09-07-2025
The surprising revival of road bowling, Ireland's ancient sport
Analysis: From Cork and Armagh to TikTok and Instagram, young and old road bowlers are taking up the bowl and keeping this unique tradition alive
By Conor Heffernan, Ulster University
On a quiet country road in Co Cork, traffic comes to a halt as a small iron ball hurtles around a bend, chased by a cheering crowd on foot. For those unaccustomed to the scene, it looks like 'an unusual and even archaic sport, a throwback to the days when roads were not monopolized by fast moving traffic.' Yet across Ireland and beyond, the ancient game of road bowling is experiencing an unlikely resurgence, with young and old taking up the bowl and keeping this unique tradition alive.
From outlawed pastime to living heritage
Road bowling (Irish Ból an bhóthair, also called 'long bullets') dates back centuries and was once played widely across Ireland. The premise is beguilingly simple. Competitors take turns hurling a solid iron 'bowl' along a country road, and whoever reaches the finish line in the fewest throws wins. Matches unfolded on public roads, drawing big crowds and bigger wagers.
Over time, as historian Fintan Lane's research shows, road bowling's heartlands narrowed mainly to Cork in the south and Armagh in the north, where the sport never died out. In these strongholds, legendary bowlers like Mick Barry of Cork became folk heroes. Barry famously lofted a bowl clear over a high viaduct outside Cork city in the 1950s, a feat still recounted with awe.
From RTÉ Archives, profile of Leeside legendary bowler Mick Barry for a 1986 episode of More Plain Tales
The sport's freewheeling street gatherings (and associated gambling) led to periodic bans in the past, but locals often kept the game going during quiet times of day. By the late 20th century, road bowling had faded in many areas and was at risk of being seen as a relic of another era.
Rolling into a new century
Instead, road bowling has quietly rolled into the 21st century with new momentum. Much of this revival can be credited to passionate local communities and the power of social media. What was once passed down through families and neighbours is now also shared via Facebook, YouTube and TikTok.
One popular Facebook page run by enthusiasts, Road Bowls In Ireland, has amassed over 17,000 followers and regularly streaming matches from Cork and Armagh to viewers around the world. Short clips of spectacular throws like a bowl skittering around a bend or a perfectly 'ironed' shot down a straight rack up views and introduce this old Irish pastime to new audiences far beyond the village roadside.
The revival isn't confined to Ireland either. Irish emigrants and the curious have established road bowling clubs in the United States, with West Virginia emerging as an unlikely hub. Dozens of road bowling events are now held in West Virginia every year, drawing hundreds of participants and onlookers. What began as a quirky attraction at an Irish heritage festival has evolved into regular tournaments where locals (Irish-American or not) try their hand at lobbing the iron bowl.
At home, a once renegade pastime has gained a measure of official acceptance. Ból Chumann na hÉireann, the Irish Road Bowling Association, works with local authorities to schedule events, and a blind eye is often turned to the temporary traffic disruptions. Of course, not every motorist is delighted as complaints about bowlers blocking rural roads still surface online, but many in Cork or Armagh see road bowling as part of the cultural fabric of their area. 'It's a sport… it's been there for years and years… it's simply a culture thing,' as one bowler told Killian O'Leary, Maurice Patterson and Lisa O'Malley in their road bowls study.
The TikTok effect
The resurgence of road bowling is part of a broader reawakening of Irish heritage in modern life. From folk sports to music and crafts, the past is becoming present again. This is often with help from online platforms. The road bowls research, which included an ethnographic study of road bowling, noted that the game's survival has hinged on its ability to adapt to both historic and contemporary social forces. In other words, road bowling endures because it still offers something people crave today; community, identity, and a tangible link to the past. This is the case even as players might share their latest winning shot on Instagram or TikTok.
Social media has helped niche cultural activities in Ireland like road bowling or traditional stone-lifting find new audiences and participants. A 2025 study documented an 'unprecedented revival' in the old Irish practice of lifting massive stones to prove one's strength, largely thanks to online communities and organized events. As this research showed, the internet can rejuvenate interest in traditions that were nearly lost a few generations ago.
Crucially, the internet hasn't replaced the living experience of these traditions, it has amplified it. Road bowling still happens on real roads, not virtual ones, but now a teenager in Dublin might discover it on TikTok and decide to head down to a local match in person. As musician Rónán Ó Snodaigh of Kíla observed about Ireland's cultural renaissance, 'these things happen in cycles… it's no surprise that there's a resurgence.'
From RTÉ Radio 1's Ray D'Arcy Show, Sinéad Ní Uallacháin reports on road bowling in Co Tyrone
After decades when many viewed speaking Irish, singing old songs or reciting traditional poetry as old-fashioned, young people are reclaiming those roots with pride. The same pattern is evident in folk sports and crafts. Take basket weaving, for example. By the 1980s, traditional basket makers were few and far between, but today there's renewed demand for classes and handmade wickerwork, reviving a tradition once at risk of disappearing.
In a globalised world, the revival of road bowling and its ilk speaks to a hunger for genuine connection and local identity. Watching a bowl sail down a country lane with a crowd of neighbours chasing after it, one can feel the thrill of past traditions and the continuity of an unbroken thread. As long as people line the road to watch, shout, and play, Ireland's road bowls will keep on rolling.
