Martin Coppinger claims €57,000 jackpot with Castletownbere victory
Martin Coppinger won the Joe O’Sullivan Cup at Castletownbere and collected €57,200 when he beat Ulster champion Thomas Mackle by over a bowl on Sunday.
Mackle got the better of two big opening shots by 40m. Coppinger shaved the right edge with his second, Mackle’s reply went right and missed it by 40m. Mackle only made the guesthouse with his third. Coppinger’s reply brushed kindly and kept him in a 40m lead. Mackle played his next bowl neatly beside the kerb, but Coppinger had too much pace and beat it by 80m.
Mackle’s fifth up the rise didn’t settle well. Coppinger’s bowl went right, but a hop brought it back on course and kept him ahead by 75m. Mackle’s next beat that tip by just 40m. Coppinger replied with a lightening fast bowl, but it went right, making the garage and pushing his odds to 120m.
Mackle beat that by just 50m with his seventh.
Coppinger followed with another rocket. Mackle replied with a well played bowl, but it drifted right and missed the tip by five metres to leave him a full bowl behind. He rallied with a super ninth, which Coppinger missed by 40m in eight.
Coppinger lofted his next well past the bend. Mackle was too tight left and missed it well to leave well over a bowl between them. Mackle fought back with a good 11th bowl over the rise facing down to the line.
Coppinger played another super shot to keep his lead well over a bowl and bring the curtain down on Mackle’s challenge.
In the semi-finals, Coppinger beat James O’Donovan by two bowls and Mackle reversed his All-Ireland defeat to David Murphy in the last shot.
Against O’Donovan, Coppinger was almost a bowl clear after three and had well over a bowl after four. He reached the garage in six where he had over two bowls of odds.
His form dipped in the next two and O’Donovan closed the gap to a bowl. He clicked back into battle mode in the next two and pushed his lead to out to just under two again.
Mackle put down a marker for David Murphy when he beat his massive opening shot by 60m. Murphy levelled with a great second.
They both made Sea Breeze in three, with Mackle just edging the tips. Murphy won his first lead a brilliant fourth to Realt na Mara.
They both made the tyre centre in five with Murphy still just edging it.
Mackle lost ground when his sixth hit a fence and Murphy extended his odds to 60m. Mackle closed the gap to just 15m with a big shot to the garage. He followed with another big one to regain the lead when Murphy’s reply went right he missed it by 30m.
Murphy came back with a great ninth towards the bend, but Mackle beat it 40m.
The score took a decisive swing when Murphy was too wide with his next. Mackle punished him with a scintillating bowl shaving the left which pushed his lead to almost a bowl. He tightened his grip with two more big bowls to just short of the line.
In other notable wins there Aidan Murphy beat Gary Daly, Jimmy O’Driscoll beat David Hubbard and in a double Christy Mullins and Jerry Gibbons beat Paul Buckley and Frank Kiely, all by a bowl.
David O’Mahony finished strongly in the Ballydehob final to beat Denis O’Driscoll by close to a bowl. He won the first three shots, but O’Driscoll got a great fourth past the Eagles, which led to a period of dominance. He had almost a bowl after eight to the cottage.
He gave O’Mahony a sniff by missing sight at the bottom of the hill, but he still carried a big lead to the Novice D line. O’Mahony stormed home regaining the lead at Barry’s boreen and closing it out with three big shots.
Paul Buckley advanced to the Jim O’Driscoll Cup semi-final against James Cooney at Ballincurrig. Cooney got the better of three great opening shots. Buckley led with a big fourth past the creamery. He increased his odds past the no-play line, but Cooney was still in the hunt to the long straight.
Buckley played a massive eighth bowl over the entire long straight to clear sight at Leahy’s. This put him close to two bowls clear. Cooney brought it under a bowl after 14, but a sensational 15th to the last bend sealed it for Buckley.
Richard Murphy beat Damien Healy in the Novice II final at Timoleague to secure his place in the Munster team for the last All-Ireland series in Boston. Veronica O’Mahony beat Munster finalist Meghan Collins by two bowls in the Gretta Cormican Cup at the Bog Road to secure the last semi-final slot in Queen of the Roads. She joins Kelly Mallon, Carmel Ryan, Clare O’Sullivan, Silke Tulk and Anke Klöpper.
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