Wolly Toms Cup - Day 3

Day 3, Monday 1 January 2007

Score 1 (Tullysaran) Maurice Rooney & Micheal O'Neill v Mickey Quigley & Sé Mullan (Tieve Tara)

Monday morning dawned alot calmer then the previous day and throwers Rooney and Quigley had the honour of bowling the first competitive bowls of the year for the Tullysaran and Tieve Tara clubs respectively. Alot was at stake in the first score as Tullysaran only needed one more win to retain the Wolly Toms cup for another year and indeed for Rooney and young Micheal O'Neill it proved to be extremly difficult to stay in touch of the stronger pairing of Quigley and Mullan. But they fought gamely onwards and with about a quarter of the score remaining, they got their rewards as O'Neill bowled accurately to allow the Tullysaran men to take the lead for the first time in the score. Quigley was not to be out done however and with his last throw, he expertly spun the bowl over the line and round the corner out of site leaving Rooney no chance with his throw. The win for Tieve Tara brought them to within 1 win of the visitors and 2 of the cup with the scores reading Tullysaran 4 - 3 Tieve Tara.

Score 2 (Tullysaran) Philip Corrigan & Saran Daly v Adrian O'Reilly & Rory O'Reilly (Tieve Tara)

With Tieve Tara needing to win the 2 remaining scores, they got of to just the start they needed by going almost a bowl up early and only the galant efforts of Saran Daly keeping the Tullysaran men in touch and Corrigan finding out the honeymoon period was well and truly over. With 14 year old Saran the most impressive bowler on show in this the second score, he showed what a great talent he is for the furure with a mighty shot from the concrete to the cattle grids. This caused great shakes throughout the crowd and in turn spurred Corrigan into life and increased the now mounting pressure on the O'Reilly brothers. And when Corrigan bowled a great shot round the well corner and half way along the straight, the O'Reillys lost all fight and the Tullysaran men roared home to win by a shot and win the Cup for the second year running.

Score 3 (Tullysaran) Martin Rooney v Paul Mackle (Tieve Tara)

With the scores now at 5-3 in favour of Tullysaran and little else to fight for but pride, the pressure was some what lifted from Martin Rooneys shoulders and indeed this was evident from his start where he lacked concentration and accuracy. To compound his bad start, his opponent, Paul Mackle, lacked nither and flew out of the blocks and into a great lead. However, after a miss from Mackle at the well corner, the door was opened again for Rooney who took full advantage and bowled 4 massive throws from just round the well corner to the Coal Sheds leaving Mackle in his wake, shell shocked and 2 shots adrift. With Rooney not relenting, Mackle conceeded the half way down the hill to leave the men from Tullysaran with another win and the overal score at Tullysaran 6 - 3 Tieve Tara.


It was a very impressive display of bowling by the visitors against a very strong Tieve Tara team over one of the finest bowling courses in Armagh, and perhaps in Ireland. Hearty congratulations were deserved by all Tullysaran throwers and also to their sproting opponents, and as usual, a great weekends bowling, friendship and craic was had by all. The Wolly Toms cup was presented to young Saran Daly, the hero of the day and by far the thrower of the competition, by Paul Donnelly, the owner of Wolly Toms Lounge and proud sponsor of the Wolly Toms cup at a very lively presentation on New Years night in Wolly Toms Lounge. Tullysaran would like to thank Wolly Toms for their very kind and generous sponsorship and hope it will continue for many years to come.

Wolly Toms Cup - Day 2

Day 2, Sunday December 31 2006

Score 1 (Tullysaran) Danny Trainor & Shane O'Neill v Paddy O'Neill & Oliver O'Neill (Tieve Tara)

Danny Trainor and the young Shane O'Neill were up against the very experienced O'Neill brothers in the first score on New Years Eve morning where Tullysaran were hoping to overturn the one score deficit from yesterday. The early exchanges of the score went to the Tullysaran pair and at Starrs they had the borthers in alot of trouble. However, the 'saran men relaxed a little too much and allowed the Tieve Tara men back into the score and it was level pegging at the Coal Sheds. With only 2 shots left, young Shane O'Neill put the visitors within sight of the line and with Paddy O'Neills bowl crossing to the lane well short of the line, Trainor held his nerve and scored the line to get the Tullysaran men off to a winning start for the day and also levelling up the competition at 2 scores each.

Score 2 (Tullysaran) Connor O'Neill & Paddy O'Neill v Mark McParland & Declan Toal (Tieve Tara)

The uncle and nephew combination of Paddy and Connor O'Neill led the line for Tullysaran back in the road in the second score of the day and raced into an early lead aided by some erratic bowling from the home pairing of McParland and Toal. The lead reached a massive 2 bowls at one stage and the O'Neills looked to be cruising, but in the atrocious weather conditions mistakes were inevitable and 2 misplayed shots at the well corner reduced the lead by a shot and further mistakes followed, but the Tullysaran men were saved by the line and held on to win by the narrowest of margins. The score now read Tullysaran 3 - 2 Tieve Tara.

Score 3 (Tullysaran) Connor McGuigan v Brian O'Reilly (Tieve Tara)

The third score of the day saw probably the most eagerly awaited socre of the weekend, with senior thrower McGuigan coming up against intermediate thrower, Brian O'Reilly. And it was the more junior thrower, O'Reilly who was fasted out of the blocks going nearly a bowl up around Gus's. McGuigan however was not to be out done and had the score levelled by the well corner. And now with the bit between his teeth, the Tullysaran man forged ahead strongly and found himself 2 shots to the good. With the weather conditions now extreamly windy, the standard of the throwing slipped somewhat but McGuigan had done enough to win the score and in turn help the Tullysaran men to a whitewash for the day and hold a 4 - 2 lead going into the third and final days bowling and needing only 1 more score to clinch cup for the second year running.

Wolly Toms Cup - Day 1

Over the three days from December 30 2006 until Janurary 1 2007, the bowling clubs of Tullysaran and Tieve Tara competed in the annual Wolly Toms Cup over the Tieve Tara Course. A total of 9 scores took place over the 3 days with some exceptional displays of bowling from both sides ensuring that competition has lived up to its reputation of being the must see christmas/new year tournament. Despite the cold, rain and the gales, good crowds braved the elements on all 3 days to watch the spectacle.

Day 1, Saturday 30 December 2006
Score 1 (Tullysaran) Malachy O'Neill & Mickey McVeigh v Paul McCann & Paul Mullan (Tieve Tara)

An out of sorts start by the Tullysaran men handed an early advantage to McCann and Mullan who grasped the opportunity with both hands and raced clear into a commanding lead. With such a big lead, the Tieve Tara men were able to relax and bowl well within themselves and, despite the the efforts of the visitors, they ran out easy winners.

Score 2 (Tullysaran) Anthony Rooney & Stephen O'Neill v Gerard McKee & Seamus O'Neill (Tieve Tara)

In the second score of the day, back in the road, Tullysaran managed to hit back from the early loss of the first score to record their first win in this years competition. An impressive display of bowling from the Rooney/O'Neill partnership ensured the Tullysaran men never looked anything other that easy winners, levelling the competition at one score a piece.

Score 3 (Tullysaran) Frank Donnelly v Mickey Mallon (Tieve Tara)

In the final score of the first day, Frank Donnelly was pitted against Mickey Mallon, and it was the Tieve Tara man who started flawlessly leaving "Big Frank" in his wake and struggling. A few missed played shots by Mallon towards the home straight ensured that Donnallys efforts were not in vain as the score drifted towards a nail bitting, last shot finish. With the Tullysaran man throwing first, he bowled well to below Doyles lane leaving Mallon with not much to beat, but Mallon let his bowl drift to the wrong side of the road and into the stones behind the mark, but much to his and his supporters relief, the bowl reappeared on the road and had enough steam left to pass the mark, winning the score and leaving the Tieve Tara men winning 2 - 1 after the frist days bowling.