Irish Road Bowling : Eclectic Collection

Eclectic Collection : Irish Road Bowling

IRISH ROAD BOWLING The exact origins of Irish Road Bowling are uncertain. The game itself in its present form began to emerge in the 17th and 18th centuries. Stone bowls and iron bowls were used during this period of transition. Prior to the structured rules, the game of road bowling was not played over a particular distance, but instead the winner was decided by who could throw the furthest over 20 shots. The term score represented 20 (scor, an Irish word meaning 20) and thus the match was referred to as a score. Around the end of the last century the rules of the game began to resemble those of today. In 1954, the rules were finally formalized and a controlling body was established, when a group under the chair of Flor Crowley set up the organisation as Bol Chumann na hEireann. These initial moves proved to be consequential, in that, they signaled exciting times ahead for road bowling in Ireland.

Prior to 1963 separate championships titled All-Ireland were held in Ulster and Munster. Although, strictly speaking, they were not All-Ireland titles as understood today - winning players were granted the title All-Ireland Champion.

In 1963 the two codes got together for the first open All-Ireland Road Bowling Championships.

The basic premise is the same as golf, but with the subtle difference that:
• Billions of dollars have not been wasted trying to improve the game,
• You don't go around trying to hit a small defenseless ball with a stick,
• No holes are cut into perfectly good grass,
• THERE CAN BE ANY NUMBER OF “NINETEENTH HOLES,”
• And, it can be a lot more exciting to watch.

It is not as easy as it sounds however. When the ball chooses to take a bad bounce and go off the road, it still must be retrieved. Retrieval is hazardous since there is usually a cold flowing stream adjacent to a portion of the course, or soft ditches where one can easily sink to the knees are all along the route. But the most dreaded difficulty along some courses is a very soft and juicy barn lot whose mud contains a toxic percentage level of bovine excrement while guarded by a 1500 pound Black Angus bull. Some of the local farmers consider it fair game to let the cattle wander a little when the roads are so quiet.

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