The Joy of Bowls

ARI National Bowls Competition

Spry Finance is a proud supporter of Active Retirement Ireland and this year is the headline sponsor of the 14th Active Retirement Ireland National Bowls Competition. The event will see hundreds of retirees descending on Killarney – many to participate in, and others to support, one of the largest older sporting events on the Irish sporting calendar.

They come for the sport, they come for the competition, they come for the camaraderie – and they come from all over Ireland for the hope of victory. Aged in their fifties, their sixties, their seventies, their eighties and their nineties, they represent the growing proportion of the Irish population that are living the greater life in later life.

And in amongst the hundreds of participants, there are a wealth of stories to tell – the people who’ve been coming for years, for whom age is no barrier, the people whose job it is to keep it all under control and the families whose members play for different teams and compete against each other.

SPRY HUB Later Life Podcast - episode 2 - Joy of Bowls

In the second of our Later Life podcast series, we talked to Kathleen Flanagan and her mother, Molly Mulhall – both of the Tullow Bowlers – who are past participants and past winners of the tournament. In a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation, Kathleen and Molly tell us about the ARI competition – and why it’s so great – and talk about the skills involved, the comradeship, the thrill of the win and why they return year after year.

Perhaps more importantly, they tell us why bowling is such a brilliant sport and why age is no barrier to participation. There are clubs all over the country – 68 teams will be taking part in this year’s tournament – with leagues and inter-region competitions and, Kathleen tells us, the oldest person in her club is a youthful 93.

One of the drivers of a growing ageing population is, of course, greater attention to health, diet and wellbeing. It is widely recognised that there are a number of things that can contribute to longevity and staying young both mentally and physically. Bowling sits in the sweet spot where movement, exercise, social engagement and mental stimulation meet.

Listen to Kathleen and Molly’s podcast below:

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