Irish Road Bowling / Pa Flood

About

Irish Road Bowling, popularized online by fans of the sportsman Pa Flood is a sporting event that takes place in the Irish counties of Armagh and Cork. The objective of the game, much like golf, is to throw a ball down a country road in an attempt to reach the end with the fewest throws possible. In the Fall of 2022, videos from the bowling events went viral on TikTok, primarily due to the popularity of a young man named Pa Flood. The confusion from newer viewers around the objective of the game, as well as the rising popularity of Pa Flood, led to an increased interest in the sport online.

Origin

Irish Road Bowling is a sport that dates back to the 17th century when it was far more popular than it is today. The objective of the game is to throw a metal ball along a series of country roads, competing against other contestants in order to reach the end with the fewest possible throws. The game is primarily played in the counties of Armagh and Cork in Ireland.

On July 22nd, 2021, TikTok user @roadbowlsinireland posted a video with a text overlay that read, "Kieran Gould is back and affiliated!" The video gathered over 100,000 plays and 2,000 likes in over a year (seen below, left). On October 26th, 2021, the TikToker posted another video, this time titled, "Two up and coming stars in Road Bowling," gathering over 400,000 plays and 20,000 likes in over a year (seen below, right).

Spread

On June 18th, 2022, TikToker @roadbowlsinireland posted a slow motion video of a chubby boy in a blue shirt aggressively throwing a ball while participating in a bowling event. The video contained a text overlay that read, "This is Pa Flood. A forced to be reckoned with on Bowling Roads." The video gathered over 1 million plays and 50,000 likes in nearly five months (seen below, left). On June 27th, the TikToker posted a video of Pa Flood winning the 2022 Munster finals, gathering over 90,000 plays and 5,000 likes in nearly five months (seen below, right).

On July 4th, the account posted a video in response to a comment that read, "Bro, you gotta show what he's actually doing. Why do you always stop your videos and not show the rest of the bowl?" The video gathered over 90,000 plays and 2,000 likes in nearly 6 months (seen below, left). On July 12th, 2022, the account posted a video about Pa Flood and his rise to being the youngest Senior Player in the sport. The video gathered over 300,000 plays and 30,000 likes in nearly five months (seen below, right).

On November 6th, the account posted another video of Pa Flood, with the caption "Pa Flood in action today in Lyre." The video gathered over 1 million views and over 100,000 likes in nearly a week (seen below, right). On November 8th, 2022, TikToker @topshaggerjim posted a video talking about Pa Flood's legacy as the GOAT, gathering over 20,000 plays and 4,000 likes in six days (seen below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References