Bowling: Hannah Cronin claims All-Ireland intermediate title

CHAMPION: Hannah Cronin brought her Munster final form to Eglish in county Tyrone, where she beat Ulster champion, Shannon Maguire, by almost a bowl of odds in a top quality All-Ireland intermediate final. Picture: INPHO/Tom Honan

Hannah Cronin brought her Munster final form to Eglish in county Tyrone, where she beat Ulster champion, Shannon Maguire, by almost a bowl of odds in a top quality All-Ireland intermediate final.

She led from the off, but it took her a few throws to hit her stride. She just shaded the opening shots to O’Neill’s. She then beat Maguire’s big bowl to Moy Point by 25m. She was out McNally’s in two more big shots to extend her lead to almost a bowl.    

Maguire closed the gap with a good sixth throw to Kelly’s. She played a brilliant seventh shot up the straight towards the big tree to cut Cronin’s lead to 40m. Cronin lifted the siege with a sensational eighth bowl to the big tree to push her lead out to 70m.   

They both struggled in the next two, but Cronin settled both herself and the contest with a massive 11th bowl to the old school. That put her a full shot clear. Maguire rallied again, bringing the lead will under a bowl in the shots to Daly’s. Cronin’s huge 14th shot towards the line guaranteed her win. Maguire only beat that by a metre to leave almost a bowl between them again, just shy of the finish line.

A storming finish by Megan O’Reilly got her past Meabh Cuinnea to claim the U16 Girls title for Ulster.

Cuinnea was the dominant player for the first four and looked set to raise a bowl heading towards the big tree. She misplayed her next bowl to just hold the lead. She bounced back with three huge bowls in succession to go almost a bowl clear again at Kelly’s.

O’Reilly refused to throw in the towel. From there she bowled more consistently and gradually gained traction, before hitting the lead with a brilliant 12th bowl towards Moy Point. Once in front she consolidated her lead to win by almost a bowl.