National Finals Venue Change

Due to burst pipes in St Matthews Richhill, the National Finals on Mon 3rd Jan 2011 has been moved to St Marks Portadown at 7pm. All players are asked to where grey and white.

St. Mark's Tournament

St. Mark's Portadown pairs tournament commences on Mon 10 January 2011 and runs to Friday 14 January 2011, with finals on Saturday 15 January.

 

To enter contact May Cassells on 38331323.

Zone Finals results

Singles Final
A Hughes beat D Beattie

Pairs Final
T Crawford beat P Garvey

Mixed Pairs Final
J Gray beat P Wilson

Junior Pairs Final
R King & M Tennyson beat C Hernon & S Breen

Rinks Final
S Conroy beat J Beattie

Congratulations to all the winners.

Zone finalists

The Armagh Zone Championships Finals take place on Tuesday 28 December in
St. Saviour's Hall starting at 7.00. The following are in action:

Singles Semi Finals
D Beattie (Drumgor) v P Beattie (St Marks)
R Beattie (Drumgor) v A Hughes (St Saviours)

Pairs Semi Finals
R Cassells (St Marks) v P Garvey (Tullysaran)
D Malcolmson (St Marks) v T Crawford (St Anthonys)

Mixed Pairs Final
J Gray (St Marks) v P Wilson (St Marks)

Rinks Final
J Beattie (Drumgor) v D McDonald (St Anyhonys)

Junior Pairs
C Hernon & S Breen v R King & M Tennyson

Men through to Interzone Q/F

Armagh Men are through to the quarter finals of this years Interzone Competition after a 12 shot victory away to Mid Antrim. Rink scores as follows (Armagh skips first):

 

A Roberts 5  Fleming 11

A Corrigan 7 S Hall 9

A Leckey 12 G Lithco 5

 

Half time: Armagh 24 Mid Antrim 25

 

A Hughes 8 B McGrath 8

J Beattie 9 D Morrison 7

M Trainor 15 A Morrison 4

 

Final Score: Armagh 56 Mid Antrim 44

National Finalists

The playoffs for the National Championships have taken place. The following are through to the Finals on 3 January 2011:

 

Singles
Section A
A Leckey (St Marks) v D McDonald (St Anthonys)

Section B
P Beattie (St Marks) v S McCall (Armagh GC)

Section C
G Crothers (Armagh GC) v N Uprichard (St Matthews)

Pairs
Section A
J Beattie (Drumgor) v A Leckey (St Marks)

Section B
M Sproule (Drumgor) v T Bell (St Marks)

Triples
A Hughes (St Saviours) v S Conroy (St Anthonys)

Fours
P Beattie (St Marks) v A Corrigan (Drumgor)

Over 55s
S Conroy ( St Anthonys) v R Cassells (St Marks)

Junior Singles
S Breen (St Anthonys) v C Hernon (St Anthonys)

Ladies Singles
D Marshall (Armagh GC) v P Beattie (St Marks)

Ladies Pairs
E Smyth (Markethill) v M Trainor (Tullysaran)

Ladies Triples
P Beattie (St Marks) v E Smyth (Markethill)

Ladies through to Q/F

Armagh ladies are through to the quarter finals of this years Interzone Competition with a 20 shot victory over Mid Ulster. Rink scores were as follows:

E Smyth drew 8-8
C McMillen won 21-5
M Cassells won 13-4

Half Time Armagh 42 - 17 Mid Ulster

P Beattie won 10-3
D Marshall lost 8-16
F McNally lost 5-10

Armagh 65 - 46 Mid Ulster

Armagh now face South Tyrone at home on Sat 8 January 2011.

Zone Championships Draws

The Zone Championship draws have been made and can be seen here.

Club Championships Finals

The finals of the Club Championships take place tonight in Maghera Pres.
hall. The final of the main competition is between Cookstown High and
Limavady Rugby & Cricket Club. However there is local interest in the
shield final where St. Mark's Portadown play Lisburn side Ballinderry.

UPDATE: St. Mark's win by 11 shots. Rink scores as follows:

T Bell 6-13 Paul Reid
P Beattie 24-4 R Stubbs
A Leckey 8-10 E Marsden

St Marks 38-27 Ballinderry

Nationa l Ladies Pairs Update

Final

E Smyth (Markethill) v M Trainor (Tullysaran)

Men defeat Oriel

Armagh men have beaten Oriel by 10 shots in the first round of this year's
Interzone Competition. Rink scores were as follows:

1. A Leckey 13 - 5 D McMahon
2. A Roberts 12 - 9 B Taffe
3. A Corrigan 6 - 8 P Hanlon

Half Time Armagh 31 - 22 Oriel

4. J Beattie 12 - 16 S McMahon
5. M Trainor 12 - 4 G McCabe
6. A Hughes 9 - 12 K Conroy

Final score
Armagh 64 v 54 Oriel

Armagh now play Mid Antrim away on 4th Dec

National Junior Singles Update

Final:

 

C. Hernon (St. Anthony's) -v- S. Breen (St. Anthony's)

National Over 55 Pairs Update

Final

S Conroy (St Anthonys) v R Cassells (St Marks)

National Ladies Singles Update

Final

D Marshall (Co Armagh GC) v P Beattie (St Marks)

National Ladies Triples Update

Final:-
E Smyth (Markethill) v P Beattie (St Marks)

Armagh to test out Irish Team

A practice match has been arranged against Armagh for the Irish Team due
to play in the upcoming British Isles Championships in the Isle of Man.
The match will take place in St. Matthew's Richhill on Monday 8th
November. The action starts at 7.30pm with the Irish singles, pairs,
triples and rinks representatives getting a run out first. Then then full
Irish Team (which includes Drumgor's Joe Beattie) will take on an Armagh
select side.

It promises to be a great night's bowling.

Click here for the Irish team. (IIBA Website).

National Pairs Update

The following are left in the National Pairs:

Section A

Final
J Beattie (Drumgor) v A Leckey (St Marks)

Section B

Semi Finals
M Sproule (Drumgor) v I Irwin (Co Armagh GC)
T Bell (St Marks) v N McCoy (Waringstown)

St. Mark's duo win St. John's pairs

Pauline Beattie and her dad Robert Cassells have won St John's Moira pairs.
In the Finals Night last night they beat Martin Trainor in 1st game, DJ
Dilworth in semi final and Graham Wilson from Ballymena in the final in a
tied end.

Ladies through

Armagh Ladies have safely negotiated the first round of this year's Interzone competition beating South and East Belfast by 25 shots. Rink scores as follows:

M Cassells won 15-4
D Marshall won 10-7
E Smyth drew 9-9

Half Time Armagh 14 up

F McNally won 12-7
P Beattie won 13-6
C McMillen lost 8-9

Final Score 67-42. Armagh now play Mid Ulster at home on 27 Nov.

Interzone Competitions kick off.

This season's Interzone competitions kick off tomorrow (30 October) when
Armagh ladies play the newly formed South and East Belfast Zone in St.
Matthew's Richhill. Then next Saturday (6 November) the men travel to
Cooley Community Centre to take on Oriel in what promises to be a cracking
first round tie. Both games start at 2pm.

Both the mens and ladies teams see a number of changes from last year,
some of which were due to unavailability. Click on the links below to see
the teams.

Ladies

Mens

Good luck to both Armagh teams in this years competition.

National Rinks Update

The National Rinks took place last night (Wed 27 Oct). The following will
go on to the play offs on Friday 12 November:

A. Leckey (St. Mark's) -v- H. Trainor (Tullysaran)
Winner to play A. Corrigan (Drumgor) in semi final.

2nd Semi Final: P. Beattie (St. Mark's) -v- N. Uprichard (St. Matthew's)

National Singles Update

The National Singles took place last night (25 October) in Tandragee
Recreation Centre. The semi finalists in the 3 sections are as follows:

Section A
P Whittle (Cranagill) v A Leckey (St MArks)
D McDonald (St Anthonys) v N McCoy (Waringstown)

Section B
P Beattie (St Marks) v B Martin (St John's Moira)
S McCall (Armagh G C) v R Beattie (Drumgor)

Section C
C Trainor (St Anthonys) v G Crothers (Armagh GC)
J Beattie (Drumgor) v N Uprichard (St Matthews)

St Josephs Kildress Charity Triples Tournament

The following was received from Seamus McGlinchey:

St Josephs Charity Triples Tournament

This year St Joesphs Kildress are running their Annual Triples Tournament
in aid of MS. Over a number of years the club run their tournament in aid
of Marie Curie and Chest Heart and Stroke and donated £23,000 to these two
charities. This year the club have decided to turn their attention to
local MS charities. The tournament will run from Monday 8th Nov to Friday
12th Nov with the finals on Tuesday 16th Nov. Limited to 20 triples per
night. The club would like those that have supported the tournament in
recent years and hope again to recieve a great response from bowlers both
locally and from further afield. For those that have never been to the
tournament before it is held just outside Cookstown on the Omagh road.

Entries can be made by contacting either Seamus McGlinchey on 07850349915
or Damien Grimes on 07810123256

Dobbin have the edge

St. Saviour's hold a slender 2 shot advantage after the first leg of their
Zone Cup clash with St. Mark's last night in Carleton Steet. The second
leg is at St. Saviours on Sat 27 November, and while the Dobbin may be
slight favourites on their home patch, St. Mark's will certainly feel they
can overturn the deficit. Scores from the first leg as follows (St. Mark's
skips first):

Pauline Beattie 8 Mark Wilson 14
Jal Richardson 9 Dane Jordan 9
Tony Bell 7 Harold McIvor 7
Andrew Leckey 11 Andrew Hughes 7

St. Mark's 35 St. Saviour's 37

Champion of Champions

The Champion of Champions tournament takes place next Saturday (23rd October) in Ballymoney.

 

Armagh have 4 representatives in the singles. Paul Moore plays R. McCaw from West Down, Joe and David Beattie play L. Jacob (Donegal) and G. Moen (Monaghan) respectively, while Pauline Beattie plays either Eddie Curran (Donegal) or K. Blakely (South Down).

 

Armagh are well represented in the pairs with 8 pairs in the draw as follows:

 

Section A

Errol Whitten -v- B. Holmes (North West)

Danny McDonald -v- D.Gourley (Mid Tyrone)

Sean Trainor -v- W. Kane (North West)

Andrew Hughes -v- G. Henry (South Tyrone)

 

Section B

Laurence McCarten -v- G. Lithco (Mid Antrim)

Robert Kidd -v- C. McHugh (Mid Ulster)

Cyril Leckey -v- M.Grieve (North West)

Martin Trainor -v- G. Brian (Western)

 

Robert Cassells is Armagh's only chance in the triples. He plays D. McClintock from Donegal in the first round.

 

Armagh have no representatives in the rinks this year.

 

The full draws can be seen on the IIBA website.

 

Good luck to all Armagh players.

2010-11 Stonebridge Nationals

The draws for the 2010-11 Stonebridge Nationals are now online. Click here for the full draw.

International Open 2011

The following is from Craig Burgess, organiser of the 2011 International Open.

Hello,
 
I am pleased to annouce that the International Short Mat Open will once again be going ahead. It will again be on Easter weekend but please note the change of venue.
 
We have been looking for a new venue and have last night agreed to move to Havering Indoor Bowling Club. The facilities are first class and we hope you can join us for the biggest money competition in Short Mat Bowls. The venue is 40 minutes from Stanstead airport so ideal for people flying in.
 
For those who did not attend the 1st event in April we had 38 triples and 32 fours from England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Belgium & Sweden in what was truly a world class event. If you have not read the report from Short Mat International i would recommend that you take a look. It was a great weekend.
 
This season we will be changing the format to fours and pairs as many thought this would enable them to make up teams a lot easier.
 
We will also be running a plate for both comps at no extra cost due to the popularity of the fours plate this year.

Players will be getting at least 4 games in both competitions as there will be a Round Robin Stage before we go to the knockout stages, same as last year.

In the fours teams will be in a group of 5. The top 2 will qualify for the main comp with the 3rd and 4th placed sides going into the plate. The team finishing bottom will be emliminated. Games will be played over 8 ends in the Round Robin, 10 ends in the knockout stages

In the pairs teams will be in a group of 4. The top 2 will qualify for the main comp with the 3rd and 4th placed sides going into the plate. Games will be played over 10 ends in the Round Robin, 12 in the Knockout stages

I have attached the entry form with this email but should you have any further queries please do not hesitate in contacting me.
 
Hotel deals will be posted as soon as we have them. All of the latest new will be appearing on the following website www.shortmatplayerstour.com
 
Thanks again for the support over the past year with getting this off the ground and hope to see you all in 2011.
 
Kind Regards
 
Craig Burgess

Club Championships

The 2010 Club Championships took place in Ballymoney on Saturday 9
October, with St. Mark's and St. Anthony's representing Armagh Zone. It
was St. Anthony's who had the best run in the main competition reaching
the quarter finals with wins over Ballinrees and Strabane, before going
out to Cookstown Parochial.

The final of the main competition will be between Cookstown High and
Limavady R&CC.

St. Mark's succumbed to a first round defeat to Du Pont, but faired better
in the Plate competition reaching the final to play Balliderry from
Lisburn.

A date for the finals has not yet been set.

St. Anthony's start with win

St. Anthony's have started the 2010-11 league season off in fine form
lifting 6½ points away to Tullysaran.

Meanwhile St. Matthew's Richhill are 6 shots up after the first leg of
their Zone Cup encounter against Queen Street. They will be confident of
finishing the job off on their own mats on Monday evening.

All set for new season!

The Zone League fixtures for 2010-11 have been released and are now online. Tullysaran and St. Anthony's get the ball rolling in Division 1 on Thursday 23 September. I would appreciate if clubs could check their fixtures on the website to make sure they're all correct.

 

There's a new feature on the site - the "What's On Guide". This is designed to show what's on around the Zone and elsewhere. There'll be a short 4 week version on the front page of the site with a link to the full version. I'd appreciate it if clubs could send me relevant dates, e.g. Zone Cup, tournament etc. so that they can be included in the guide.

 

Good luck to all for the 2010-11 season!

2010-11 Zone Cup Draw

The draw has been made for the 2010-11 Zone Cup as follows:

1. Queen Street -v- St. Matthew's
2. Kilmore -v- Portadown Golf Club
3. St. Mark's -v- St. Patrick's Blue
4. St. Saviour's -v- Waringstown
5. St. Paul's -v- St. Anthony's
6. St. John's -v- Tandragee Golf Club
7. St. Pat's Maralin -v- Markethill Pres
8. Winner of 7 -v- St. Patrick's Gold (Q/F)

First round ties are to be played on or before 9 October 2010. Quarter
Finals must be completed by 27 November 2010, Semi Finals by 26 February
2011 with the Final taking place on 24 March 2011.

Michael Catney - a sad loss

St. Anthony's and Armagh Zone has lost a friend in Michael Catney, who passed away on 5 August after a short illness. Michael was a tireless worker for Armagh Zone and was a member of both the Zone and League Committees. He also was Zone Chairman on several occasions. He played on Armagh Mens Interzone and was a stalwart in St. Anthony's club right from their inception. He will be sadly missed around the Zone. Our thoughts are with Michael's family and St. Anthony's at this sad time.

Joe selected for Ireland

Drumgor's Joe Beattie has again been selected for the Irish Team to play in this seasons British Isles Championship in the Isle of Man on 20 November. He is playing second in Lisburn's Raymond Stubbs' rink.

2010-11 Dates

Dates for the 2010-11 Nationals, Zone Championships and other cups have been released as follows:

 

National Championships

Mon 25/10/10 Singles

Wed 27/10/10 Rinks

Fri 29/10/10 Pairs

Wed 03/11/10 Ladies Triples

Thu 04/11/10 Ladies Singles

Fri 05/11/10 Junior Singles / Over 55 Pairs

Wed 10/11/10 Ladies Pairs

Fri 12/11/10 National Triples / Playoffs

Mon 03/01/11 FINALS

 

Zone Championships

Tue 23/11/10 Singles

Thu 25/11/10 Rinks

Fri 26/11/10 Mixed Pairs / Junior Pairs

Wed 01/12/10 Pairs

Thu 02/12/10 Playoffs

Tue 28/12/10 FINALS

 

Other Dates

Tue 15/03/11 Zone Shield Final

Mon 21/03/11 Friendship Singles Final

Thu 24/03/11 Zone Cup Final

Wed 06/04/11 Zone AGM

Tournament News

St. Anthony's Danny McDonald and Seamus Malone have won the Redeemer Pairs tournament in Dundalk beating M Hand and Jim fox in final. Armagh Golf Club's George Crothers and Robert Kidd were beat in the quarter finals.

Danny was also beaten in Cooley Singles final by Billy Taaffe of Redeemer while George and Robert have also qualified for Whitecross Pairs Finals Night.

Zone and League AGM's

The AGM's have taken place for both Armagh Zone and the Zone League. Office bearers for the 2010-11 season are as follows:

 

Armagh Zone

Convenor: Flo McNally

Chairman: Raymond Hunter

Vice Chairman: George Crothers

Treasurer: Cyril Leckey

Committee: Pauline Beattie, Hugh Trainor, Michael Catney, Chris Mulholland, + 1 other to be co-opted by the committee at a later date

 

Zone League

Chairperson: Daphne Marshall

Secretary & Treasurer: Dan Dempsey

Committee: May Cassells, Flo McNally, Michael Catney, Billy Pierson, Erroll Whitten, Alan Cassells

McCabe wins Mullabrack

The Redeemer triple of John Murnaghan, Paddy O'Hanlon and Gerry McCabe have won Mullabrack triples, beating the local trio skipped by Jal Richardson in the final. Results from finals night were as follows:

 

Quarter Finals

G McCabe beat Allan Johnston

Connor Mackin beat John Frizzell

Matthew Crawford beat Reggie Collens

Jal Richardson beat Tony Bell

 

Semis

Jal Richardson beat Connor Mackin

Gerry McCabe beat Matthew Crawford

 

Final

Gerry McCabe beat Jal Richardson

Mullabrack Triples Finals Night

The finals of Mullabrack Triples takes place tomorrow night (Friday 16th
April.)

Finalists are as follows:-

Monday 5th - A Johnston (Dromore NS)
Tuesday 6th - M Crawford (Mossley)
Wednesday 7th - J Frizzell (Annaghmore)
Thursday 8th - G McCabe (Redeemer)
Friday 9th - R Collen (Mullabrack)
Monday 12th - J Richardson (Clare)
Tuesday 13th - C Mackin (Cullyhanna)
Wednesday 14th - T Bell (St Marks)

The action starts at 7pm and there will be an open draw. Everyone Welcome.

Marty wins International Open

Congratulations to St. Anthony's Martin Trainor who along with Alan Paul
(Mid Ulster) and Kevin Conroy (Oriel) won the recent International Open
Triples event in England. The competition involved top players from
England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Belgium & Sweden with the Irish trio
beating England's Ste Tinsley, Keith Smith and Grant Soller in the final.

Ireland in the form of Colum McHugh, Liam McHugh, Keith McCullagh and
Damien McIlroy also claimed the fours title.

For a full report on the event see www.bowlsni.co.uk

League fixtures all complete

All fixtures in the Fane Valley league are now complete. St. Mark's
wrapped up the title last week, but the 2nd relegation spot was decided by
the very last game of the season when St. Patrick's Maralin travelled to
Drumgor and got 6 points. This secured Maralin's spot in Division 1 next
year and condemned Kilmore to relegation to Division 2 along with Queen
Street.

2009-10 Season:

Fane Valley Division 1
Winners: St. Mark's
Runners up: St. Anthony's
Relegated: Kilmore, Queen Street

Fane Valley Division 2
Winners: Portadown Golf Club
Runners up & also promoted: St. John's Moira

Ian Milne Churches League:
Winners: Mullabrack
Runners up: Cranagill

2 more Irish Titles for Pauline

St. Mark's Pauline Beattie increased her tally of Irish Ladies titles by
claiming both the Ladies Singles and Ladies Triples titles at the National
Finals in Richhill Leisure Centre. Accompanied by her Aunt Rachel and mum
May she beat the Western triple skipped by G. Stevenson 13-5. In the
singles she recovered from losing 4 in the first end to defeat F.
McDermott from North West 16-12. Full results:

Singles:
A. Paul (Mid Ulster) 15 P. Hanlon (Oriel) 5

Pairs:
C. Hill & A. Paul (Mid Ulster) 15 P. Boyle & PJ Gallagher (Donegal)6

Triples:
K. O'Neill, L Harrison, R. O'Neill (North West) 16 J. Devine, A. Daly, N.
Logue (North West)1

Fours:
M. Savage, P. Conroy, M. Savage, G. Conroy (Mid Tyrone) 8 A. Ingram, K.
McBride, S. McBride, I. McBride (West Down) 7

Ladies Singles:
F. McDermott (North West) 12 P. Beattie (Armagh)16

Ladies Pairs:
J. Ringland & A. Weir (East Antim) 19 A. Mulligan & C. McKenna (Monaghan)2

Ladies Triples:
R. Cassells, M. Cassells, P. Beattie (Armagh) 13 J. Bleakley, P Bell, G
Stevenson (Western) 5

Over 55 Pairs:
P. McSorley & T. Patton (Foyle) 18 T. Mulligan & T. Began (Monaghan) 12

Junior Singles:
S. Hand (Oriel) 20 P. Reynolds (Northern) 12

Locals win St. Saviours.

St. Mark's Cyril and Andrew Leckey have won this year's St Saviours Pairs
tournament beating D McAllister from Cookstown in the final. Results from
Finals Night:

Prelim
A Leckey beat T Wallace
R Stubbs beat D McStravock

Quarter Finals
A Leckey beat R Stubbs
D Jordan beat P Christie
T Johnston beat I Craig
D McAllister beat P Beattie

Semi Finals
A Leckey beat D Jordan
D McAllister beat T Johnston

Final
A Leckey beat D McAllister

St Marks win Fane Valley League

St Marks are the new Fane Valley League Champions, thanks to a 7 point win in their last game at home to Waringstown. Needing just 4½ points to win the title they took full points with a comfortable 50 - 14 win. Rink scores:- P Beattie 13 K McCoy 2 G Culbert 9 Keith McCoy 4 A Leckey 16 A Reed 4 C Leckey 12 N McCoy 4

Armagh represented in 2 National Finals

The finals of the National Championships will be held tomorrow (Sat 27
March) in Richhill Leisure Centre. Armagh are represented in 2 events with
Pauline Beattie aiming to add to her list of Ladies titles. She is in the
final of the Ladies Singles (3pm) against F. McDermott from North West,
and then teams up with mum May and aunt Rachel in the Ladies Triples Final
(1pm)against G.Stevenson's triple from Western.

The action starts at 1.00pm. Full programme:

Singles:
A. Paul (Mid Ulster) -v- P. Hanlon (Oriel)

Pairs:
C. Hill & A. Paul (Mid Ulster) -v- P. Boyle & PJ Gallagher (Donegal)

Triples:
K. O'Neill, L Harrison, R. O'Neill (North West) -v- J. Devine, A. Daly, N.
Logue (North West)

Fours:
M. Savage, P. Conroy, M. Savage, G. Conroy (Mid Tyrone) -v- A. Ingram, K.
McBride, S. McBride, I. McBride (West Down)

Ladies Singles:
F. McDermott (North West) -v- P. Beattie (Armagh)

Ladies Pairs:
J. Ringland & A. Weir (East Antim) -v- A. Mulligan & C. McKenna (Monaghan)

Ladies Triples:
R. Cassells, M. Cassells, P. Beattie (Armagh) -v- J. Bleakley, P Bell + G
Stevenson (Western)

Over 55 Pairs:
P. McSorley & T. Patton (Foyle) -v- T. Mulligan & T. Began (Monaghan)

Junior Singles:
S. Hand (Oriel) -v- P. Reynolds (Northern)

St. Saviour's win Zone Cup

St. Saviour's have won the Armagh Zone Cup after a hard fought 5 shot
victory over St. Anthony's. Rink scores to follow.

2010-11 Interzone Draws

Hot on the heels of the 2009-10 Interzone Finals, the draws for the
2010-11 competition has been made. Armagh men have been handed a tough
first round tie away to Oriel, while the ladies are at home to the newly
formed South and East Belfast Zone. Full draws as follows:

MEN
1st round
W Down v N Eastern
Lisburn v Western
Mid Antrim v North Belfast
Oriel v Armagh
Mid Ulster v N West
Larne v N Down
M Tyrone v E Antrim
Donegal v Monaghan

2nd round and bottom half of draw
Northern v Cork
S+E Belfast v S Down
S Tyrone v Meath
Foyle v Mid Down

LADIES
1st round
Western v W Down
M Antrim v M Down
M Tyrone v Cork
N Down v Oriel
Armagh v S+E Belfast
Northern v M Ulster

2nd round
S Tyrone v Lisburn
N Eastern v Donegal
N Belfast v E Antrim
Monaghan v Foyle
S Down v N West

No dates set as yet for either competition

DJ is World Champ!

Congratulations to St. Mark's player DJ Wilson, who along with his brother
Jonny became World Pairs Champion at the World Bowls event in Dumfries at
the weekend.

In the final, the Wilsons defeated the English pairing of Babs Morokutti
and Jon Pitcher, with Jonny drawing the shot with the last bowl of the
match to win the title.

Scores for all the events can be found on www.esmba.co.uk

Ebay

It's amazing what you findon Ebay:-

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-PORTADOWN-IRELAND-BOWLING-CLUB-BADGE-MILLER_W0QQitemZ350329785415QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Collectables_Badges_Patches_MJ?hash=item5191484c47

 

St. Mark's win Zone Shield

St. Mark's have won this year's Zone Shield after a comfortable victory
against Portadown Golf Club last night. The game was over as a contest at
half time with St. Mark's a massive 29 shots up. The Golf Club faired a
little better in the second half but it was just damage limitation. Rink
scores were as follows (St Mark's skips first):

Rink 1: Tony Bell 16 Geoffey Robinson 3
Rink 2: Jal Richardson 20 Tony Benson 4
Rink 3: Gary Culbert 7 Gerald Holloway 8
Rink 4: Pauline Beattie 10 Raymond Gilmore 5

Final Score: St. Mark's 53 Portadown GC 20

Gilford rink wins Jethro League

The St. John's Gilford rink skipped by Noel Conlon has won this years Jethro Rinks League. In the play-off match Noel's rink beat Elizabeth Smyth's foursome 13-9. Maurice Milligan's four over came Nicky Garvey's rink 19-12 in the 3rd place playoff.

 

Once again the tournament raised a substantial amount for charity with a cheque for £3,000 presented to Ward 4 South in Craigavon Area for the purchase of new monitors.

 

Well done to all involved.

Down to the wire

The race for the Fane Valley Division 1 title will finally be decided next
Friday evening in Carelton Street, Portadown when St Mark's play their
final game against Waringstown. Last night reigning champions St.
Anthony's beat title contenders St. Saviour's collecting 6 points in their
last game (league table will be updated over the weekend). This puts them
4 points ahead of St. Mark's so basically St. Mark's need to beat
Waringstown to win the league.

One certainty however is that Queen Street will be playing in Division 2
next year. The Lurgan club were beaten in Tullysaran last night which
finally sealed their fate. Either Kilmore or St. Partick's Maralin will
join them.

Portadown Golf Club have secured the Division 2 title. St. John's Moira
look favourites to join them in the top division next year, but given the
unpredictability of the results on division 2, nothing can be taken for
granted.

David wins Friendship Singles

Drumgor's David Beattie claimed this season's friendship singles title
after a great night's bowling in Milltown Parish Hall last night. He beat Alan Cassells from Queen
Street (i.e. me!!!) in what was a high scoring final. With 3 ends left
David was 10-9 down but a 4 and a single over the next 2 ends gave him the
title.

Results (Q/F onwards):

Quarter Finals

Barbara Wilson (Cladymore) beat Laurence McCarten (Armagh Pres The Mall)
Alan Cassells (Queen Street) beat Sean Trainor (St. Anthony's)
Andrew Leckey (St. Mark's) beat Noel Wilson (Waringstown)
David Beattie (Drumgor) beat Kenny Nelson (Moira Pres)

Semi Finals

Alan Cassells beat Barbara Wilson
David Beattie beat Andrew Leckey

Final

David Beattie beat Alan Cassells

David played excellent bowls all evening and was a worthy winner. For me
it was great getting to a final again. It brought back memories!!

Many thanks to the Milltown club for the use of their facilties and the
excellent supper.

Sad news

I'm sad to report that Ivan Marshall, the Fane Valley League Chairman, passed away today (Sunday 7 March). Ivan was a well respected member of the zone and played for Armagh Golf Club of which he was secretary. He previously served on the Zone Committee and represented Armagh at Interzone level. Our thoughts are with Ivan's wife Daphne and the family circle at this sad time.

Fane Valley League set for exciting finale

The Fane Valley division 1 title race was blew wide open when reigning champions St. Anthony's defeated league leaders St. Mark's in tonight's top of the table clash. They won by 12 shots picking up a vital 6½ points which sees them draw level on points with St Mark's, but with a slightly inferior shot difference. Rink scores from the game were as follows (St. Anthony's skips first):

 

Paul Moore 9 Pauline Beattie 9

Martin Trainor 10 Tony Bell 8

Danny McDonald 10 Gary Culbert 9

Sean Conroy Snr 14 Andrew Leckey 5

 

St. Anthony's 43 (6½) St. Marks 31 (½)

 

The other big game scheduled for tonight, St. Saviour's v Armagh GC, was not played.

Last end heartache for Armagh

It was an advert for the game of short mat bowls and with 2 bowls of the 2010 Mens Interzone final left to play Armagh and Mid Ulster were level. With 3 shots against Armagh skip Joe Beattie struck the head, but the jack went to a Mid Ulster bowl, and as a result Armagh failed to retain their title by the narrowest possible margin.

 

Armagh had been behind for most of the game. They were 5 down at half time and with 3 ends left in the second half were 10 down. All looked lost at that stage but a great effort over those last 3 ends set up the grandstand finish. Sadly it wasn' t to be but the locals played their part in the best final for some time.

 

Rink scores were as follows:

A Roberts 8 v M Wilson 8
D McDonald 7 v D McStravock 8
A Leckey 5 v A Paul 9

HALF TIME - Armagh 20 Mid Ulster 25

M Trainor 10 v C McHugh 7
J Beattie 14 v D McElroy 7
A Hughes 4 v S Quinn 10

 

FINAL SCORE - Armagh 48 Mid Ulster 49

 

Congratulations to Mid Ulster on their 9th Interzone title.

Local winners at St. Anthony's

St Anthony's tournament due to a close on Friday 26 February with local players claiming both the singles and pairs titles. In the singles final, Waringstown's Ian Perry had a narrow 7-6 over St. Anthony's Sean Conroy snr. However the home club did have success in the pairs with Martin Trainor teaming up with Armagh Golf Club's Derek Wright to score a 9-5 victory Calum Comiskey and Oliver Donaldson from Cullyhanna in the final.

Mens Interzone Final

St. Anne's Dungannon is the place to be on Saturday (27 Feb) as Armagh men
try to retain their Interzone title against Mid Ulster. Armagh are bidding
to be only the 4th team in the competition's 40 year history to retain the
title - Northern, Lisburn and Saturday's opponents Mid Ulster being the
other 3.

Armagh have named an unchanged side in their bid for 5th Interzone title,
while Mid Ulster include 2 St. Saviour's players in their line-up.

All's set for a cracking game. The action starts at 2.00pm.

More tournament success for local pairs

Pairs from Armagh Zone have won 2 more tournaments recently. St. Saviour's Jack Moffett and Andrew Hughes won Ballygowan pairs while Cyril Leckey (St. Mark's) and Robert Kidd (Armagh GC) teamed up to win the Madden tournament in south Armagh.

St Anthony's Tournament in full swing

The pairs sections of St. Anthony's tournament have been completed. The following are through to the finals night on Friday 26 February:

Derek Wright & Martin Trainor, St Anthony's

Gareth & Stephen McMahon, Carrickmacross

Madge & James McKenny, Dromara

Calum Comiskey & Oliver Donaldson, Cullyhanna

John O'Brien & Kieran Trainor, St Anthony's

Ann & Eddie Patterson Killiany, Boardmills

A N Other & Sean McCrilly St Marys Killyman

The singles sections are now also complete. Through to the finals are:

Stephen McMahon, Carrickmacross
Stephen Mulholland, St Joesphs Lisburn
Fra Dillion, Redeemer
Ian Perry, Waringstown
Derek Shanks, Dromore NS
Sean Trainor, St Anthony's
Kevin McConville, St Anthony's
Dairmuid McMahon, Carrickmacross
John O'Brien, St. Anthony's
Francie Tennyson, St. Malachy's
Paul Moore, St. Anthony's
Sean Conroy Snr, St. Anthony's

All's set for a great finals night on Friday.

All to play for in Fane Valley Leagues

With over 2 thirds of the season gone it's all to play for in both divisions of the Fane Valley League. In Division 1 reigning champions St. Anthony's have a battle on their hands to retain their title. The champions are currently top of the table but St. Mark's are only 1½ points behind with a game in hand. St Saviour's are a further 5½ points behind, but all could change on Thursday evening when they host St. Mark's. St Anthony's have also play both these teams before the end of the season, so there may be a few twists and turns yet.

 

At the bottom, Queen Street's precarious existence in Division 1 looks as if it's coming to an end. The Lurgan club have only collected 6 points in their last 8 games and require at least 2 victories in their last 5 games if they are to stand any chance of staying up. The second relegation spot looks to be between Kilmore and St Pat's Maralin. Both have the same number of points but Kilmore have 3 games in hand which could be enough to see them stay up.

 

Portadown Golf Club seem to be heading back to Division 1 after a couple of years absence. The lead Division 2 by 10 points. However any one of about 6 or 7 clubs could grab the second promotion spot. Indeed, Mullavilly are currently in 8th spot, but if they win their game in hand on the teams above they could go joint 2nd with St. Malachy's. So its all to play for!

 

  

Andrew wins Tullysaran Singles

St. Saviour's Andrew Hughes has won Tullysaran Singles, beating Michael Hand from Corduff in the final.
 

Section Winners were as follows: 

 

Brendan Magennis  Clontibret.

Frank McGuirk  Ardaghey.

George Berry  Drum.

Andrew Duncan  Mossley.

Ian Irwin  A.G.C.  

Evelyn Robb  Loughbrickland.

Dessie Hamilton  Dromore N.S.

Robert Aspinall.  Cookstown Parochial.

Rachel Brennan Corduff.

Alan Brown  Wellington.

Margaret McGrath. Washingbay. 

Andrew Richie  Aghabog.

Tommy Lithgo  Michelin.

Eanus  Hamilton St. Josephs Donaghmore.

 

Beaten Quarter Finalists.

 

Kevin Conroy  Redeemer.

Matt  McClean  Errigal.

Calum  Comiskey.  St. Pats. Cullyhanna.

Gerard Conroy.  Beragh.

 

Beaten Semi  Finalists.

 

George Crothers  A.G.C.

Ann Mc Kiver Brocagh.

 

Runner Up.

 

Michael Hand  Corduff.

 

Winner.

 

Andrew Hughes.  St. Saviours.

Normal service resumed (hopefully!)

The technical issues below have hopefully been resolved. Thanks for your patience!

Technical Difficulties

Due to technical difficulties the main website will not be updated for a few days, however the news page will be updated as normal.

Armagh Men through to Interzone Final

Armagh are through to the final of the Mens Interzone with a hard fought victory over West Down Zone.  Armagh got off to a good start in the 1st half with 2 rinks winning by 3 shots and the other rink finishing all square giving them a 6 shot lead at the break.  This lead was increased in the 2nd half by a further 3 shots giving Armagh a 9 shot win.  It was a very good all round team performance from Armagh who now will face Mid Ulster in the final.  Rink scores as follows:-   G Crothers, N Uprichard, S Conroy Snr, D Mcdonald     7 - 7    D Hamilton   C Deering, C Leckey, P Moore, A Leckey    11 - 8     A Johnson   J Richardson, K Trainor, G Culbert, A Roberts     8 - 5     L Murray     Half Time score  Armagh 26 - 20 West Down     J Moffett, R Hunter, I Perry, A Hughes     11 - 6     DJ Wilson   I Irwin, P Whittle, D Wright, M Trainor     8 - 11     R Martin   D Beattie, L McCartan, S Conroy Jnr, J Beattie     7 - 6     J Wilson     Final Score  Armagh 52 - 43 West Down

St Marks Finals Night Results

Quarter Finals

M Crawford, A Leckey (St Marks) beat A Hughes,T Bell (St Marks)

 

T Gray, J Gray (Tullylish) beat S McCall, L McCartan (Armagh GC)

 

B Conlon, N Conlon (St John's Gilford) beat P Moore, S Conroy Jnr (St Anthonys)

 

M Whitla, G McMullan (St Saviours) beat I Eldon, P Beattie (St Marks)

 

 

Semi Finals

 

A Leckey beat J Gray

 

G McMullan beat N Conlon

 

Final

A Leckey beat G McMullan

Ladies bow out of Interzone

Armagh ladies will not retain their Interzone title after losing by 15 to South Tyrone in todays semi final in Dungannon. All 6 Armagh rinks lost albeit by narrow margins. Scores were as follows (South Tyrone skips first):

 

I. Eldon 8 E. Smith 7
K. Daly 13 R. Cassells 9
L. McOscar 9 M. Cassells 8

Half time: South Tyrone 30 Armagh 24

 

A. McKiver 9 C. McMillen 7
C. Campbell 11 F. McNally 7
M. McGrath 11 P. Beattie 8

 

Final Score: South Tyrone 61 Armagh 46

 

 

Tullysaran Singles

The popular Tullysaran singles tournament has just commenced. Anyone
wishing to enter should contact Hugh Trainor.

St. Mark's Qualifiers

The following have are through to St. Mark's pairs finals on Sat 16 January.

Mon 11 Jan: M. Whitla / G. McMullan (St. Saviours)
Tue 12 Jan: 1. T & J Gray (Tullylish) 2. B & N Conlon (St John's Gilford)
Wed 13 Jan: 1. P.Moore / S. Conroy Jnr (St. Anthony's) 2. S. McCall / L. McCarten (Armagh GC)
Thu 14 Jan: I. Eldon / P. Beattie (St. Mark's)
Fri 15 Jan:

St. Anthony's duo lift pairs title

St. Anthony's Sean Conroy (snr) and Sean Trainor have won Kilkerly Pairs,
beating Paul Duff & his father in the first game, Kevin Conroy & Billy
Taffe in the second and Philip & Conor Mackin in the Final.

Armagh Men through to Interzone Semi Finals

Armagh Men reached the semi finals of the Interzone competition by beating North Belfast by 13 shots in a hard fought game.  Rink scores as follows:-   C Deering, C Leckey, P Moore, A Leckey won 17-3   P Garvey, N Uprichard, S Conroy Snr, D McDonald lost 4-8   J Richardson, K Trainor, G Culbert, A Roberts won 9-6     Half Time score  North Belfast 17 - 30 Armagh     I Irwin, P Whittle, D Wright, M Trainor lost 9-12   D Beattie, L McCartan, S Conroy Jnr, J Beattie won 10-6   J Moffett, R Hunter, I Perry, A Hughes lost 10-11     Final Score  North Belfast 46 - 59  Armagh     Armagh will now face West Down in the Semi Finals

Ladies Team for Semi Final against South Tyrone

Ladies Zone Team   Armagh v South Tyrone in St Anne's Dungannon on Saturday 16th January     B McGleenon    (St Pat's Armagh) L Strain              (Markethill Pres) S White              (St John's Moira) P Beattie           (St Marks)     E Hunter             (Markethill Pres) S Garvey            (Drumgor) E McDonald      (St Anthonys) C McMillen         (Drumgor)     A Crozier           (Markethill Pres) G Garvey           (Tullysaran) J Hawthorne      (Redrock Pres) F McNally          (St Matthews)     L Milligan          (Mullavilly) S Whittle           (St Saviours) H Agnew           (St Matthews) R Cassells        (St Marks)     A  Crozier          (Redrock Pres) E Lavery            (St Saviours) A Patton            (Redrock Pres) E Smyth             (Markethill Pres)     M Wright            (St Pat's Magheralin) M Hobson          (St Saviours) D Agnew            (St Saviours) M Cassells        (St Marks)     Subs:-    J Thompson (St Saviours),  B Wilson (Cladymore)

Armagh Ladies Through to Interzone Semi Finals

Armagh Ladies had an impressive 28 shot victory today over Western at St Matthews Richhill.  The Armagh Ladies started off well and where able to mount a 9 shot lead at the break and increased this advantage in the second half by adding a further 19 shots.  Rink scores as follows:-   R Cassells    lost     6-14   M Cassells    won    14-7   E Smyth        won      12-2   Half Time Score Armagh 32 - 23  Western     Second Half   F McNally     won    11-5   C McMillen   won    7-6   P Beattie     won    13-1   Final Score Armagh 63 - 35  Western   Armagh Ladies will now travel to South Tyrone in the semi final stage on Saturday 16th Jan.

National Winners

The National finals where played on Wed 30th Dec 2009 in St Saviours.  The winners are as follows:-   Singles        C Trainor (St Anthonys),  S Conroy Snr (St Anthonys), N Uprichard (St Matthews)   Pairs            A Hughes, I Perry (Cranagill)  &  E McDonald, D McDonald (St Anthonys)   Triples          P Whittle, I Perry, A Hughes (Cranagill)   Rinks            C Leckey, G Culbert, A Leckey, T Bell (St Marks)   Over 55's      M Hobson, E Whitten (St Saviours)   Jnr Singles    A McCann (Milltown)   Ladies Singles    P Beattie (St Marks)   Ladies Pairs        S Garvey, C McMillen (Drumgor)   Ladies Triples    R Cassells, M Cassells, P Beattie (St Marks)

Zone Championships Winners

The Armagh Zone Championships where played on Monday 28th Dec 2009 in Milltown Parish Hall.  Winners are as follows:-   Singles        J Gray (St Marks)   Pairs           C & A Leckey (St Marks)   Rinks           A Croizer, A Patton, J Hawthorne, K McCall (Redrock)   Mixed Pairs        E Lavery & E Witten (St Saviours)   Junior Pairs        A & D McCann (Milltown)