Silver service

Neil Mulholland has become the latest in a string of Lisnagarvey bowlers to claim a medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Neil Muholland (centre), with triples team-mates Neil Booth and Paul Daly proudly showing off their silver medals. Pic: Danny Lawson/PA Wire.Neil Muholland (centre), with triples team-mates Neil Booth and Paul Daly proudly showing off their silver medals. Pic: Danny Lawson/PA Wire.
Neil Muholland (centre), with triples team-mates Neil Booth and Paul Daly proudly showing off their silver medals. Pic: Danny Lawson/PA Wire.

The Garvey captain won a silver medal at his first ever Games, when he teamed up with Paul Daly and Neil Booth in the bowls triples at Kelvingrove in Glasgow.

After receiving his medal, the Lisnagarvey bowler said: “I couldn’t have asked for any better.

“The objective coming over was to get a medal and see what colour it would be of we were to get that far. We couldn’t send Neil out with a gold but maybe it will come in the fours.

I’m disappointed at losing in the final but absolutely delighted to get a silver medal.”

Neil might yet go home with gold because, at the time of going to print, his Northern Ireland side was still competing in the Fours tournament.

He could scarcely have come closer to the top prize in the triples, when in the gold medal match, his NI side came unstuck 19-10 to South Africa’s Prince Neluade, Pierre Breitenbach and Bobby Donnelly. They had been 3-14 down but came back to 10-14 with four ends left before conceding defeat.

Garvey bowlers have a good record at the Commonwealth Games with John McCloughlin starting it off by winning bronze in the fours at Brisbane in 1982. He followed up with silver in the Auckland fours in 1990 and another fours bronze at the Victoria, Canada Games in 1994.

Noel Graham played with him in the 1994 success and went on to win another fours bronze at Manchester in 2002.

In the World Bowls Championships, McCloughlin won gold for Ireland at Auckland in 1988. At Ayr in 2004 Graham won pairs silver and fours gold along with Jonathan Ross, who also won bronze in the triples.

See page 51

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