Kildare West Wicklow Indoor Bowls

The Rathcoffey bowling Tournament came to its conclusion on Sunday August 31 after a hectic week of bowling.
There was a large attendance present throughout the week. With such a huge entry, a massive number of games had to be fitted into the four days.
The host club can be proud of their work commitment and organisational skills, which assured the competition ran so smoothly and on time.
A special thanks to the Rathcoffey club members that looked after the refreshments after each round of matches. Those people mostly go unnoticed, working tirelessly in the background and do an important and wonderful job to make the occasion a success.
And of course, thanks to all the clubs that entered, making the event worth-
while.

Cup semi-finals:
Baltinglass/Kiltegan 26 Balyna(1) 3
Balyna never played to their true potential in this match, after been so impressive up to this. An easy victory for the West Wicklow club.

Caragh(2) 18 Balyna(2) 12
Although it might seem looking at the score as if Caragh had an easy victory, this was not the case. Although Caragh were in control for most of the match it was on the last few ends they pulled away to reach the final.

Shield semi-finals:
Rathangan (2) 14 Rathmore 13
This was an absolute cracker of a game from start to finish. Rathmore had easily accounted for all opposition up to this point and would have been favourites to win this one. But Rathangan failed to read the script and produced one of their best performances of the tournament.
The teams were level on four occasions throughout the match and level again at the finish. A tie breaker was needed to decide the winner and Rathangan just pipped their opponents by the minimum.

Balyna (3) 17 Donard/Glen 8.
This second semi-final was a hard-fought match between those two sides. Balyna were always in command throughout the game, but it was only at the latter stages that they pulled away to secure victory.

Cup Final:
Baltinglass/Kiltegan 15 Caragh(2) 14.
This tie was expected to be a rip-roaring contest between two of the top clubs in the bowling scene, and it certainly lived up to it billing. With about two thirds of the game played, the West Wicklow team had moved seven shots ahead and seem like it was a comfortable lead and possibly a winning position. But such was not the case. One can never write off a team like Caragh and they gradually closed the gap, leaving their opponents hanging on by a thread to win by one shot.

Shield Final:
Balyna(3) 15 Rathangan 12
Balyna were in front from the start and at one stage were leading by seven and looked like the would coast to an easy victory.
Rathangan battled back to reduce the score to two with one end to play. But Balyna scored another shot in the last end to secure a deserved victory in a very good game of bowls.

Sadly, I must finish with the passing a few weeks ago of one of Rathcoffey’s stalwarts, Eamonn Cunningham who was a founding member of Rathcoffey bowling club and was Chairperson for many years, also a good bowling player. Always on hand to help in every and any capacity no matter what that involved. A true and unassuming gentle-
man, he will be sadly missed by his bowling colleagues and friends. Our condolences to his wife Carmel and family.
—Anthony Smullen