Packed programme will see some of game’s biggest names in action during Christmas

THE Christmas-New Year fixture list contains a varied mix of scores at venues across the county.

Tournament cup finals, charity fundraisers, club benefits, social club events and traditional club challenge scores are all in the mix, leaving punters spoilt for choice over the ten-day period.

Ballygurteen gets under way this Saturday, 20th, with a fundraising day for Féilé O’Sullivan of Castletownbere. It’s a four-score programme with the feature score being Gavin Twohig versus Donal Riordan.

Ballinacurra will have their annual junior A nine-man tournament starting on Christmas Eve with Kieran Murphy v Denis Wilmot v Conor Creedon, followed on St Stephens’s Day with Noel O’Donovan v Noel O’Regan v David Hegarty, and on the 27th with Cian Boyle v Andrew O’Callaghan v David Shannon.

Grange is also a St Stephen’s Day venue, a stable in the calendar for many years and the feature score here will be local man James O’Donovan playing Gary Daly.

The headline event is once again the RNLI Benefit Day, now a Christmas week hardy annual at Castletownbere. The cream of the crop, as it were, have been approached and have given commitment resulting in a four-score programme on December 28th & 29th that is sure to entice a huge throng to the fishing town.

Opening proceedings on Sunday, 28th, at 9.30am, will be Timmy McDonagh and Anthony Crowley playing Brian O’Driscoll and Shane Crowley. This will be followed by a mixed doubles score, as Gary Daly v Martin Coppinger and John Cahalane v Jim Coffey will finish off day one. On Monday, Cathal Creedon v Sean Murphy will be followed by Conor Creedon v Noel O’Donovan, with intermediate players Paul Buckley v Tim Young. To finish off the weekend Eoin McCarthy will play Jimmy O’Brien.

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Back to last weekend’s bowling and a lot of scores fell foul to the poor weather conditions. Bauravilla held a Mikie Hourihane Cup semi-final on Saturday. Here newly promoted to junior C, Kevin Ó Crualaoi took victory from Paul Kingston and Eoin McCarthy, playing for a stake of €1,300 a-side. Ó Crualaoi made Robins Cross in two good bowls where he had 50 metres on both his opponents. He made the netting in two more, raising big odds on both Kingston and McCarthy. Ó Crualaoi kept up his dominance of the score when he made the rock in four more to raise a bowl on both. He held these odds to the Bridge and won comfortably.

Clondrohid held two semi-finals on Sunday – a novice E and a novice ladies. In the novice E, Mark O’Callaghan from Macroom played Pat Healy from Clondrohid. After four each to the bark mulch Healy was in control, but got a poor fifth that allowed O’Callaghan back into the score. O’Callaghan got two great bowls past Tier Beg cross that gave him his first lead. Healy, carrying an injury, found himself almost a bowl down at the black house, but he battled on and forced a last shot score that O’Callaghan beat easily. O’Callaghan now plays Darragh Murphy in the novice E final on Sunday next at Baile Bhuirne.

In the return score, a novice ladies semi-final, Louise Desmond played Ava Ronan for €200 a-side. Starting at Geoff's Lane, Ronan had a bowl of odds after three shots at Kelly’s Hill. Ronan held this, and raised further odds in two more to the Graveyard wall, but from here Desmond dug deep and played some super shots to take her first lead at Tier Beg cross. Desmond powered on to raise a bowl at Riordan’s small gate and another passing the bark mulch to win in the end by two bowls. She now plays Katie Moynihan in the final at Baile Bhuirne, also on Sunday.

Lyre held the first score in their new Mother Hegarty Cup senior tournament where James O’Donovan beat Martin Coppinger for a stake of €3,000 a-side. Coppinger started well in this score, beating the forest entrance in two bowls where he had 50 metres of odds. But a turn of fortune for O’Donovan with his third shot got the most incredible rub of 80 metres or so out of the left dyke that took him just back of the tunnel. Coppinger missed this and was only over the tunnel with his fourth. O’Donovan opened Crowley’s bend in three more, which hadn't been done in six shots for a while. Here the Bandon bowler had almost two bowls of odds. O’Donovan crossed over sight for McCarthy’s bend and Coppinger only came poor sight and missed McCarthy’s bend again where he conceded.