McDonagh, Cronin,and Crowley honoured at Bowling All-Stars

Arthur McDonagh in action Pic: Gretta Cormican

In the Bowling All-Stars Arthur McDonagh was selected as top male player of 2025, Hannah Cronin won best female bowler and Shane Crowley won best young bowler of the year.

Ted Hegarty was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was recognised for his ground-breaking work in establishing an academy for young bowlers, which he has run every year since he founded it in 2009. Over 2,000 girls and boys have been active in his nursery, many of whom have won All-Ireland and European titles. PJ O’Mahony won personality of the year for his contributions to organising the All-Ireland series in Castletownkinneigh.

McDonagh was the standout player in Munster. In a year where he did almost everything right, he had a Cork hurlers moment in the All-Ireland final. There was no redemption for him that day against Ethan Rafferty, despite a massive second half.

He despatched that loss to history with one of the greatest ever displays in a King of the Roads final. He gave Rafferty no respite in a firm reversal of his All-Ireland defeat. He also won the Joe O’Sullivan Cup in Castletownbere.

There was stiff competition for the top award. On the shortlist were Brian O’Driscoll who totally dominated the Junior B championship in a way that marks him out as a really special talent. Shane Crowley, who won the underage category, was another vying for the attention of the panel.

Crowley ticks so many boxes as the complete bowler, not least in dealing with a call on his very first shot of the All-Ireland U18 final. Calls very often get into the heads of the player called and indeed the player who does the calling. For an U18 player to shrug that off and then put in a total performance is past impressive.

Retaining his Munster U18 crown so emphatically was a big statement. He can perform on any road, against any opponent in every occasion big and small. He got to wear the Irish vest this year too when winning the Youth International Triple Crown with Emma Hurley at Ballincurrig.

In 2026 Crowley and O’Driscoll will be the two first names to emerge as potential winners of the new Premier Junior grade.

Premier Junior is confined to the top eight players of the emerging golden generation. Its purpose is to create the conditions for those young players to take their talents to the next level. The winner will qualify for the overall Munster Junior A semi-final against the three Zonal winners, with a chance of advancing to the All-Ireland final.

Crowley and O’Driscoll are joined by two European youth champions, Darragh Dempsey and Liam Murphy. All-Ireland winners Cathal Creedon, Anthony Crowley and John O’Donoghue as well as the highly impressive Cillian Kelleher.

The grading of Munster senior players for the 2026 champion, sees just three changes. Former champion Killian Kingston steps down to intermediate with Wayne Parkes, who struggled to make an impact in the grade. Munster intermediate champion, Páidín Stokes, as required by rule, moves up.

The other senior contestants for 2026 are Michael Bohane, Martin Coppinger, Gary Daly, Patrick Flood, Arthur McDonagh, Aidan Murphy, David Murphy, James O’Donovan, Denis O’Sullivan, Tommy O’Sullivan, Séamus Sexton and Brian Wilmot.

The cohort of Munster intermediate players will stay at ten. Munster Junior A champion Paddy Stokes automatically joins the group, who together with Kingston and Parkes will replace three demotions. David Shannon, Wayne Callanan and John Creedon will move down to junior A and compete in regional and zonal championships.

Maria Immaculate College, Dunmanway has bragging rights as the premier boys bowling school in Munster after claiming both Munster boys schools titles at Shannonvale.

In the senior boys, Eoghan Hurley, Adrian Deane and Ethan Hurley produced a sensational 2,030m tally to see off Skibbereen Community College (Tom McCarthy, Stephen O’Neill, Fionn O’Regan), Skibbereen also picked up the bronze medal.

In the junior boys, Dumanway (Rory Hurley, Tadhg Farrell, Jason Deane) were clear winners over Coláiste Ghobhatan (Brian Kelleher, Seán Lehane, Keelan Creedon), with Skibbereen taking bronze.

Coláiste Ghobhatan (Darcy O'Brien, Orla Murphy, Nicole Buttimer) stormed to victory in the senior girls class with a score of 1,259m. They beat a strong Sacred Heart, Clonakilty (Laura Sexton, Emer Whelton, Louise Coleman), with St Brogan’s, Bandon third.

Mount St. Michael, Rosscarbery (Meave Cuinnea, Casey O'Sullivan, Róisín O'Sullivan) won the junior girls final, holding off Maria Immaculate (Shauna O'Driscoll, Caoimhe Hurley, Saoirse Duggan) with St Mary’s College, Macroom third.

Details of the annual Éamon Bowen Cup at Bottlehill on the last weekend of November have been released. Nine senior players will contest the event, grouped into three semi-finals leading to a three-hand final on Sunday 30.