Four Amigos win bowling cup

IN an action-packed final at the 2012 Clare Business Bowling Championship, which was held at the Clare Leisure Centre in Ennis recently, the Four Amigos team of Ross Darmody, Colm O’Callaghan, Jonathan O’Loughlin and Ciarán Clancy out-bowled all opposition to win the AIB Bank Perpetual Cup for the first time. They amassed a record score of 554 pins.
At the presentation of the trophy, Luke Duffy AIB Bank, Ennis, congratulated the winning team and also paid tribute to the 30 teams who competed in the 2012 championship.
Second place went to the Rowan Tree team with a score 473 pins. The Rowan Tree team members were Conor Naughton, Alan Naughton, Padraig Naughton and Colin Dinan. 
The Legal Eagles team of Paul Tuohy, Stephen Loftus, Joe Shannon and Gerry Walsh, who were representing former winners Michael Houlihan & Partners, finished in third place with 419 pins, while the Lavender Cowboys team, led by team captain and North Clare man Joe Casey, held on to capture fourth place with a score of 388 pins.
High scorers on the night included Colm O’Callaghan and Ciarán Clancy of the Four Amigos with 147 and 145 pins respectively and Conor Naughton of the Rowan Tree with 144 pins.
The Clare Bowling Championship was inaugurated in 2005 and is organised by the Ennis-Phoenix Twinning Board. Previous winners of the championship were Ennis Town Council, Michael Houlihan & Partners, Roche Clarecastle and AIB Bank.
Since 1988, Ennis and Phoenix, as twinned sister cities, have been engaged in numerous projects that are primarily focused on educational, artistic and cultural endeavours. These projects, which have included the reciprocal exchange of teachers, students, professionals and technical personnel, have contributed to the cultural enrichment of both communities.
Proceedings from the Clare Business Bowling Championship are used to part-fund the very successful Ennis Youth Ambassador Programme, whereby second-level pupils from Ennis, who participate in the programme, travel to Phoenix as youth ambassadors each year.
The purpose of the Youth Ambassador Exchange Programme (YAEP) is to offer opportunities for second-level pupils to appreciate and understand the culture of a new city through an abroad/home stay experience. Their experiences as a youth ambassador will help prepare pupils to confidently assume their place in a global community.
While in Phoenix, Ennis pupils will meet up with ambassadors from other sister cities, including Calgary, Canada; Catania, Italy; Chengdu, China; Grenoble, France; Hermosillo, Mexico; Himeji, Japan; Prague, Czech Republic; Ramat-Gan, Israel and Taipei, Taiwan.
The Ennis-Phoenix Board is presently reviewing applications ahead of selecting this year’s youth ambassadors.