Brooke Park Bowling Club look forward to 2025 season

2025 is hopefully going to be a big year for Brooke Park Bowling Club as they make their long awaited return to the NIPBA Division 1.

In 2023 Brooke Park against all odds ran eventual winners Portrush B all the way to final bowl of the season, going into 2024 there was high hopes that the club could not only repeat their performance from the season before but go one better win the league and with it promotion to the second tier for the first time in a number of years.

Cast your mind back to August 2023 when Brooke Park Bowling Club went head to head with Portrush B in a winner takes all league decider at the Rosemount venue, both teams were tied on the same points and it was the visitors who came out on top claiming a league and cup double on that occasion and with it promotion to Division 1.

Fast forward 12 months to August 2024 and it was Brooke Park who found themselves in the position of being able to claim a league and cup double and with it promotion to Division 1 for 2025, having won the Cupples Cup in June 2024 the Foylesiders used that as springboard to kick on a secure the promotion that they narrowly missed out on 12 months earlier.

The 2024 season didn’t start the way Brooke Park would have hoped or envisaged before a bowl was thrown, taking only four points from a possible 14 in their opening two games as well as losing three of the first four games including a defeat away at eventual title rivals Castlerock the Foylesiders knew they were up against it if they were to go one better than they did in 2023.

A 6-1 win at home to Omagh at the beginning of June sparked a run of seven wins in a row which would ironically come to an end in the reverse fixture in the middle of August 5.5-1.5; across the eight matches Brooke Park picked up an impressive 43 points to put them in a great position heading into the final few matches of the season. After defeat to Omagh, ‘the Park’ knew 12 points from a possible 14 would secure the league title to go along with the Cupples Cup they won against Brookgreen in Lisnagelvin, anything less would open the door for Castlerock to claim an immediate return to Division 1 after suffering relegation in 2023.

In their final home game Brooke Park beat Roe Valley of Limavady 6-1 meaning the same scoreline in their final game of the season at City rivals City of Derry B would be enough to see off the challenge of Castlerock. Brooke Park held their nerve and claimed the result they needed to put to bed the heartbreak of 12 months earlier and earning promotion to the NIPBA second tier for the first time in a number of years.

FAHY PAIR CLAIM JIM LOGAN FLOODLIGHT PAIRS

The Brooke Park bowling season doesn’t officially end until the Jim Logan Memorial Floodlight Pairs are played to its conclusion, played across August and September 2024 it was the first time since 2019 that the tournament was played a tournament Jim’s son Kieran also a member at Brooke Park was keen to get the tournament up and running again in his Dad’s memory.

The tournament attracted an entry of 20 pairs coming from clubs all over the North West, Brooke Park, City of Derry, Dungiven and Omagh. The final was contested by father and son duo of Mickey Fahy and JP Fahy who were up against City of Derry duo Robin Donaghey and Ken McConomy.

The Fahy’s were going for the second title under since the tournament was renamed in honour of Jim in 2018 however all four players had won the tournament in its previous guise as the Brooke Park Pairs.

Brooke Park Bowling team/squad photos with the trophies they won in 2024. These include the Cupples Cup (League Cup), the Division 2 league title and the charity shield won against Dungiven BC which is played for every year between the two clubs. Picture by Paul Harrigan

What was anticipated to be a close final turned out to be anything but as the Fahy’s raced into a 11-0 lead over the first four ends which was aided by a score of six shots in the second end of the game, this gave them the breathing room to manage the game over the next eleven ends which they duly did.

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Despite the City of Derry pair winning a few ends back to back they never really threatened their opponents with the closest they got was within five shots with two ends to play; a superb 14th end from Mickey Fahy who was leading the Fahy put them in a great position to avoid a final end. Ken McConomy played some great bowls to force JP into having to play his bowl to win the game there and then without the need of the 15th and final end.

Lying one shot, this would give the father and son duo a lead that couldn’t be overtaken but ultimately a lead that could still be caught and force a tie-end if they lost a full count of six shots in the 15th end. JP coming off the back of winning the Irish Senior Cup with his club Portrush B.C. was brave enough to draw a second shot to finish the game and claim their second title in three stagings of the tournament.