Irish road bowlers turn their eyes towards European Championships in Germany

James O'Donovan's Moors form is good news for Ireland as he won the silver medal in the Netherlands in 2016. File photo from Cork championships: Cillian Kelly

Ireland took the first steps towards assembling its squads for next year’s European Championships in Garding in northern Germany with Dutch Moors and German Lofting trials at Castletownkenneigh last Sunday.

The 16th holding of the games was scheduled for May 2020, but like sports events across the globe it fell victim to Covid-19. The championships are played across the three national disciplines of Irish Road Bowling, Dutch Moors Bowling, and German Lofting on consecutive days. German Lofting is dominated by the two German teams, which means the Irish have to earn virtually all their medals and team points in the other two arenas. The competing countries are Ireland, Netherlands, Germany (two historic teams), and Italy.