Five All-Ireland Champions will compete in the Irish Road Bowling North American Region Finals at Coopers Rock State Forest August 4 and 5. The Irish Road Bowling event will take place on the Henry Clay Road, which will be closed to traffic during the event. The Irish Road Bowling event is open to the public. Coopers Rock State Forest is located near Bruceton Mills, minutes off I-68.
Brendan Fleming, Con O’Callaghan, and Florrie O’Mahoney, all two-time All-Ireland Champions, will lead the Boston Club in Novice 1 and Novice 2 grades. Also, two-time Champions Adrian Lappin and Fergal Carr of the New York Club, the highest rated players in the USA at Junior B grade, will join Declan O’Shea of Boston, an All-Ireland Junior C Runner Up, in a high-powered feature exhibition match on Sunday.
Henry Clay Road will be defended by veteran West Virginia road bowlers Stephen Wallington, Culloden, and Travis McClintic, Lewisburg in Novice 2, Jerod Putnam, Ireland, WV, and Ken McClintic, Holly River in Novice 1, Clifton Colebank, Bruceton Mills, and Tom Neville, Shepherdstown in Novice 3, and Scott Koon, Morgantown and Carl George, Buckhannon in Novice 4. Spectators are welcomed to cheer for West Virginia.
Irish Road Bowling is one of the oldest sports in the world. An iron and steel “bowl,” a small cannonball, is hurled down a one to two mile country road. Like golf, the fewest shots win. Throws rolling 200, 250 or 300 yards will abound as these talented players face off in this sport’s national championship. Winners advance to the All-Ireland finals in early September.
For the first time an Open Novice Challenge has been added on Friday August 3, to give beginners or novice bowlers a chance to qualify for Saturday’s semifinals – no experience necessary.
The public is invited to the opening reception Friday evening at Lakeview Golf Resort to meet the players and learn more about this ancient sport. Lakeview offers an Irish Road Bowlers group room rate discount.
The Ladies Longshot competition also is open to the public Sunday, August 5, at Coopers Rock. Ladies are encouraged to give the cannonball a fling.
For more information, contact event organizers David Powell at 202-387-1680 or 202-387-1592, or Mark Wilt at 304-698-6817. To learn more about Irish Road Bowling and the August 3 and 4 North American Region Finals at Coopers Rock, visit www.wvirishroadbowling.com.
