Mallon truly in class of her own

On a weekend when the Irish women’s hockey team were rightly in the limelight, the astonishing achievements of another Irish sportswoman, Kelly Mallon, received less attention, writes Seamus Ó Tuama

That Mallon has now won eight All-Ireland senior finals, having contested 10 in total, and won nine in a row, is a signal achievement in women’s sport, probably on a par with the great Cork ladies footballers.

To put her accomplishments in context, her bowling in the All-Ireland final was ahead of that of the contestants in the intermediate men’s final. That remember was a score between a former senior All-Ireland champion and one that was senior in Munster till this season and will be senior again in 2019.

How often does a player achieve such consistent dominance over her peers, and outperform top men in her sport?

This is also individual sport: she has to train on her own, she competes with no team-mates for support.

On Sunday, she was up against Carmel Ryan, a former All-Ireland senior champion who has won eight Munster senior titles, European gold and Queen of the Roads. Mallon has won her All-Irelands from all kinds of places, from the front through sheer dent of excellence like this year or rescuing victory from what appears defeat like against Geraldine Daly in 2016. That day on her home Madden road, she was a bowl down for the last shot. She produced a timeless last bowl to deny Daly, who had given the performance of her life.

John O’Rourke’s Junior A win is an important milestone for him. This is a most difficult championship to win. In Munster you have to win your own region, then come out ahead against the eight regional winners. After that you have face an Ulster champion.

O’Rourke has so much class. He has the short run and fluid delivery that was the hallmark of many of the great historic bowlers. He now moves up to intermediate and has the ability to make a mark at that level too. He looks like a bowler whose career is ready to deliver on all the promise he has possessed since his underage days.

New All-Ireland U18 champion, Colm McLoughlin, is the find of 2018. At the start of the year he was not on anyone’s list of potential winners. In the Munster final he beat last year’s U16 champion Jordan O’Sullivan, having to do so in the last shot, which is a massive challenge for someone in his first major final.

On Saturday, he beat a big last shot from Ronan Toal to win the All-Ireland final. He won the first three shots to Mary Ann’s. Toal played a brilliant fourth to Kilpatrick’s cross to win his first lead by 15m. Toal extended his lead to 80m with a great bowl down the hill past the farm. McLoughlin only beat that by 70m with his next.

McLoughlin closed the gap to just 40m with his eighth and led with his ninth. Toal misplayed his next and McLoughlin extended his lead to 100m. Toal responded with a big shot, which McLoughlin missed by three metres, with two to go. McLoughlin was too tight left with his second last, but it came back onto the road. Toal played his bowl right and missed that by 20m. He closed with a big shot though, but McLoughlin beat it.

Jamie Kelleher is another player with a bright future. He too beat a fancied All-Ireland winner, Darragh Dempsey, in the Munster final. On Saturday he beat Niall Stevenson in the Boys U14 All-Ireland.

Stevenson had almost a bowl after a super opener and raised it with his second. Kelleher got a great seventh to the lag and led up the hill. He had close to a bowl after 10 to sight at the Orange Hall.

Stevenson knocked the bowl with a brilliant shot down the hill to Kilpatrick’s Cross. Kelleher hit back with two good bowls to sight at Mary Ann’s to go almost two clear. He raised the second bowl in the last shot. Stevenson, still eligible for U12, can look forward to many more big days.

Geraldine Kiernan beat Hannah Sexton in the last shot of the Girls U18 final. For Sexton this was a heartbreaking s second defeat on the last shot of an All-Ireland final in 2018. She is resilient enough though to bounce back in 2019.

Kiernan won the opening shot by 80m and was almost a bowl clear after three. Sexton then beat another big throw from Kiernan to keep the lead under a bowl. Kiernan raised the bowl with her shot up the hill. Sexton hit back with two big bowls to the Orange Hall and cut the lead to a metre.

Kiernan gained a 40m lead to Mary Ann’s corner. Sexton’s second last was stopped by a kerb and Kiernan pushed her lead to 70m. Sexton closed with a good bowl, but Kiernan had too much in hand.