{"id":624660,"date":"2026-08-07T03:19:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T03:19:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/624660\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T03:19:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T03:19:29","slug":"road-bowling-seeks-unesco-status-so-its-elite-players-get-respect-they-deserve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/624660\/","title":{"rendered":"Road Bowling seeks Unesco status so its elite players get respect they deserve"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Seo alt \u00f3n\u00e1r bhfoireann Gaeltachta. Is f\u00e9idir an bunleagan as Gaeilge a l\u00e9amh anseo<\/a>)<\/p>\n

ROAD BOWLING IS part of our distinctive cultural heritage, and for the sport to have a chance to survive and grow, it needs corresponding protection from the United Nations, the Secretary General of the Irish Road Bowling Association<\/a>, S\u00e9amus \u00d3 Tuama, has said.<\/p>\n

The association is seeking recognition from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), on a par with the recognition already given to hurling, harp music and uilleann pipe music.<\/a><\/p>\n

Road bowling is a sport played on public roads in counties Cork and Armagh for the most part and is also now spreading to other counties as well as being played internationally.<\/p>\n

BBC Archive<\/a> \/ YouTube<\/p>\n

Two players or bowlers compete against each other, with the aim of throwing a small iron ball weighing 28 ounces along a course of between two and three kilometres. The winner is the bowler who completes the course in the fewest throws. It is similar to golf.<\/p>\n

The earliest recorded reference to road bowling dates from 1714 in Derry, when the city council banned the playing of the game on the city walls, and there are also stories of Irish soldiers playing the game with cannonballs during the American Civil War.<\/p>\n

Speaking to The Journal this week, \u00d3 Tuama said there was enormous interest in the sport across the world, even though the Bowling Association \u2013 the national governing body \u2013 was poorly resourced and relied entirely on voluntary workers at a time when it was becoming harder for people to set aside time for such activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is that people in Ireland look at bowling the way Irish-Americans look at Ireland,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t see it as a sport for supreme athletes and highly skilled players who are competing at international level and representing Ireland internationally.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you go outside the heartland \u2013 say Cork and Waterford in Munster, Armagh, Tyrone and Monaghan in Ulster, and Mayo in the west \u2013 and there is a new club and active bowling community in County Louth \u2013 people don\u2019t understand the crowds attending scores [bowling matches].\u201d<\/p>\n

The B\u00f3l Chumann is a member of Sport Ireland but, according to \u00d3 Tuama, that body isn\u2019t fully suited to the organisation of which he\u2019s secretary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why it is important that bowling would have protection under UNESCO \u2013 it needs to be viewed in the broader context so that it is recognised as part of the cultural heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"kelly-mallon-and-niamh-collins\"
\n Armagh footballer Kelly Mallon is the winner of 12 senior bowling All Ireland titles Lorraine O\u2019Sullivan \/ INPHO<\/p>\n

Lorraine O\u2019Sullivan \/ INPHO \/ INPHO\n<\/p>\n

\u00d3 Tuama is of the view that sufficient respect is not given to the elite players of the game about which he and many others are so passionate. He gave as an example the fact that no mention was made of the achievements of Armagh women\u2019s bowler Kelly Mallon \u2013 who has won 12 all-Ireland titles at senior level \u2013 during discussions by sports commentators on the top women in sport last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have great respect for the likes of Rachael Blackmore and the other outstanding women who are mentioned, but Kelly\u2019s place was earned in that conversation \u2013 I am not aware of any other sports hero in the world who has won as many national titles as she has.\u201d<\/p>\n

What road bowling needs now is some tender loving care, said \u00d3 Tuama.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere needs to be some kind of process to support us \u2013 we all need to be working towards the same goal, so that people understand that bowling is part of our heritage.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 there is more life in the sport now than there has been in 30 or 40 years. More people are playing it, there are more competitions, there are more people active in it \u2013 that is what attracts the voluntary workers; they want to train children, they want to organise the competitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the things other sports had done for them, we had to do ourselves \u2013 we had to come forward and develop, and that is no bad thing; it adds to our resilience and independence and so on.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we need to be thinking about the long term, rather than just the present moment \u2013 about the generation to come and the generation after that, and where we are going with this distinctive cultural and sporting heritage \u2013 how can we protect it for the generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

This appeal has received support from Fine Gael TD for Cork North West, John Paul O\u2019Shea, who is seeking to raise the matter with the Minister for Sport, Patrick O\u2019Donovan.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoad bowling is a major and important part of our living heritage, particularly here in Cork and across many rural communities \u2014 it is a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation and it brings communities together to this day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have seen for myself how strong the tradition and passion for road bowling is in our communities,\u201d he said, referring to the all-Ireland championships held recently in Ballynagree and Castletown Kenneigh.<\/p>\n

He raised the matter in the D\u00e1il recently and the written response he received gave him an insight into the process for being listed on Ireland\u2019s UNESCO cultural heritage list.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Department of Culture, Communications and Sport accepts applications from practitioners who would like a practice to be added to the national list,\u201d it was stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn Expert Advisory Committee assesses each application and sends recommendations to the Minister.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was indicated that 42 practices from across the country are on this list in Ireland.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00d3 Tuama said it was the Association\u2019s intention to begin the process now to have road bowling added to that inventory.<\/p>\n

The Journal\u2019s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.<\/p>\n

This article was originally written in the reporter\u2019s native Irish and has been translated to English here. AI was used as part of the translation process before final edits.<\/p>\n

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