ALL roads led to Ballincurrig for the 40th hosting of the King and Queen of the Roads. They have a newly re-surfaced road that really needed more time. James O’Donovan blazed a trail in his qualifying scores on the tarmacadam surface, but since the chips were laid, it has become a different road surface.

Little did this club think when they ran off their first weekend on October 26th and 27th in 1985 that it would become the most prestigious tournament after the All-Irelands in the road bowling calendar, attracting players from Germany, Holland, and this year from the Umbria region of Italy, along with our good friends from Ulster. It was fitting that Bill Daly, the first King of the Roads winner, was appointed the grand marshal for this occasion – he cast the first shot of the weekend to get the games underway.

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First up, the Queen of the Roads semi-finals. We had reigning champion Silke Tulk going for five in a row, up against Munster champion Hannah Sexton and Meghan Collins. Collins was an early bowl down at Din Tough’s. Sexton and Tulk took five each to the top of the short straight where Tulk had 15 metres. They both missed down the short straight where they had two bowls on Collins. Tulk held the odds to Leahy's Wall. From here down the long straight and on to Heaphy's, Tulk increased her odds on Sexton with sheer power and had over three bowls on Collins, who fell out. At the Pony Gate, Tulk raised the bowl on Sexton and won out by two bowls.

In the second semi-final, it was All-Ireland winner Kelly Mallon v Queen runner-up in 2017 and 2023 Anke Klopper v Maria Nagle. Nagle picked up an injury in practice, so pulled out. Kelly Mallon, not playing with her usual free-flowing fluency due to a recent ankle injury, did enough to book herself into Sunday's final against Silke Tulk, as she beat Anke Klopper from Germany by one bowl of odds. It set up a ninth meeting between Mallon and Tulk in the Queen final, with Tulk leading 5-4 going into Sunday's decider.

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In The Jim Geary Invitational, we had, for the first time, an Italian by the name of Andrea Volpi playing Ben Cooney (Munster) and Eoghan McVeigh (Ulster). This was really a duel between McVeigh and Cooney. Volpi was a bowl out of it before the Creamery and was three bowls down at the acre, and Cooney had a bowl on McVeigh. McVeigh replied with three great bowls to the top of the long straight that leveled the score with Cooney and Volpi still three bowls down. McVeigh was back in front going up the short straight and raised big odds at the sycamores. He opened the last bend in three more and had a bowl of odds to spare over Cooney and four bowls on Volpi.

In the Jim O'Driscoll Munster Cup semi-final, we had a repeat of the county intermediate final where cousins Timmy McDonagh and Páidín Stokes played out for a stake of €500 a side. This was a trap-to-line victory for Stokes, who won by the bowl to book his place in Sunday's final against Eoghan McVeigh. In the Brian Wood Invitational, PJ Cooney and Paul O'Brien were in blistering form when they defeated Ronan McClelland and Anthony McVeigh for a stake of €7,000 a side.

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In the first King of the Roads semi-final, Bandon bowler James O’Donovan – qualifier from the Mick Barry Cup – faced reigning All-Ireland champion Ethan Rafferty for €7,000 a side, and Germany’s Manuel Runger. O’Donovan started brilliantly, gaining a bowl on Runger and 35 metres on Rafferty. At the no-play line, he still held strong odds. He made the acre with his seventh, but Rafferty responded with a superb eighth to stay in touch, while Runger fell well behind.

The turning point came on O’Donovan’s tenth shot when a ‘called’ effort left him short, missing the big corner. Rafferty seized sight and cut the odds to 35 metres. He soon took the lead with a perfect delivery, though O’Donovan quickly hit back at Din Toughs. The duel intensified before Rafferty produced a trademark shot to the serpent. In a tense finish, O’Donovan drifted wide, Rafferty held his line, and the Armagh man won by 50 metres.

In the second King of the Roads semi-final, reigning King Colm Rafferty – brother of Ethan – played Munster champion Arthur McDonagh and Patrick Zieverink (NKB). McDonagh came out on top to book his place in a repeat of the All-Ireland final at Castletown where Ethan Rafferty took the honour.

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Sunday was finals day at Ballincurrig, starting off with the Jim O’Driscoll Cup that was a repeat of the intermediate championship All-Ireland where Páidín Stokes took on Anthony McVeigh for a stake of €4,000 a side. Stokes catapulted himself into a big lead with his fourth shot, and stayed in control. He made the serpent in four more great bowls where he raised the bowl and held it to the finish.

All-Ireland U18 champion Emma Hurley teamed up with Shane Crowley to win the Youth Triple Crown.

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In the Youth Triple Crown, U18 All-Ireland winners Emma Hurley (Drinagh) and Shane Crowley (Schull) were pushed all the way before edging Dutch duo Max Oude Engberink and Lotte Telgenhof, with Germany’s Tomke Harms and Jannis Saathoff back in third. After four each, the Irish were fore bowl at the muddy gap. Max hit full sight on the short straight, but Crowley kept Ireland in front. Three fine efforts to Leahy’s wall saw the Irish still narrowly ahead, the Germans a bowl adrift. Max struck again on the long straight to edge the Dutch ahead, still leading at Heaphy’s, but only by five metres. The Germans dropped further back. Crowley then produced a superb bowl to the Creamery. Max faltered into the stones, Hurley raised the bowl, and the Irish held firm to the finish.

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We have a new King. Arise, King Arthur. He has been knocking on the door for a few years but just could not put it together, but this past weekend he did everything right and got his just rewards. McDonagh, playing with accuracy and speed, opened with two huge bowls, but Rafferty had it level at the Green. McDonagh made the no-play line in four more where he had a bowl of odds. Poor bowling from Rafferty from the no-play line and McDonagh extended his odds to almost three bowls at Leahy’s. McDonagh went out the big corner in eleven and Rafferty fourteen where he had enough, and McDonagh claimed the crown. There was a stake of €6,150 a side.

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The Queen final, as it has done over the years, created excitement aplenty. Silke Tulk, going for five in a row and a total of nine titles, and Kelly Mallon, going for her eighth title. They played for a stake of €1,450 a side, with Tulk the favorite.

Mallon got off to the worst possible start when her first shot was accidentally blocked, but she rallied well and went out sight at the top of the short straight in four more very well-played bowls. Tulk had a big advantage of 30 metres and no bowl to open the big corner. Mallon made full sight at the big corner with her sixth, and an uncharacteristic error on Tulk’s behalf gave Mallon her first lead.

If you give Mallon a reprieve like this, she will take full advantage. Tulk got a super ninth onto the long straight, but Mallon held a 50-metre advantage. Two poor bowls from Tulk both went right, and at the acre Mallon had almost a bowl. Tulk kept it under the bowl when she followed two super bowls from Mallon past the Pony Gate. Mallon raised the bowl at the end of the green, but there was another twist to come. Tulk unleashed a phenomenal 17th shot to the black sign that Mallon missed by 50 metres and missed the finish line again. There was hope for Tulk, but her last got too much dyke on the left, and Mallon played her last very well to even up the titles at eight apiece.