A splendid night of top class darts action was brought to a close at Sheehan's Local on Military Hill on Friday night last as Damian O'Driscoll brought to three, the number of premier individual league titles he has won, with a marvelous display against victim Peter Quinn in the final.
Over the course of the night fifteen games were played, which when broken down into legs resulted in 90 legs of more often then not, top class darts were being recorded and which included nine maximum scores of 180 along with numerous scores of 140 and 140+ ,along with many more in ecess of 100+.
Only two games throughout the night went to 4-1 results, one game resulting in a 4-0 defeat,and six being decided by a 4-2 result, while five games including the final, came down to the deciding leg of the seven legs due to be played.
The night opened with Blaine Meighan of the Island Tavern getting the better of Anglers Sports player Chris O'Neill 4-3 and was followed by John Paul Dowdall defeating fellow Brannigans player Steven Coveney 4-2.
John O'Shea was a 4-1 winner over his Tower Bar team-mate Robbie Hendrick by 4-1 while the match between Peter Quinn of the Shamrock and Kevin McDonnell of the Joshua Tree ended in a defeat for the Blarney Street player by 4-2.
Damian O'Driscoll opened his campaign with a game against former champion "Dinny Bob's" but the Joshua Tree player left his best darts in another place on the night as he tried in vain to keep apace of O'Driscoll before eventually going down by 4-1.
The three remaining first round games saw the only invited junior player left in the event,  Declan Gostl of the Hollyhill Inn win a dramitic final leg against David O'Donovan of the Joshua Tree, while Shamrock Bar stalwart Joe Collins edged out Tower Bar player Steven Hill in another seven legged encounter, and John Nyhan of the Shamrock had a 4-0 win over John Wall of the Shamrock.
Quarter-finals results saw Dowdall defeat Meighan 4-3, Quinn defeat O'Shea 4-2, O'Driscoll overcame Gostl 4-1 and Collins defeated Nyhan 4-2 with the resulting semi-finals as follows; Quinn defeated Dowdall 4-2 and O'Driscoll defeated Collins 4-2.
The final saw O'Driscoll win the right to throw first and he took full advantage of the throw, as hands of 95, 100 and 121 along with a 20, 20 double 20 checkout gave him the leg despite Quinn hitting scores of 96, 117 and 137 to leave a double 9 remaining.
O'Driscoll again was on top in the second leg as he stole Quinn's throw when hitting hands of 94, 96, and 135 along with a checkout from 86 for a two-nil lead with Quinn again not far behind after scores of 85, 86, 95 and 140.
Quinn needed a leg which his scoring deserved and he got it as he took the third,helped by scores of 85, 99, 100 and 117 to hit a double 20 for the leg but again O'Driscoll stole in as he took leg four after scores of 100 and 140 saw him hit a 146 checkout for a 3-1 lead and just the one leg from victory.
Quinn then dug deep to stay in this final and scores of 96, 100, 85, 115 and a 105 checkout, as a 15 dart leg brought him to 3-2 and he was really motoring as he posted scores of 140, 100, 64, 82, 79 and hit a double 18 for a 16 dart leg to have this final all square with just the one leg to play as O'Driscoll after a maximum 180 was back on 70 remaining.
Leg seven, the final one of the night saw O'Driscoll win the bull, and this was to prove the difference between both players such was the closeness of this last and deciding leg as O'Driscoll took it in a most tense and exciting game of darts as you will see

Change to starting times at St, Vincent's on Monday, youths entries will be taken from 1pm with a 2pm start, B, C and juniors entries taken from 1.30 with a 2.30 start and Seniors from 3.30pm with a 4pm start.

The Shamrock Bar and Aunties were the big winners on Monday night last as both the Beamish A division cup along with the Beamish junior cup finals were decided on either side of the river.

The Gallows on Bandon Road was the venue for the final of the Beamish A division cup final featuring the Shamrock Bar and Joshua Tree who were playing in their first final in quite a long time, and while the scoreline finished with a 4-1 win it really was a much more closer game then it may suggest

First blood in this Beamish A final went to the boys from Shanbally as Peter Quinn ran out a 3-0 winner over Joshua tree’s Tim O’Riordan.

Quinn put up hands of 95, 121, 100, 125 and hit a double 20 to take the first leg in 15 darts, and he then followed in taking the second leg in 17 darts after hands of 130 and 140 helped him home.

Quinn completed a 3-0 first game win for the Shamrock as a 107 and a 140 saw him leave 107 remaining, and he duly checked it as a 60, single 19 double 14 saw him home.

Joshua Tree then drew level as Kevin McDonnell and Shamrock player Ritchie McGrath played out a marvellous five legs of top class darts before the Joshua Tree player emerged as winner.

However the advantage was once more to the Shamrock after the third game of this final as Joe Collins was a 3-0 winner over William Goulding in a much closer game then the scoreline suggests, and the same applied to the following game as the Joshua Tree player Pat McSweeney went down 3-1 to Shamrock number four John Twomey.

Joshua Tree needed another win or they were going to be the bridesmaids on the night, and that is how it turned out despite a very brave performance from their number five player David O’Donovan playing Shamrock captain Mark Hurley.

The first four legs of this fifth game were shared with legs one and three going to the Shamrock player and O’Donovan fighting back each time to level, however in a very tense and close final leg it was the Shamrock player who emerged as winner after top scores of 100 and 140 helped him over the line.

The Beamish Stout man of the match award went to Shamrock’s Peter Quinn.

Aunties and Brannigans contested the final of the Beamish junior cup at the Anglers Sports Lounge and what a ding-ding battle this one turned out to be.

Brannigans began in whirlwind fashion as they won the first two game of the final, as Aunties showed the same jitters that haunted them in their previous final before Christmas, when they went down 4-2 to O’Sullivan’s having been 3-0 down at one stage.

Dave Welch and Phillip Neylon had Brannigans 2 up with wins over Michael McSweeney and Robert C Hurley, but Aunties rallied to square this final as the break approached with John Irwin and Conor Delaney winning from Paul Connolly and Eoin St, Ledger.

The resumption saw Aunties make it three on the spin as Brendan McSweeney won from Daniel Jones, but Matt McGuire had matters level once more as he won the sixth from Tony O’Keefe.

The final game of the evening saw Aunties call on veteran Kevin Muldoon while Denis Cronnin was on the oche for Brannigans, and in a most exciting three legs of high tension darts it was Muldoon who held it together at the end for aunties as he hit a double 8 for the title.

Consolation for Brannigans was in David Welch receiving the Beamish Stout man of the match.

The sixty-fourth, staging of the CDO Cork City individual darts championship sponsored by the Evening Echo has a forty-second winner to be inscribed upon its silver in the guise of John McCarthy better known to all as “Dinny Bob’s”.

St, Vincent’s once more was the venue on Friday night last for a marvellous night of top class darting fare in this individual competition, which has been going strong since 1949 with the club pavilion packed to capacity in anticipation of some major upsets on the night, of which there were few.

McCarthy opened with a game against Fairfield Tavern’s Dave Stanton, and then followed with really tough games against former winner Chris O’Neill, Sean Daly, Joe Collins to see himself into a semi-final meeting with last years runner-up Jason Kavanagh from the Shamrock Bar who was looking to break his duck in this competition, one of the few that has so far eluded him.

Unfortunately for Kavanagh “Dinny Bob’s” was not in a giving mood on Friday night as he brushed Kavanagh aside with some clinical darts to put himself within one game of his first major singles darts title.

Away at the other end of the draw it was Peter Quinn of the Shamrock Bar who was making progress, firstly at the expense of Steven Hill to then follow with wins against Wolfe Tone player Kyle Hosford, Anglers player Thomas Murphy then went the same way before he met and defeated Brannigans player, and nine times champion Steven Coveney in the quarter-final, and followed with a semi-final win over another former champion John O’Shea of the Tower Bar who had defeated four in-a-row seeker Damian O’Driscoll in the previous round to book his place in the final.

McCarthy was first to throw for a double in the opening leg of this best of five legs of 301 double-off final and failed to attain a scoring double while Quinn had no such problem as he hit a double 16 to begin.

McCarthy again failed with his second attempt at a scoring double as Quinn hit a 100 to take command of this opening leg before going on to take it on a double 6.

However all changed in the following three legs, for despite Quinn hitting some very heavy scores it was his inability to hit the all important doubles when required that eventually cost him.

McCarthy was in his own right scoring quite consistently, but it was his finishing that was of the highest order as he severely punished Quinn, hitting all his doubles when required to do so with his first dart on each occasion at the double to claim the title.

The following are the Beamish cup games for Monday February 27th.
Beamish A cup final at the Gallows:
Joshua Tree v Shamrock.
Beamish b cup semi-finals at Joshua Tree:
Glenryan v Carrigaline GAA & Cashmans v Gallows.
Beamish cC cup semi-finals at the Local:
Wolfe Tone v Local & Hennessy's v Island Tavern.
Beamish junior cup final at Anglers:
Brannigans v Aunties.
All of the above games are timed to start at 9.45 with teams to be present no later then 9.30.

Next Thursday February 16^th, at the Brown Derby the finals of the annual Diane McCarthy memorial singles championship will be played.

The preliminary rounds were ran-off on Thursday last at the Brown Derby, Ma Dullea’s and the Glenryan Tavern with eight players qualifying from each venue, and they will now play-off on Thursday night at 8.30pm to decide a winner.

Saturday February 18^th, at the Glenryan Tavern is set aside for the annual Ronnie Keating memorial singles at the Glenryan Tavern.

This competition is open to all darts players both male and female,and entries for the competition will be taken at the venue from 1.30pm on the day with competition to begin at 3.pm.