Zone and National Championship Update

The Zone Finals will be held in Milltown Parish hall on Mon 28th December starting at 7.00pm sharp.    Singles Semi Finals -    J Gray (St Marks) v P Beattie (St Marks)          &         M Hobson (St Saviours) v S Conroy Snr (St Anthonys)     Pairs Final -    A Leckey (St Marks) v R Cassells (St Marks)     Mixed Pairs Semi Finals -      H Trainor (Tullysaran) v J Beattie (Drumgor)      &      A Leckey (St Marks) v E Whitten (St Saviours)     Junior Pairs Final -     J Moffett (St Saviours) v D McCann (Milltown Parish)     Rinks Final -     N Uprichard (St Matthews) v K McCall (Redrock)       The Nationals Finals will be held in St Saviours on Wed 30th December starting at 7.00pm sharp.   Singles Section A Final -     D Beattie (Drumgor) v S Conroy Snr (St Anthonys)   Singles Section B Final -     C Trainor (St Anthonys) v D McDonald (St Anthonys)   Singles Section C Final -     J Beattie (Drumgor) v N Uprichard (St Matthews)     Pairs Section A Final -     S Conroy (St Anthonys) v D McDonald (St Anthonys)   Pairs Section B Final -     A Hughes (St Saviours) v M Trainor (St Anthonys)   Over 55's Pairs Final -     D McDonald (St Anthonys) v E Whitten (St Saviours)     Triples Final -     A Hughes (St Saviours) v L McCartan (Armagh GC)     Rinks Final -     T Bell (St Marks) v D McDonald (St Anthonys)     Ladies Singles Final -     P Beattie (St Marks) v D Marshall (Armagh GC)   Ladies Pairs Final -     F McNally (St Matthews) v C McMillen (Drumgor)   Ladies Triples Final -     P Beattie (St Marks) v E McDonald (St Anthonys)     Junior Singles Final -     S Breen (St Anthonys) v Adam McCann (Milltown Parish)

Armagh men through to Interzone Q/F

Armagh men started off the defence of their Interzone title with a hard fought 8 shot victory away to North East zone. The locals were 9 up at the break and held on in the second half to secure to win.

First Half

Danny McDonald won by 7
Alan Roberts won by 4
Andy Leckey beat by 2

9 up at half time

Second Half

Andrew Hughes won by 7
Joe Beattie beat by 3
Derek Wright beat by 5

Armagh now travel to North Belfast in the Q/F.

 

Pauline wins prediction league

Pauline Beattie has finished top of the lastest AZ Online Prediction League. Kieran Trainor was a close second, 1 point behind. As for the "Auld Fella" - better luck next time!!

Armagh win Top Team Event

Armagh have won the 2009 Top Team competition. Victory was almost assured after the 2 games this morning but a 10-6 points victory in the "individuals" match against West Glamorgan this afternoon sealed the win. Scores were as follows:

 

Singles

A.Leckey won 17-10 (2 pts)

S.Conroy Snr lost 11-14

 

Pairs
J.Moffett, N.Uprichard won 17-7 (2 pts)

I.Irwin, D.Beattie won 20-10 (2 pts)

 

Triples

K.McConville, J.Richardson, S.Conroy Jnr lost 9-11

C.Donaldson, C.Deering, G.Crothers won 15-10 (2 pts)

 

Fours

M.Cassells, D.Agnew, C.McMillen, P.Beattie lost 7-8

E.McDonald, P.Garvey, K.Trainor, M.Trainor won 18-1 (2 pts)

 

Congratulations to all who took part over the 2 days.

Top Team - Day 2 Updates

Results so far from day 2.

 

Team Game: Armagh 62 (11 points) West Glamorgan 44 (1 point)

 

F.McNally, L.McCarten, C.Mulholland, P.Beattie won 9-4

M.Cassells, D.Beattie, S.Conroy Jnr, J.Beattie won 10-5

D.Agnew, R.Hunter, I.Perry, A.Hughes won 17-3

E.McDonald, N.Uprichard, S.Conroy Snr, D.McDonald won 11-10

C.Donaldson, K.Trainor, G.Culbert, A.Roberts won 9-7

K.McConville, C.McMillan, P.Moore, A.Leckey lost 6-15

 

Individuals: Armagh 8pts Cheshire 8pts

 

Singles

S.Conroy Snr won 16-11 (2 pts)

M.Trainor lost 11-15

 

Pairs

C.Leckey, P.Beattie lost 12-15

J.Richardson, J.Beattie lost 11-12

 

Triples

C.Deering, G.Crothers, P.Moore won 17-9 (2 pts)

P.Garvey, S.Conroy Jnr, D.McDonald lost 11-13

 

Rinks

I.Irwin, L.McCarten, C.Mulholland, D.Wright won 19-1 (2 pts)

J.Moffett, R.Hunter, I.Perry, A.Hughes won 13-12 (2 pts)

 

The above results virtually guarantee an overall victory for Armagh with an individuals match with West Glamorgan still to come.

Top Team Results

Armagh got off to a good start today in the British Isles Top Team Event.  In the opening game Armagh played Cheshire in the team event which consists of 6 rinks.  Each winning rink got 1 point, 1/2 point for draw and 6 points for overall shot win.   C Leckey, D Beattie, M Trainor, J Beattie  won 19-8 against A Evans rink.   J Moffett, R Hunter, I Perry, A Hughes won 9-7 against G Lee   P Garvey, N Uprichard, S Conroy Snr, D McDonald lost 10-11 to P Mason   J Richardson, K Trainor, G Culbert, A Roberts lost 8-10 to K Lackford   C Deering, G Crothers, P Moore, A Leckey won 11-3 against G Whewell   I Irwin, L McCartan, C Mulholland, D Wright lost 8-9 to J Thornhill   Final Score - Armagh 65 (9 points) v Cheshire 48 (3 points)     Next up was Armagh v Cheshire in the Individual event.  2 Points for win and 1 point for draw   Singles D McDonald 16  (2pts) v S Proctor 13 J Beattie 13 (1pt) v D Reed 13 (1pt)   Pairs J Richardson, A Hughes 11 (1pt) V R Ridings 11 (1pt) I Irwin, D Wright 17 (2pts) v A Evans 5   Triples C Donaldson, D Beattie, M Trainor 13 (2pts) v V Slater 10 J Moffett, G Culbert, A Roberts 14 (1pt) v P Mason 14 (1pt)   Rinks C Deering, G Crothers, P Moore, A Leckey 10 (2pts) v P Gregory 8 M Cassells, D Agnew, C McMillen, P Beattie 12 (2pts) v R Mason 9   Total score Armagh 106 (13 pts) v Cheshire 83 (3pts)     Second game of individuals, Armagh played West Glamorgan   Singles A Leckey won 16-8 (2pts) M Trainor won 17-10 (2pts)   Pairs I Perry, A Hughes won 18-8 (2pts) C Leckey, J Beattie won 17-5 (2pts)   Triples K McConville, R Hunter, P Moore drew 9-9 (1pt) G Crothers, L McCartan, D Wright drew 10-10 (1pt)   Rinks E McDonald, K Trainor, G Culbert, A Roberts won 9-5 (2pts) P Garvey, N Uprichard, S Conroy Snr, D McDonald 12-11 (2 pts)   Total score Armagh 104 (14pts) v West Glamorgan 66 (2pts)     After the first days play, Armagh have 36pts after 3 games Cheshire have 16pts after 3 games West Glamorgan have 8pts after 2 games

Top Team Programme of Events

Top Team - Programme of Events

Orchard Leisure Centre, Armagh

Friday 4th December
9.00   am      Teams arrive for photograph
9.30   am      Opening Ceremony
10.00 am      Game 1: Cheshire v West Glamorgan (Team rinks)
11.30 am      Game 2: Armagh v West Glamorgan (Individuals)
2.00   pm      Game 3: Armagh v Cheshire (Individuals)
3.30   pm      Game 4: Cheshire v West Glamorgan (Individuals)           

Saturday 5th December
9.00   am      Game 5: Armagh v West Glamorgan (Team Rinks)
10.30 am      Game 6: Armagh v Cheshire (Individuals) 
1.00   pm      Game 7: Cheshire v West Glamorgan (Individuals)
2.30   pm      Game 8: Armagh v West Glamorgan (Individuals)
4.00   pm      Game 9: Armagh v Cheshire (Team Rinks)

International Top Team Event

Armagh will play host for this seasons International Top Team Event on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 December. The competition sees a panel selected from the victorious 2008-09 Mens and Ladies Interzone winning teams take on Welsh champions Glamorgan and English champions Cheshire. The action will take place in the Orchard Leisure Centre in Armagh.

 

The Armagh panel and competition rules can be seen here. Armagh players are asked to be there at 8.30am sharp for a team photo.

 

Please come along and support Armagh in this prestigious event.

 

Ladies ease into Interzone quarter finals

Armagh ladies remain on course to retain their Interzone title after a 21 shot victory over Lisburn today at Richhill. The result sees them move into the quarter finals but it was only in the latter stages of the game that the home side managed to pull away to record a comfortable victory.

 

Armagh were 4 up at the break. Pauline Beattie (who flew home from a holiday in London especially for the match) was up by 3 shots. May Cassells won by 5 while Daphne Marshall was beaten by 4.

 

At one stage in the second half, Lisburn had cut the deficit to 1 shot, but that was as close as they got. In the end. Rachel Cassells stormed to a 13 shot win. Flo McNally also finished 4 up and Catherine McMillan drew.

 

The ladies will be at home again in the quarter finals to Western. 

Tullsaran pair runners-up in Moira pairs

Tullysaran's Maria and Hugh Trainor were runners up in the recent St.
John's Moira pairs tournament. Tom Lithgo from Antrim won the event.

Ladies Team for 2nd round tie against Lisburn

Ladies Zone Team

Armagh v Lisburn in St Matthews Richhill on Saturday 28 Nov at 2pm.


B Wilson (Cladymore)
V Leckey (St Marks)
S White (St Johns Moira)
P Beattie (St Marks)

E Hunter (Markethill)
S Garvey (Drumgor)
E McDonald (St Anthonys)
C McMillen (Drumgor)

L Milligan (Mullavilly)
S Whittle (St Saviours)
H Agnew (St Matthews)
R Cassells (St Marks)

Agnes Crozier (Markethill Pres)
G Garvey (Tullysaran)
J Hawthorne (Redrock Pres)
F McNally (St Matthews)

Anne Crozier (Redrock Pres)
E Lavery (St Saviours)
A Patton (Redrock Pres)
D Marshall (Co Armagh GC)

M Wright (St Pats Magheralin)
M Hobson (St Saviours)
D Agnew (St Saviours)
M Cassells (St Marks)


Reserves:- J Thompson (St Saviours), B McGleenan (St Pats Armagh)

Sean at it again!

St. Anthony's Sean Conroy Snr has followed up his success in Errigal
singles by winning Whitecross triples along with Sean Jnr and Seamus
Malone, beating Oriel's Michael Hand in the final.

Another singles title heads to Armagh Zone and St. Anthony's

Sean Conroy Snr from St. Anthony's is the latest Armagh Zone player to win
a singles title. Sean recently won Errigal singles event in Ballygawley
beating Irish International Alan Paul in the final, Brendan Maginness in
the S/F, and Malcolm Cunningham in the Q/F.

Drumgor Pair win Moira Pres

Aidan Corrigan and Mark Sproule won Moira Pres Pairs last night. The beat Raymond Stubbs and Paul Reid in the Final in a tie end with the last bowl.

Junior Zone Update

Armagh's Junior Zone team (pictured below) failed in their bid to reach the semi finals by finishing 3rd in their group in the qualifying event in Enniskillen on Sat 24 October. The local youngsters were in a group with hosts Western, North West and Lisburn. They lost narrowly 19-18 to North West in their first game collecting 1 point. They gained another point in their second game going down 28-21 to Western, but finished with a flourish beating Lisburn 22-15 and collecting 4½ points. Western topped the group with North West second, Armagh third and Lisburn fourth.

Ladies Zone Team Announced

Ladies Zone Team Armagh v Mid Antrim in St Matthews Richhill on Saturday 31 Oct at 2pm. B Wilson (Cladymore) V Leckey (St Marks) S White (St Johns Moira) P Beattie (St Marks) E Hunter (Markethill) S Garvey (Drumgor) E McDonald (St Anthonys) C McMillen (Drumgor) L Milligan (Mullavilly) E Lavery (St Saviours) H Agnew (St Matthews) R Cassells (St Marks) Agnes Crozier (Markethill Pres) G Garvey (Tullysaran) J Hawthorne (Redrock Pres) F McNally (St Matthews) Anne Crozier (Redrock Pres) S Whittle (St Saviours) A Patton (Redrock Pres) D Marshall (Co Armagh GC) M Wright (St Pats Magheralin) M Hobson (St Saviours) D Agnew (St Saviours) M Cassells (St Marks) Reserves:- J Thompson (St Saviours), B McGleenan (St Pats Armagh)

Paul claims another singles title for Armagh

St. Anthony's Paul Moore has continued the recent trend of Armagh players winning singles tournaments by claiming the St. John's Gilford Singles title last week. It proved to be a double for Armagh with Drumgor's Mark Sproule and Aidan Corrigan winning the pairs event.

Singles Finalists:

Section Winners:- S McGlinchey, A Magee, A Paul, M Byrne, G Dawson, W Hughes

Beaten Semi Finalists:- P Mackin and V Delaney

Final:- P Moore beat A Moore


Pairs

Beaten Semi Finalists:- Aidan and Ann Magee, Seamus and Craig McMathandivan

Final:- Aidan Corrigan and Mark Sproule beat Noel and Eddie Marsden

Zone Championships Update

The following are left in the Zone Singles:

Section A
J Gray (St Marks) in final of section
M Sproule (Drumgor) v P Beattie (St Marks) (semi final)

Section B
M Hobson (St Saviours) in final of section
U Shaw (St Saviours) v S Conroy Snr (St Anthonys) (semi final)

Rinks Qualifiers

Semi final
N Uprichard (St Matthews) V A Leckey (St Marks)

Quarter Final
K McCall (Redrock) v S Murphy (Kilmore)
Winners of above game to play R Hunter (Markethill) in 2nd semi final

AL

Second Singles Title for the Beattie House!

It was a case of "anything you can do" as Joe Beattie won St Mary's Newcastle Singles last night.  Wife Pauline had won 1st Dromore singles last month and Joe claimed the Newcastle title by beating St. Anthony's Danny McDonald in the semi final and clubmate Aidan Corrigan in the final.

 

Results from the FInals Night were as follows:

 

J Beattie  beat  A Johnston

D McDonald  beat  P Christie

A Corrigan  beat  N Graham

G Smith     bye

 

Semi Final

 

J Beattie beat D McDonald

A Corrigan beat G Smith

 

Final

 

J Beattie beat A Corrigan

Champion of Champions Draws

Armagh are represented in all 4 Champion of Champions competitions to be held in Ballymoney Indoor Stadium on Sat 17 October. Paul Moore (St. Anthony's) is flying the Armagh flag in the rinks and will play D. McElroy from Mid Ulster in the first round. Armagh have 3 representatives in triples. Martin Trainor (St. Anthony's) takes on N. Mackin from Oriel, Pauline Beattie (St. Mark's) plays P. Wilson from Western and Robert Cassells (St. Mark's) plays E. Irwin from Northern. There are 3 Armagh pairs in action as well. Nigel Uprichard (St. Matthew's) takes on M. Duffy from Monaghan, Eileen McDonald (St. Anthony's) plays PJ Gallagher (Donegal) while Pat Garvey (Tullysaran) meets M. Carrol from Oriel. Armagh's hopes in the singles lie with Danny McDonald (St. Anthony's) and Andrew Hughes (St. Saviour's). Danny takes on D. Spratt form Mid Tyrone in the first round while Andrew plays G. Corsby from Oriel.

The full draw is on the IIBA website (www.iiba.co.uk)

Good luck to all the Armagh competitors.

St. Anthony's Fun Bowls Night

St Anthony's have organised a 'Fun' bowls night on Thursday the 8th of October; starting at 7:45pm – cost £3 (including supper) to help raise funds towards the costs associated with the Armagh Zone hosting the 'British Isles Top Team' Bowling competition against the winners from England and Wales. 

 

It is hoped as many local bowlers as possible from Armagh will attend and help make the night in St Anthony's a great success and in so doing help the Armagh team.

 

If you would like further information about the event, contact Paul Moore on 38 349221.

Pauline wins 1st Dromore Singles

St. Mark's Pauline Beattie emerged victorious at the 1st Dromore Singles tournament finals on Sat 26 September. Results from the finals night are as follows:

 

Robert Scott beat Raymond Gourley

Pauline Beattie beat Eddie Crawford

Peter Christie beat William Morrison

Alan Johnston got a bye

 

Semi Final

 

Pauline Beattie 8  v  Robert Scott 7

Alan Johnston 11 v  Peter Christie 1

 

Final

 

Pauline Beattie 9  v  Alan Johnston 3

Men win Charity Zone Event

Armagh Men, missing 11 of last years winning zone team, has won the Charity Zone Event in Ardboe Community Hall.  They drew with North West in the 1st game and then beat Mid Ulster by 1 shot in  the 2nd game.  Mid Ulster then beat North West in the last game which meant that Armagh won with 1 win and a draw. Mid Ulster where 2nd with 1 win and North West last with 1 draw and 1 defeat.

 

 

Charity Zone Event

A Charity Zone Event will take place over the next 2 Saturdays between
Armagh, Mid Ulster and North West in Ardboe Community Hall.

The Mens is Sat 26th Sep at 1pm and the Ladies is the following week Sat
3rd Oct at 1pm.

All money raised will go to Charis Cancer Care & Chest, Heart and Stroke.

St. Anthony's off and running

Reigning Fane Valley Division 1 Champions St. Anthony's have got this
season off and running with a 10 shot win at newly promoted St. Patrick's
Maralin, collecting 6 points in the process. The Champions will be pleased
to have got off to a winning start at what can be a tricky venue.

Local duo selcected for Ireland

Drumgor's Joseph Beattie and St. Mark's Andrew Leckey have been selected for the Irish team for the Home International Series in Llandrindod Wells on 21 and 22 November. Joe is playing second in the rink skipped by Lisburn's Raymond Stubbs, while Andrew is third to John Quinn from Donegal in a team that sees 8 changes from last year's series.

The team will play 3 practice games, one of which will be against an Armagh team in Richhill on 5 October. The full Irish team is as follows:

Rink 1
G.Lithgo (Mid Antrim)
P.Reid (Lisburn)
D.Spratt (Mid Tyrone)
G.Burke (Western)

Rink 2
J.McCaffrey (Western)
R.O'Neill (North West)
S.Hall (Mid Antrim)
C.McHugh (Mid Ulster)

Rink 3
P.Duff (Oriel)
J.Beattie (Armagh)
G.Conroy (Mid Tyrone)
R.Stubbs (Lisburn)

Rink 4
A.Paul (Mid Ulster)
L.Harrison (North West)
A.Leckey (Armagh)
J.Quinn (Donegal)

Mullabrack Fun Tournament Resumes

The Mullabrack Fun Pairs tournament has resumed again after the summer holidays and intends to run every saturday night over the winter starting at 7pm each evening. Everyone welcome, no need to bring a partner. £2 per night (includes tea)

St. Saviours to hold Fun Tournament

St. Saviours Bowling club invites all bowlers to..........

A FUN BOWLS TOURNAMENT

Venue: St. Saviours Church Hall, The Dobbin

Time: 7pm each evening

Dates: Wednesday 9th September
Thursday 10th September
Friday 11th September

Fee: £5 per pair (this includes supper)

For further information contact Andrew Hughes: 07800573352

Qualifiers for Markethill Festival Finals

The following have qualified for the Markethill Festival Pairs Finals night on Friday 7 August:

A Downard
C Rainey
N Haire
L McCarten
J Richardson
P Beattie
A Paul
R Cassells

7.30pm greys and whites all spectators welcome

2009-10 Fane Valley League

Reigning champions St. Anthony's have the privilege of kicking off the 2009-10 league fixtures with an away game at newly promoted St. Pat's Maralin. Will they retain their title for a third year or will one of the other big 3 take it off them?

Who's favourite for the drop? And who'll get up to Division 1? Alot of questions and alot of bowls to be played to decide the answers!

Please use this thread to give you opinions on the league and post results! The faster the results come in the more up to date the tables will be!

AL

2009-10 Armagh Zone Cup

The draw has been made for the 2009-10 Armagh Zone Cup (formerly the HSBC Cup). Last year's winners St. Anthony's have been handed a tricky tie against St. Matthew's, but the tie of the round is undoubtedly St. Mark's against last years runners up St. Saviours.

There has been a rule change this year. A team must play a minimum of 6 ladies (previously 8) with at least 1 lady in each rink.

There are 16 teams entered this year, so the full first round draw is as follows:

Queen St. -v- St. Paul's
St. Mark's -v- St. Saviour's
Kilmore -v- Tandragee GC
Tullysaran -v- Portadown GC
St. Pat's Blue -v- Markethill
St. Anthony's -v- St. Matthew's
St. John's -v- Waringstown
St. Pat's Maralin -v- St. Pat's Gold

First round games to be played on or before 17 October 2009. Q/F to be played on or before 28 November 2009. S/F to be played on or before 6 March 2010 with the final scheduled for 25 March 2010.

Mullabrack Triples - Updates

The Mullabrack Triples tournament is in full swing. Section winners so far are:

Mon 13 - B Macguiness (Clontibret)
Tue 14 - Allan Johnston (Loughbrickland)
Wed 15 - I Irwin (Mullabrack)

There are 5 further nights of play. Finals night is Friday 24 April.

Further updates will be posted in due course (see comments below).

Richhill pair win St. Saviours

As usual the recent St. Saviours pairs tournament attracted bowlers from far and wide. Several "big names" were among the 11 pair who had got through, but it was refreshing to see the local St. Matthews Richhill pair of William Gilpin and Nigel Uprichard emerging victorious. They overcame Gordon and Raymond Stubbs from Ballinderry in the final by 8 shots to 5, after equally impressive wins against Eddie Marsden and Paul Reid (also from Ballinderry) in the semi finals, and the Mossley combination of Eddie Crawford and Aaron Dilworth in the quarter finals.

The full results from the finals night are as follows:

C Leckey/A Leckey (St. Mark's) beat M Grimley/P Devlin (Drumgor)
G Stubbs/R Stubbs (Ballinderry) beat S Scott/D Scott (Garvaghy)
J Moffett/U Shaw (St. Saviour's) beat P Burn/C Cumiskey (??)

Quarter Finals

E Marsden/P Reid (Ballinderry) beat K Wright/G Conroy (??)
J Moffett/U Shaw beat S McCall/L McCarten (Armagh GC)
G Stubbs/R Stubbs beat C Leckey/A Leckey
W Gilpin/N Uprichard beat E Crawford/A Dilworth (Mossley)

Semi Finals

G Stubbs/R Stubbs beat J Moffett/U Shaw
W Gilpin/N Uprichard beat E Marsden/P Reid

Final

W Gilpin/N Uprichard beat G Stubbs/R Stubbs 8-5

Crangill win Sam Irwin Trophy

Cranagill have secured a Churches League and Sam Irwin Trophy double. The won the Sam Irwin Trophy win a comprehensive 19 shot victory over Mullabrack.

Below: Paul Whittle with the cup and Mullabrack's Jal Richardson with the runners up shield. Also pictured are Zone Convenor Flo McNally, Roger Gill and Paul's daughter.

St Anthony's retain HSBC Cup

St Anthony's have retained the HSBC Cup, and in so doing became the first team in the history of Armagh Zone to win the double 2 years in sucession. The league champions had the final against St Saviour's sown up at half time leading by 21 shots. St Saviours fared better in the second half, winning 1 rink and drawing the other, but had no real chance of pulling back the first half deficit. This is the 10th time St. Anthony's have won the cup, a record in itself. Rink scores were as follows:

Mat 1. C Breen, M mc Grath, S Trainor, S Conroy 20 v 8 A Hughes
Mat 2. E Trainor, M Catney, A mc Kiver, D mc Donald 12 v 3 G mc Mullian
Mat 3. B Wilson, E mc Donald, P Corvan, M Trainor 5 v 10 D Jordan
Mat 4 A Prunty, Y Hayes, K Trainor, P Moore 8 v 8 U Shaw

The winning team:

Ladies Triple win National Title

The name "P. Beattie" will appear in the "green book" for the first time next year. Pauline claimed her 11th National Ladies title number in Richhill today, when along with her mum May and aunt Rachel she overcame Gladys Peel from East Antrim to win the Ladies Triples. This means that Pauline has won all 4 Ladies titles. (The Ladies Fours were replaced with triples in 2006-07).

The St. Mark's triple did not get it easy against their East Antrim opponents. In the 12 end final the locals opened with 2 in the first end, but the East Antrim triple took control scoring a 4 and 2 singles over the next 2 ends. Pauline got a single back in end 5 but lost a further 3 in the next end to trail 9-3 the half way stage. However the locals hauled themselves level with a 2 and 4 on the next 2 ends. The East Antrim triple went back in front on the next end scoring a single on end 9, but Beattie counted with a 2 on the 10th end to lead by 1 with 2 ends left. East Antrim put themelves in the driving seat by scoring 3 on the penultimate end, but the local triple squared the match with a 2 in the last end. This led to a nervy tie end. Pauline drew the shot with her first bowl, but failed to consolidate with her second, leaving the East Antrim skip having to draw with 6 inches of the jack to win. However her bowl fell short.

All the results from today's finals at Richhill:

Ladies Triples: P. Beattie (Armagh) 14 G. Peel (East Antrim) 13 (after tie end)
National Triples: C. McHugh (Mid Ulster) 13 D. Walker (North East) 12 (after tie end)
National Fours: G. McCabe (Oriel) 5 A. Corrigan (South Down) 7
National Pairs: U. McKeeman (North East) 14 K. McCullagh (North West)7
Ladies Pairs: I. Duncan (Donegal) 13 L. Carelton (Monaghan) 12
Over 55 Pairs: G. Bell (Donegal) 13 S. Hughes (Monaghan) 12
Open Singles: G. McCabe (Oriel) 16 L. McHugh (Mid Ulster) 4
Junior Singles: T. Crawford (North Belfast) 17 S. Shields (Mid Antrim) 10
Ladies Singles: C. Scott 13 (Western) I. Eldon 7 (South Tyrone)

St Anthony's into Cup Final

St Anthony's are still on course to retain the "double". They booked their place in next Tuesday's final (Mar 31) against St. Saviour's with a 1 shot victory in an epic semi final clash with St. Mark's.

Trailing by 7 shots from the first leg at St Mark's, the league champions looked down and out as at half way stage of the second leg St. Mark's had added 20+ shots to that margin. But the home side dug deep and staged a great comeback to win the second leg by 8 shots and the overall game by 1.

The final will take place in Tandragee Golf Club on Tue 31 March at 7.00pm.

Queen Street win HSBC Shield

Queen Street have won the HSBC Shield for the 2nd time in 3 seasons by beating St. Patrick's Blue by 15 shots in the final in St Matthew's Richhill. While the overall winning margin would seem to indicate a reasonably comfortable win for the Lurgan club, it was anything but, with over half that margin being gained in the last 2 ends on both second half mats.

Queen Street led from start to finish, but could not pull away from their Armagh opponents until those final 2 ends. Indeed at one point in the second half the difference was only 3 shots.

Queen Street started the contest as favourites, and gained the upper hand immediately on the first end with Trevor Hampton and Wendy Cassells lifting counts of 5 and 4 respectively. Trevor added another count of 5 on end 4 to lead 11-1 and it looked like Queen Street were going to run away with it. However the Armagh rink, skipped by Iggy Mallon, countered immediately with a 6 to tighten the match up again.

At the break Queen Street led by 7 and for the first few ends of the second half the difference hovered around this mark. However a count of 3 by Armagh's Briege Donnelly against Alan Cassells brought St. Pat's within striking distance, but with Alan Roberts getting the better of his Armagh opponents, this was as close as they got.

In the end Cassells picked up a 4 on the last end, while Roberts picked up a 3 and a 2 on his last 2 ends to leave a scoreline that maybe was a little harsh on St. Patrick's, but overall Queen Street deserved their win.

Gilford rink wins Jethro tournament

Gilford's Vincey Delaney's rink has won the Thursday afternoon Jethro League rinks competition. Despite losing their final game, Vincey's rink edged out Barney McCormack's Kilmore rink by 1 point. Another Gilford rink skipped by Noel Conlon came third.

This is the third year that George Richardson has run the tournament in the Jethro Centre in Lurgan. The tournament has been sponsored on each occasion by Remax Select Properties (Lurgan), and again it was a great success. With the help of the competitors, £3000 was raised for the Southern Area Hospice. Some photos from the final's day play are below:


Vincey Delaney's winning rink




Barney McCormack's rink - runners up




Noel Conlon's third placed rink




Presentation of cheque to Southern Area Hospice




Maurice Milligan being presented the Jim Wilkin bowl by Mr Tom Pakenham.

The trophy is made from a bowl which belonged to Mr Jim Wilkin who was an Irish International 1934 -1939 & 1946 - 1954. The trophy was given to George Richardson last year by Mr Pakenham who is Mr Wilkin's nephew. It is presented to the person who collected the most for charity during the competition. This year's winner was Mullavilly's Maurice Milligan who collected £400.

St. Anthony's claim Div 1 title

Congratulations to St. Anthony's who have retained the Fane Valley League Division 1 title. They claimed the title by lifting 6 points at Tandragee GC last night. This is the 3rd time St Anthony's have won the title, and they join Markethill, St. Mark's and Armagh GC as clubs who have retained the title. Indeed this is the first time the title has been retained since Armagh GC retained it in the 1997-98 season.

St. Anthony's also won the HSBC Cup last year. Should they retain that trophy this season (they currently trail St. Mark's by 7 shots after the 1st leg of the semi final) it would be the first time in the history of the Zone the a club has won the double 2 years in a row.

Meanwhile at the other end of the table, Kilmore have almost certainly guarenteed themselves 1st division bowls next season with an impressive 6 point haul at Tullysaran. In division 2, Portadown GC's hopes to join Drumgor in the top division next season took a major blow last night after being beaten at St. John's Moira. St Pat's Maralin now need 5½ points from their last 2 games to guarentee promotion.

Hughes wins Friendship Singles

St Saviour's Andrew Hughes has won the William Hutchinson Frienship Singles competition. In the finals night in the the impressive Milltown Parish Hall he overcame St. Anthony's Danny McDonald in the final.

Results from the latter stages were as follows:

Quarter Finals:
Paul Wilson (St. Mark's) beat Keith McCoy (Waringstown)
Danny McDonald (St. Anthony's) beat J. Cully (Clare Pres)
Andrew Hughes (St. Saviour's) beat Philip Kelly (Redrock)
Kenny Beattie (Annaghmore) beat Alan Cassells (Queen St)

Semi Finals:
McDonald beat Wilson
Hughes beat Beattie

St. Anthony's set to retain title?

St. Anthony's will retain their Fane Valley Div 1 title if they get at least 3 points in their last game tonight at Tandragee Golf Club. Armagh Golf Club's challenge suffered a major if not fatal blow last night when they could only manage 1½ points at Tullysaran. Armagh's only hope is that St. Anthony's fail to get those 3 points tonight which would give Armagh the chance to claim the title in their last game, at home ironically to Tandgragee Golf Club. However the form book would indicate that St. Anthony's are odds on to be crowned 2008-09 league champions.

Meanwhile, Drumgor have already sealed the Division 2 title with 2 games to spare. The second promotion spot is between St Pat's Maralin and Portadown GC. St Pat's are currently in the driving seat holding a 10 point advantage over the GC. However the GC have a game in hand, but time is running out as St. Pat's have 2 games left and the GC have 3. Both clubs have yet to play St. Pat's Gold and St John's Moira, while the GC's extra game is against Drumgor, so St. Pat's look favourites at the moment.

Ladies Triple in National Final

St. Mark's Rachel Cassells, May Cassells and Pauline Beattie are through to the of the National Ladies Triples Championship. They will play a triple from East Antrim zone in the final next Saturday in Richhill Leisure Centre, after disposing of triples from Mid Tyrone, North West, South Belfast and South Tyrone zones in the qualifiers in Ballymoney Stadium yesterday (21 March).

The National Pairs were also played off yesterday, but both Armagh's representatives (Paul Moore and Paul Corvan) wnet down to North West pairs in their first game. In the open triples Pauline Beattie was beat in the second round by eventual finalist Davy Walker (North East Zone). Rachel Cassells got as far as the quarter finals of the Ladies Singles, although her sister Ida Eldon, representing South Tyrone, is in the final. The ladies pair of Leslie Strain and Elizabeth Smith also bowed out in the early rounds.

The singles and fours had been played off on 7 March. The Tullysaran rink skipped by Anthony Rooney was representing Armagh but was beaten in the first game by the South Down rink skipped by Drumgor player Aidan Corrigan. Aidan's rink subsequently made it through to the final.

In the singles, St. Anthony's Paul Corvan was also beaten by the eventual finalist, Oriel's Gerry McCabe. Cyril and Andrew Leckey were Armagh's other representatives. Cyril was beat in the first round by Western's Gary Burke, while Andrew was beat in the second round by Mid Tyrone's P J McCrossan.

In the Junior Singles, Jack Moffett was beaten in the 1st round as was Reggie Collen in the over 55 pairs.

A full list of finalists is as follows:

National Singles: Liam McHugh (Mid Ulster) -v- Gerry McCabe (Oriel)
National Pairs: Tommy Mullan + Uel McKeeman (North Eastern) -v- John Kennedy + Keith McCullagh (North West)
National Triples: Danny Taggart, Ken Shirley, Davy Walker (North Eastern) v Liam McHugh, Damien McElroy, Colum McHugh (Mid Ulster)
National Fours: Gerry Crosby, Fra Dillon Billy Taffe and Gerry McCabe (Oriel) -v- Joe Corrigan, Richard Sproule, Mark Sproule and Aidan Corrigan (South Down)
Ladies Pairs: Maureen Howe + Linda Carleton (Monaghan) -v- Rose Dowds + Isobel Duncan (Donegal)
Ladies Singles: Caroline Scott (Western) -v- Ida Eldon (South Tyrone)
Ladies Triples: Margaret Crawford, Sandra Todd, Gladys Peel (East Antrim) -v- Rachel Cassells, May Cassells & Pauline Beattie (Armagh)
Junior Singles: Crawford T (North Belfast) -v- Shields S (Mid Antrim)
Over 55s: Sean Hughes + Sean Hughes (Monaghan) -v- Willie McGeechan + (Graham Bell Donegal)

Finals take place at Richhill Leisure Centre on Sat 28 March. The action starts at 1.00pm.

Danny leads Ireland "A" to victory

St. Anthony's Danny McDonald captained the Ireland A team to victory in the recent International "A" series in Shrewsbury. Danny was skipping a rink and won each of his 3 games.

Ireland brushed aside Wales and Scotland in their first 2 games with Danny winning 16-3 and 20-3. This set up a winner takes all clash against the English, but this ended up a draw with Danny being the only victorious Irish skip. However Ireland's vastly superior shot difference saw them claim the title.

St. Mark's Andrew Leckey was leading in the individual rinks competition. Again Ireland swept aside Wales and Scotland in the first 2 games, but succumbed to England in a tense final game.

Photos of the event, supplied by Danny, can be found here.

League goes to the wire

The destiny of Fane Valley Division 1 title could be decided in the next 10 days. Will it stay with St. Anthony's in Craigavon, will it move out the Armagh Road in Portadown to St. Saviour's, or the whole way out the Armagh Road to Armagh Golf Club. St Saviour's top the table at the minute, 4 points ahead of St. Anthony's. St. Saviour's have 1 game left but crucially, the reigning champions have 2. However Armagh GC cannot be ruled out. They are 14 points behind St. Anthony's but have 2 games in hand. It could be virtually over this Thursday night (19th) with both St Saviour's and St. Anthony's having matches. If St. Saviours don't get a positive result at home to St. Matthew's and St. Anthony's pick up all 7 points at home to Waringstown, then the St. Anthony's will look odds on to retain their title. If St. Saviour's win, then St. Anthony's must beat Waringstown to keep their hopes alive and make their last game at Tandragee Golf Club on Tue 24th the title decider. For Armagh GC to win it they must win their last 4 games collecting near maximum points and hope St. Anthnoy's slip up. As recent results have shown, nothing can be taken for granted.

At the bottom Queen Street done themselves no end of good by pulling off the shock result of the season, collecting 6 points at home to St. Anthony's. This was the 3rd league win in a row for the Lurgan club, a run which has dragged them off the bottom of the table and up 3 places above Kilmore, Mullavilly and Tandragee GC. However things will change as these 3 clubs all play each other before the end of the season. So the relegation battle is still too close to call.

In Division 2, Drumgor have run away with it, and it was clear from about Christmas that they would win the division. However who will accompany them into Division 1 next season is less certain. It would appear to be a straight fight between St Pat's Maralin and Portadown GC. St Pat's hold a 3 point advantage at the minute with both sides having 3 games left. However if both sides have a poor run in then St. John's Moira may have an outside chance.

The HSBC Cup Final is on 31 March in Tandragee Golf Club. St Saviours are in the final, while St. Anthony's and St. Mark's face each other in the second semi final.

The Shield final is between Queen Street and St Patrick's Blue and is in St. Matthew's hall on Thur 26 March.

As expected Cranagill have retained the Churches league, finishing well ahead of the pack and only losing 1 game. They also play St. Lukes Loughgall in the semi final of the Sam Irwin trophy. Mullabrack are already in the final.

Locals win St. Anthony's Pairs

Singles title goes to North Down

The popular St. Anthony's pairs and singles tournaments came to a conclusion on Fri 27 Feb. Due to the number of entries an extra night of singles was hastily organised, a welcome change from cutting out nights which is all to common in tourmanents these days.

The local combination of Malachy Grimley (Drumgor) and Paul Moore (St. Anthony's)claimed the pairs title, while Conlig's Gareth Pierpoint emerged victorous in the singles competition.

Historic Double Secured!!

MEN WIN INTERZONE FINAL

Armagh have won both Interzone competitions in the same season for the first time in their history. Last week the Ladies overcame Mid Down in their final, and this week the men followed suit by defeating Donegal by 15 shots in St Joseph's Omagh. Leading by 11 at the break, the locals kept it tight in the second half to secure a famous victory. The men have shown true grit in this year's competition with tough draws all the way through. It started with a titanic battle with Western which went to last end before Armagh won by 1 shot. Then came an easier encounter with South Tyrone followed by a tight tussle with Mid Tyrone, and then possibly Armagh's finest performance in the semi final away to Oriel. The victory in the final against Donegal rounds off a memorable Interzone season. Scores from the final were as follows: (Armagh skips first):

1st Half
Alan Roberts 9 P McGee 5
Danny McDonald 9 D McClintock 8
Andrew Leckey 9 P Walsh 3

Half time: Armagh 27 Donegal 16

2nd Half
Martin Trainor 11 A Steele 10
Joseph Beattie 13 N Alexander 6
Andrew Hughes 6 J Quinn 10

Final Score: Armagh 57 DOnegal 42

THE TEAM:



THE RINKS:


Gary Culbert, Paul Wilson, Alan Roberts, Kieran Trainor


Danny McDonald, Sean Conroy Jnr, Sean Conroy Snr, Pat Garvey


Paul Moore, Andrew Leckey, Nigel Uprichard, George Crothers


Martin Trainor, Ian Irwin, Raymond Hunter, Cyril Leckey


David Beattie, Laurence McCartan, Joseph Beattie, Derek Wright


Andrew Hughes, Jack Moffett, Ian Perry, Chris Mulholland


IIBA President Ronnie McDermott presents the trophy to Armagh Zone Convenor Flo McNally and Zone Chairman Chris Mulholland.


Armagh Zone Convenor Flo McNally with the trophy.

Ladies romp to Interzone title

WELL DONE LADIES! NOW IT'S YOUR TURN MEN!

Armagh Ladies have won the Interzone title for the 5th time with a 45 shot demolition of Mid Down in today's final. The last time the Ladies lifted the title was in 2003, and this latest sucess was more or less sealed at half time when the locals led by 22 shots. The second half rinks didn't let up and added another 23 shots to the winning margin. All 6 rinks won (Armagh skips first):

1st Half
Rachel Cassells 14 E. McKinley 5
May Cassells 12 C. Tumelty 10
Daphne Marshall 16 L. Lusty 5

Half time: Armagh 42 Mid Down 20

2nd Half
Pauline Beattie 14 K. Woodside 4
Flo McNally 14 P. Rice 6
Bronagh Malone 10 R. Gibson 5

Final Score: Armagh 80 Mid Down 35

This victory caps an impressive string of victories in this years competition with North Belfast, South Belfast, Oriel, West Down and now Mid Down all dispatched with relative ease.

Now it's up to the men to emulate this feat in their final next week against Donegal, and in so doing secure an historic double for Armagh and round off a great Interzone season.

THE TEAM:



THE RINKS:


Pauline Beattie, Barbara Wilson, Virginia Leckey, Sadie White


Marlene Hobson, Michelle Wright, Diane Agnew, May Cassells


Agnes Crozier, Flo McNally, Catherine McMillan, Jean Hawthorne


Rachel Cassells, Elizabeth Lavery, Linda Milligan, Hilary Agnew


Yvonne Hayes, Eileen McDonald, Bronagh Malone, Shiela Garvey


Sandra Whittle, A. Patton, Anne Crozier, Daphne Marshall


IIBA President Ronnie McDermott presents the trophy to Armagh Zone Convenor Flo McNally

(Thanks to Pauline and Joe for the photos!)

Zone teams announced for Interzone Finals

The teams that will hopefully lead Armagh to their first Interzone double have been announced. The only change in the ladies team is the return of Catherine McMillan at third to Flo McNally. Jean Hawthorne has been moved with second, with Doreen Pearson now reserve.

The mens team sees one enforced change. Terry Mulholland is unavailable for the final. Andrew Hughes has moved over to skip Terry's rink. Raymond Hunter has been moved up to third to Martin Trainor in place of Andrew. Cyril Leckey is now second and Ian Irwin has come in at lead.

The ladies final takes place in Dromore Cathedral on Sat 21 Feb, while the mens game is in St. Joseph's Omagh the following Saturday.

Official teams sheets: Mens, Ladies.

Tullysaran Singles results

The popular Tullysaran singles tournament drew to close with the Finals Night on Fri 30 January. As usual the tournment attracted entries from a variety of zones and a total of 485 players participated. This years winner was Alan Johnston from St. Michael's Dundrum who came out on top in a finals night filled with quality players. Results from Finals Night were as follows:

Preliminaries
Seamus Smith (Latton) beat Anthony Rooney (Tullysaran)
Danny McStravock (St Mary's Desertmartin) beat Tommy Quinn (Moortown)
Alan Brown (Wellington) beat Dessie Hamilton (Dromore NS)
John Murnaghan (Cooley) beat Ian Scott (St Anne's)
Sean Quinn (Cookstown Parochial) beat Johnny Wilson (Tullylish)
Hugh Trainor (Tullysaran) beat Paul Corvan (St Anthony's)
Malachy Trainor Jr (Clontibret) beat Glen Smith (Cookstown HS)
Jason Hand (Corduff) beat Joe Trainor (Ballybay)

1st round
Paul Moore (St Anthony's) beat Billy Taaffe (Redeemer)
Phelim McKiver (Brocagh) beat Noel Graham (Loughaghrey)
Alan Johnston (St Michael's Dundrum) beat John McMahon (Carrickmacross)
Philip Mackin (St Pat's Cullyhanna) beat Ivan Craig (Towers Ballymena)
Danny McStravock beat Seamus Smith
John Murnaghan beat Alan Brown
Hugh Trainor beat Sean Quinn
Jason Hand beat Malachy Trainor

Quarter Finals
Paul Moore beat Phelim McKiver
Alan Johnston beat Philip Mackin
John Murnaghan beat Danny McStravock
Jason Hand beat Hugh Trainor

Semi Finals
Alan Johnston beat Paul Moore
John Murnaghan beat Jason Hand

Final
Alan Johnston beat John Murnaghan

Men reach Interzone final - Historic double still on!

The Ladies done it last week and the men followed suit this week! Armagh are in both Interzone finals - a first for the zone. North West were the last zone to win both competitions in the same season (1997-98) and Armagh will be hoping the emulate this feat on the last 2 Saturdays in February. The ladies play Mid Down in Dromore Catherdral hall on Sat 21st Feb and the men face surprise packets Donegal in their final on Sat 28th (venue to be confirmed).

In todays semi final the men staged a brilliant second half comeback away to Oriel. The home side led by 8 shots at the break and half way through the second half the lead had increased to 11, but the lifting of a 6 by Joe Beatties rink sparked a great fight back and by the last end of the game Armagh were 6 up and coasting into the final. A great win for the men.

Scores from the game were as follows (Oriel skips first)

Rink 1: F Dillon 14 A Roberts 14
Rink 2: J Muraghan 18 D McDonald 6
Rink 3: M Hand 9 A Leckey 13

Half time: Oriel 41 Armagh 33

Rink 4: G McCabe 7 M Trainor 12
Rink 5: K Conroy 7 J Beattie 12
Rink 6: S McMahon 6 T Mulholland 11

Final Score: Oriel 61 Armagh 68

Ladies through to Interzone final

Armagh ladies are into the final of this years Interzone competition with a hard fought 11 shot victory over West Down. Armagh were 14 up at the break, but West Down fought back in the second half and reduced the deficit to 2 at one stage. However the home side rallied and pulled away again to win by 11 at the end. Mid Down are the other finalists after beating South Down in the other semi final. Scores from todays game are as follows (Armagh skips first).

Mat 1. R Cassells 9 v 2 L Martin
Mat 2. M Cassells 12 v 8 A Canaway
Mat 3. D Marshall 11 v 8 M Gamble

Half time score Armagh 32-18 West Down

Mat 4. F McNally 4 v 10 B Conlon
Mat 5. B Malone 10 v 10 K McGrail
Mat 6. P Beattie 10 v 7 A Poland

Final score Armagh 56 v 45 West Down

Now it's up to the men follow suit next week in their semi final against Oriel.

Locals picked for Irish A team

Congratulations to St. Anthony's Danny McDonald, St. Mark's Andrew Leckey and Drumgor's Aidan Corrigan who have been picked in the Irish squad for the British Isles "A" series to be held in Shrewsbury Bowls Centre on 14 and 15 March. Danny is skipping a rink in the team event, Aidan is playing second in the team while Andrew is leading on the Irish rink in the individual events. The full squad can be found here.

Cookstown pair win St. Mark's

St. Mark's Portadown pairs tournament concluded on Sat 10 January with Cookstown High School pair Seamus McGlinchey and Mark Wilson winning this year's competition. Gary Vernon and Robert Greer from 1st Dromara were runners up. Results from Finals Night were as follows:

Quarter Finals
Connor & Terence McCartan (St. Colman's) beat Joe Clarke/Tom Haire (Hillsborough)
Seamus McGlinchey/Mark Wilson (Cookstown High) beat Angela Canaway/Eddie Campbell (Tullylish)
Rachel & Robert Cassells (St. Mark's) beat Stanley Whiteside/James Emerson (Moy Parish)
Gary Vernon/Robert Greer (1st Dromara) beat Gary Smith/Dayne Jordan (St. Saviour's)

Semi Finals
M. Wilson beat T. McCartan
R. Greer beat R. Cassells

Final
M. Wilson beat R. Greer

Men make it an Interzone semi final double for Armagh

Armagh remain on course for an historic double in the Interzone competition with the Mens team emulating the Ladies acheivement last week and booking their spot in the semi finals of this year's competition. The men overcame Mid Tyrone in St. Saviour's by 10 shots to set up a semi final clash away to Oriel in a fortnights time. Oriel booked their place with an impressive 25 shot win against Mid Ulster, so the semi will certainly be Armagh's stiffest test yet.

Details of todays game are as follows:

Rink 1 A Roberts 12 v 5 T Vance
Rink 2 D McDonald 11 v 6 R Cunningham
Rink 3 A Leckey 7 v 9 M Cunningham

Half Time Armagh 30 v 20 Mid Tyrone

Rink 4 T Mulholland 16 v 6 D Spratt
Rink 5 J Beattie 7 v 10 G Conroy
Rink 6 M Trainor 5 v 12 C Short

Final Score: Armagh 58 v 48 Mid Tyrone

Ladies into Interzone semis

Armagh's ladies progressed to the semi finals of this years Interzone competition with a fine 21 shot win over Oriel at St. Matthew's Richhill. The game was over as a contest at half time with the 3 first half rinks running away with things to put the home side 34 shots up at the break. The visitors fared alot better in the second half, but had no hope of pulling back the deficit.

The ladies now play local rivals West Down at home in the semi final. The other semi final is between South Down and Mid Down.

Scores (Armagh skips first)

M Cassells 12 M Flannagan 6
D Marshall 17 J Roullier 3
R Cassells 17 S Larkin 5

Half time score: Armagh 46 Oriel 14

B Malone 10 R Brannen 7
F McNally 3 I Hanratty 9
P Beattie 5 M Carroll 13

Final score: Armagh 64 Oriel 43