It was a red letter day for the bowlers in the Western Zone Bowlers in the Townhall when the chairman of Fermanagh District Council, Alex Baird laid on a chairman's reception for their ladies and junior teams.
The ladies undying claim to fame is that they won, for the first time, All-Ireland glory in the form of the McIlroy Cup. Mr Baird told them they had brought great honour to Fermanagh: "We are very proud of your achievements. I understand you have been aiming for this title for the past few years, so it is marvellous that you have at last fulfiled your ambition".
Councillor Baird recalled that their final against East Antrim was so exciting that the outcome went down to the last few ends, with Western winning thanks to, 'a world-class, second-half display' to emerge victorious by 57-41.
It was, he suggested, a well-deserved triumph following their semi-final in last year's Cup competition.
The chairman congratulated Jean Parkinson, the Conveyor for Western Zone, and the ladies team on a magnificent achievement. He then turned to the men.
He suggested that Fermanagh had always been synonymous with bowling and that, over the years, the county had produced a very strong bowling culture of which the Council was very proud.
Hence, he was pleased to honour the next generation of players, the Western Zone Junior team who had picked up the Junior Inter-Zone All-Ireland crown, namely the Bell Bowl.
'We are fortunate to have such talent in the Junior section. This will ensure that Fermanagh will continue to remain one of the most successful bowling counties and zones in Ireland and in deed beyond".
He told the young bowlers they had shown great dedication and determination on the way to their success, beating Armagh by 26-22 shots in the semi-final and then Foyle in the final. This too, he noted, was a very tense affair and the final had it all, excitement, crowd participation, too-class bowling and, the ultimate result, winning by 30 shots to 25.
Councillor Baird congratulated the young bowlers on a wonderful achievement, and he then invited the members of both teams to sign the Visitors Book.
