Kevin Quirk – Courageous, Deserved and Magnificent
Onchan had already won the Isle of Man Bank Men’s division one title going into the final fixtures and the only thing left to work out was the margin of their impressive victory.
They signed off a very impressive campaign with an 8-2 win over Nobles A to finish twenty one points ahead of runners up Marown A. I have already used almost every superlative in the dictionary to describe this great team, however I have saved a couple for club stalwart Kevin Quirk.
Less than eighteen months after we were left wondering if he would ever play the game to the best of his ability again, due to a series of major health scares, he not only goes and wins the division one merit but he wins all of his 24 games in his first full season back. There as so many descriptive words I could use to sum up Quirk and this achievement but I will simply go with courageous, deserved and magnificent. It’s great to see you back at your best.
Nobles will have been delighted with their two points as they finished above Peel A by the same number of points three places off the bottom, safe o rom the drop.
Marown A signed off in style with a 10-0 maximum victory over Castletown B, and the first outing for their innovative electronic scoreboard. They will be left pondering what they need to do to stop Onchan next term as they found themselves in no man’s land with fifteen points between them and the third placed outfit but a way off the top.
Castletown B were not as lucky as Nobles as a hard run in left them firmly rooted to the bottom of the tree with division two bowls looming next year.
Port St Mary A won the season long battle for third place by a solitary point over South Ramsey A. Both teams have been battling it out all season and Port will take a little satisfaction from getting one over on the team that beat them in the Rayner Shield.
It had been neck and neck all season in the battle for Division Two champions however in the final few games South Ramsey B turned on the style and challengers Douglas B just couldn’t live with their end of season form.
In the end South finished eight points clear of the men from the Villa with Port St Mary B completing the top three just four points further back.
Castletown C finished bottom after really struggling this season, there were encouraging signs from a couple of new players and I am sure after a period of rebuilding in division three they will be back in the higher echelons of the local game. Despite a good 7-3 win in their final fixture Nobles B finished second bottom just two points adrift of Port St Mary C.
The closest battle actually came in division three with Onchan C taking the silverware by just one point between them and runners up Peel C.
Both teams were on opposite ends of 7-3 results and despite a spirited win by the Govags away from home at Finch Hill B it just wasn’t to be, with Onchan emulating the success of their A team.
All in all it has been a magnificent season for bowls all round both in terms of the league, development and other initiatives that are really thrusting the sport to the fore. The IOMCCGBA would like to thank the Isle of Man Bank for their continues support of the Men’s leagues and it is hoped that this partnership can continue for many years to come.