Sparks set to fly in road bowling tournament

THE Gaeltacht Road Bowling Tournament, which was blown off course in the wake of Storm Ophelia last October, is back on track and ready to knock sparks off the tarmac this weekend.

The tournament will be played out on the road from Muiríoch to TP Ó Conchúir’s house in Gallarus with some of Cork’s finest exponents of the sport paired off to compete for prizes that run into the high hundreds of euros.

The tournament, which is organised by Muiris Ó Fiannachta with the aid of his good friend Harry Jennings from Clonakilty, was first held four years ago and continues to attract an avid, though relatively small, following. It had to be cancelled because of bad weather in October but Muiris is hopeful that, with spring in the air, the elements will be kinder this time out.

Muiris would like to see some locals taking up the sport so that the Cork men wouldn’t have things all their own way on the roads of West Kerry. Nobody has risen to the challenge so far, but anybody with an inkling of interest will find inspiration next Saturday. And so ye know what ye’re looking at, here’s how Bol Chumann na hÉireann describes the sport:

“The sport of road bowling is played with a 28 oz. (793.8 grams) solid iron bowl, or ball, with a circumference of approximately 18 centimetres. Two contestants match their individual skills in throwing the bowl with optimum speed, controlled delivery, and international accuracy along a carefully considered and tactically selected ‘play’ (path) over a predetermined course distance of normal roadway. The winner is the player to reach the finishing line in the least number of throws or shots.”

There will be five scores on the day, starting at 10am on Saturday (Feb 24) and continuing until about 4.30pm, with all proceeds going to the Dingle Cliff and Mountain Rescue unit. Drivers should note that the road will not be closed during the tournament, so proceed with caution.