Ирландское метание железного ядра по дорогам

Sport played with metal balls in some parts of Ireland

Road bowling (Ból an bhóthair; also called [long] bullets) is an Irish sport in which competitors attempt to take the fewest throws to propel a metal ball along a predetermined course of country roads. The sport originated in Ireland and is mainly played in counties Armagh and Cork. Road bowling in Ireland is governed by the voluntary Irish Road Bowling Association (Ból Chumann na hÉireann). A similar sport, Klootschieten, is played in eastern parts of the Netherlands and in northern Germany.

The "bullet" or "bowl" (ból) is a solid iron cannonball of c. circumference and weight. There are two or more players or teams in a match or "score". A road shower advises the thrower about the throw (or shot) much like a golf caddy, while another helper stands ahead of the thrower, feet apart, to show the best line or path in the road. The thrower runs to the throwing mark and, in the Northern or County Armagh style, extends the arm and bowl behind him as he runs. At the throwing mark the arm is snapped forward by arching the back and shoulders, releasing the bowl underhand before stepping over the mark. In the Southern or County Cork style, as the thrower runs to the mark the arm and bowl are lifted up and back, then whirled downward into an underhand throw, releasing the bowl before stepping over the mark. Wherever the bowl stops (not where it leaves the road surface), a chalk mark is made at the nearest point on the road and the next throw is taken from behind that mark. In Armagh, the mark is usually made by pulling a tuft of grass and dropping it on the road. Over tight curves, or corners where two roads meet, the bowl may be thrown through the air (lofted). The loft must strike the road or pass over it. If the loft fails to reach the road, it counts as one shot, and the next throw must be taken again from the same mark. Spectators sometimes bet on the outcome and proffer advice to their favoured competitor in the course of a match.

Fintan Lane, in his book Long Bullets: A History of Road Bowling in Ireland, traces the sport to at least the 17th century and suggests that it was once far more widespread than it is today. Until the 19th century, the game was also played in Scotland, the north of England and in North America. but the first national championship between them was in 1963. The first World Championship was as part of Cork 800 in 1985. The 2020 All Ireland road bowling championships were rescheduled to late 2020.

The song Out the Road by Gaelic Storm is about a road bowling score. Additionally, footage of a road bowling score is included in a YouTube video shot by band founders Pat Murphy and Steve Twigger about their trip to Murphy's native County Cork during the production of their album Chicken Boxer (which includes Out the Road).

Mick Barry (1919–2014) of Cork was All Ireland Champion on eight occasions between 1965 and 1975. A road was named after him in 2010. John Buckley (b.1939), former Roman Catholic bishop of Cork and Ross, was "still bowl[ing] at the age of 75".