odds again that he took out to Forshins Cross. Both reached this juncture in 12 and 13 shots, with Coppinger ahead. A big 14th shot off the cross from McVeigh knocked the bowl of odds again by 50 metres and Coppinger only beat the tip again by 60 metres. This score was going to the last shot. McVeigh put down a good last but Coppinger beat it easily. In a return score, Ronan O’Donovan pipped Anthony McVeigh by two metres playing for a stake of €2,350 a-side.

The opening score of the new Jerry Desmond Cup tournament took place at Shannonval, as Sean Paul McDonagh beat Jimmy O’Driscoll by the last shot.

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Ból Chumann were hosts to our European counterparts from Germany, Holland and Italy last weekend when the venues for the 2028 European Championships on the June bank holiday weekend were viewed.

The Mallow racecourse is the venue for the Moors and Lofting event on the Friday and Saturday, and the R639 between Glanmire and Watergrasshill will be the road venue. They were very impressed by both venues, but there is a mountain of work to be done.

An election of a new president was held as Ernst H Reimers of the VSHB stepped down after his four-year term. The chain of office has now passed on to Helfried Goetz of the FKV Association.