Road bowling: Wayne Parkes adds Jim Sexton Cup to his growing trophy haul

Wayne Parkes added another title to his growing list of honours when he lifted the Jim Sexton Cup as winner of the South-West 2021 Junior A final at Timoleague on Saturday

Wayne Parkes added another title to his growing list of honours when he lifted the Jim Sexton Cup as winner of the South-West 2021 Junior A final at Timoleague on Saturday.

This is his fourth championship win in this calendar year. Already he has won the postponed 2020 All-Ireland U18 final in Armagh in August, having won both the Munster 2020 U18 and Junior B finals earlier in the year. Later this month he has a chance to add the All-Ireland Junior B title to his haul. At Junior A level this is the end of the road as there are no provincial or All-Ireland championships for 2021.

On Saturday, he closed with three massive bowls against Alex O’Donovan to turn deadlock into a comprehensive win. The opening exchanges were close, he had just 20m odds after edging each of the first three throws. O’Donovan played a brilliant fourth, which Parkes missed by 10 metres. Parkes immediately regained the lead when his fifth bowl got a great rub off the lodge.

O’Donovan was on his sixth and Parkes beat it by 35m. Both got average shots from there, with O’Donovan closing the gap. Parkes got the better on the next to push his lead to 50m. O’Donovan levelled with a good bowl up the hill to Barryshall and regained the lead with his next one.

Just as things looked poised for a close finish, Parkes turned the contest on its head. He played a massive bowl past Barryshall to the next bend. O’Donovan missed that in two to fall a bowl behind. Parkes followed with two more brilliant bowls past the line to almost two bowls of odds.

That win will boost his confidence ahead of the All-Ireland Junior B final in Baile Bhuirne on Saturday, October 23. In that final he faces Ulster champion Gene McVeigh from Tyrone, who was excellent recently in Ballincurrig and again over the Baile Bhuirne All-Ireland course last Sunday against Vincent Kiely.

This was a five-star performance. He scorched to Falla Seánaí in three super shots. Followed with a massive fourth bowl to Ó Scanaill’s, matching Arthur McDonagh’s bowling in the Munster Senior final. This put him a bowl clear. Kiely matched him shot-for-shot, but could not reel him in. He beat the line in 14, which will give Wayne Parkes a sense of the challenge facing him in the All-Ireland.

The All-Ireland series starts with the Boys U12 final between Ben Cooney and Eoin McVeigh on Friday, October 22. McVeigh had a run over the road against Cathal Creedon on Sunday. Creedon, given his age advantage, not surprisingly won that contest.

The All-Ireland senior final between Arthur McDonagh and Thomas Mackle will be the feature of Sunday, October 24. McDonagh is hoping for his first title after a very impressive Munster final win over James O’Donovan last month.

The sensational Sexton sisters will be aiming for two All-Ireland titles. On the Saturday Hannah will bid to win her second All-Ireland final of the year against Ulster’s Sinéad Kiernan. Ellen, contests the U16 final against Caoimhe Rafferty. Rafferty looked impressive in defeat to Hannah Sexton in the U18 All-Ireland in August. The other titles to be decided on the weekend are the boys U16 between Tommy O’Sullivan and Philip Conlon and the men’s veteran (over-50) between Tony Carey and Joe Shortt.

Competition for places on the senior men’s team for the European championships went up a few notches on Sunday at Castletownkenneigh. James O’Donovan held off a cluster of players vying for top spot in the Dutch Moors trials. Martin Coppinger performed very strongly, also in the mix were 2012 gold medallist Aidan Murphy, Bryan Wilmot, Éamon Bowen and Tim Young. John O’Rourke also put his hand up with a huge performance in the German Lofting.

Darragh Dempsey, Conor Lucey, Tommy O’Sullivan and Jamie Kelleher all kept themselves in the frame in the Boys U18 section. Sisters Ellen and Margaret Sexton dominated the Girls U18 for a second week in the company of Rachel Kingston. In the Gaeltacht Junior League, Eoin O’Riordan pipped Frank Kiely at Macroom. He got the perfect start reaching Bantry Cross in three to raise a bowl of odds. Kiely levelled with a huge bowl to Glasheen Cross. They stayed level to the last shot, with Kiely just missing the line and O’Riordan beating it.