Mark hits top form to claim Gowran title

Saving the best till last, Mark Foran laid claim to the first domestic trophy of the year on Saturday evening last.

The form player coming into the finale of the Alo Gowran Memorial Singles, Mark cemented his name on the trophy with two stylish performances.

In his semi-final he accounted for a very gritty opponent in Gene Shaw. Playing some outstanding woods, Gene was in the contest with a shout with two ends to go but Mark held on to grind out the result.

Across on Mat 1, John FitzSimons and Glen Ridsdale were engaged in a titanic struggle in their bid for a final place.

As Glen struggled in the opening exchanges, John built up a nice lead. However, Glen is experienced enough not to panic and a mid match rally led to a tight affair.

As it transpired John claimed shots in the second last to leave Glen with just too much to do and it was the former who prevailed.

Mark wasted no time in setting out his stall in the decider. He raced into a commanding lead in the opening ends and John was always chasing the game.

Never a sprinter, it was a race he was never going to win.

While Mark took his foot off the throttle in the last couple of ends, he had sufficient credit in the bank or, more precisely, points on the board, to claim a richly deserved winner's trophy.

As ever, it was lovely to have our sponsors in attendance, with Derek Gowran being joined by his son, Eoin to oversee the presentation of the prizes.

On completion of the formalities, members and guests were treated to light refreshments, to round off another very successful and well supported competition.

Westmeath League

As indicated last week, Tyrrellspass have been confirmed as the Westmeath League champions for 2024/2025.

Athlone claimed second place by the narrowest of margins, 0.5 of a point, ahead of Mullingar 'A' with the club's 'B' team filling fifth.

We congratulate both Tyrrellspass, in particular, and Athlone on their fine and successful campaigns.

Membership fees

Just a polite reminder that our Club Treasurer, Eoin Corrigan is hoping to sign off on membership for the year within the next two weeks.

Fun bowls

With the completion of both the Alo Gowran competition and our league commitments, it will be back to fun bowls over the coming weeks.

We hope to see all our members, along with anyone else interested in playing the game, to come along every Saturday and Sunday night. We are open, in Mullingar Bridge and Amenity Centre in Bellview from 8pm on each evening.