Wheeling Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians gears up for annual Irish Road Bowling Fundraiser Saturday

WHEELING, W.Va. — The Wheeling Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) is gearing up for its major fundraiser Irish Road Bowling (Ból an bhóthair).

This year’s event will be held on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at the Sonneborn Shelter near Wheeling Park High School. Registration starts at noon.

Each participant pays a fee, which includes bowling, dinner, music, and drinks.

This event has been held since 2010, and this year promises to be one of the best.

Many bowlers show up wearing a team uniform or t-shirt to express pride in their team.  The Wheeling event is considered the largest road bowling gathering in the world!

In 2010, the first year of the Wheeling’s event, 26 teams participated.  It is anticipated that in 2024 there will be over 150 teams with close to 1,000 bowlers participating.

At the time, the Hibernians decided they needed an event that could assist in raising funds.  A group of the Hibernians attended an Irish road bowling event in Kingwood, West Virginia, to determine if road bowling could be organized in a way that would help raise funds.

After attending the event, they took that model, fine-tuned it to meet the organization’s goal, and created a major fundraiser.

The Wheeling Division of the AOH now uses Irish road bowling as its largest fundraising event of the year.

The money raised supports annual scholarships and local charities.  In addition, the event has inadvertently become the AOH’s major membership drive, as new members join each year after taking part and learning about the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

Road Bowling in Ireland has been played for centuries.  A mainly rural sport, its premise is simple.  It is played along a meandering country road with curves and hills and the road, or course, may be as long as one or two miles, a good stretch of the legs.

Typically, two players alternate, taking a turn throwing a small but heavy iron ball or bowl underhand along the road.  The winner is the one who can navigate the planned course in the fewest number of throws.

What makes the game a bit more interesting is that residents of the area follow the participants and make wagers throughout the game.

These crowds make for great craic (good fun) and time well spent with family and friends.  The roads usually are not closed off, so you have to keep an eye on vehicles sharing the road, or vice versa.

The game in Ireland is played mainly in the counties of Cork and Armagh with an All-Ireland champion being crowned each year.

In West Virginia, the sport has grown since the mid-1990’s, with 17 road bowling events being held in 2024.

It is played a little bit differently than the game in Ireland and teams can be involved depending on the location.  Betting is not an important part of the game.

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