ILB BLOG

General Information

Clontarf pairs run in June every year   Link Here ( Entries open from May)

Clontarf Golf and Bowling Club is situated on  the Malahide

Our Clublouse is Donnycarney House an old estate house converted into a beautiful Clubhouse.

Our Bowling Pavilion Changing rooms and Green is situated behind the Club house.

follow the path on the right from the car park at the front of the house.

New members are always welcome.

CLUB ADDRESS

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Our Bowling Captain 2024/25     Ann Phelan

Register your Teams here for Summer and Winter leagues

General Information

Bank of Ireland Bowling Club

Current Bank of Ireland B.C. Officers (2025)
President Mike Hayes – 087 6846511 – mike@hayes.ie
Hon. Secretary David Farrelly – 086 2587845 – dfdavidfarrelly@gmail.com
Hon. Treasurer Michael Watson – 087 2431613 –  mwatson@iolfree.ie
Club Captain Tom Caldwell – 086 1642740 – tomcaldwell@eircom.net

Club Formation
At a meeting held in Bank of Ireland, 2 College Green on 13 th March 1979 the Bank of Ireland Bowling
Club (BOIBC) was founded.

The officers appointed at that original meeting were
President R.F. (Dick) Butler
Vice President L.F. (Laurence) Lynch
Hon. Secretary A.G. (Arthur) Hamilton
Hon. Treasurer R. (Ronnie) Osborne.

Other founder members of BOIBC were Dick Maume, George MacNamara, Hugh Egan. Michael Holland and Stan Green, both of Leinster B.C., attended the inaugural meeting as guests and provided invaluable information and advice in relation to the establishment of the Club.

Later that year (Dec.1979) the Club formally applied to the Bowling League of Ireland for Membership. Home matches were to be played on our Green at Knockrabo, Mount Anville Road, Goatstown.

These were sports grounds acquired at the time by Bank of Ireland from the Dublin Gas Co. and comprised changing rooms, Football pitches, Tennis courts, Pitch & Putt, and the Bowling Green. Mr. Hugh Egan was elected as the first BoI Club Captain in 1980.

For many years the Club fielded teams in BLI Leagues at both Div. 3 and Div. 5 level. In the early years, from 1979 onwards membership was comprised mostly of BOI pensioners, together with a tranche of younger members from the Bank’s IT section in Cabinteely.

Among those early members were Hugh Nugent, Conor Aherne, John Kelly, and John Lee, all of whom competed for many years in both BLI League and Cup competition.

In 1990 the Club affiliated a Ladies team with the Ladies Bowling League of Ireland. Key members associated with this initiative at the time included Kathleen Maume, Joy Manning, Beda Murphy, Jennie Moore, and Anne Brophy.

BLI and ILBA Presidency

In 1991 Club member Brendan O’Malley assumed the role of President, Bowling League of Ireland.
Some years later (2006) Brendan was elected to the office of President, Irish Lawn Bowling Association.
Mike Brophy, Dun Laoghaire B.C., a former member (and Captain) of BoI Club was also elected to the office of President, Irish Lawn Bowling Association in 2018.

Move to Railway Union Sports Club.

In 2000, for commercial reasons, the Bank decided to dispose of the Knockrabo Sports Grounds and alternate Sport and Social arrangements for staff and retirees were put in place.

These arrangements involved the Bank taking up Corporate Membership for a 15-year period (renewed for a few additional years on an ‘ad-hoc’ basis) with Railway Union Sports Club, Sandymount.

Accordingly, BoI Bowling Club ‘upped sticks’ from Knockrabo and moved to Railway Union where it played its home matches for the next 20 years.

Move to Kenilworth B.C. Grosvenor Square

In 2020 following conclusion of the Bank of Ireland Corporate Membership arrangement with Railway Union Sports Club, the Bank of Ireland B.C. committee undertook a detailed review its options for the future and chose to join Kenilworth B.C., with the important advantage of retaining our separate club identity.

The KBC Committee agreed with BOIBC that the we would bowl in League competitions as ‘Bank of Ireland Bowling Club’ but for all other purposes members would participate in KBC activities as full members.

The late Pat Tallon, former President of KBC and the ILB, was key to facilitating the arrival and integration of the ’new KBC’ members and for this we are most grateful.

Since our arrival into Grosvenor Square, BOIBC has bowled its home matches on the Kenilworth grass green.

In 2021, on the resumption of bowling in the immediate aftermath of Covid, the Club fielded a team in Div. 4 of the Bowling League of Ireland.

With the approval of the BLI, the Club was permitted to field a number of Kenilworth players under the banner of Bank of Ireland Bowling Club.

This arrangement helped with the speedy and successful integration of both sets of players under the new membership arrangement; it also helped the BoI Club re-establish itself as a viable Bowling Club following the move from Railway Union grounds and against the backdrop of society’s recovery from Covid.

Ongoing Integration

Since our move, two BoI Club members have undertaken key roles within the Kenilworth B.C structure.

Pat Firth fills the role of Child Protection Officer for both Clubs, while Vincent Fagan sits on the KBC board and is tasked with responsibility as Convenor for Memberships.

Social Bowling

In Winter 2022 the BOIBC launched a Social Bowling Tournament, open to all members of Kenilworth and BoI BCs, to be played over a 10-week period on the ‘carpet green’. The idea being that participants would get to know one another socially in a mildly competitive environment; it would also afford an opportunity for (i) BOIBC members to become much more familiar with ‘carpet’ bowling and (ii) for beginners to become familiar with the rules and etiquette of the game.
41 players participated in the first Tournament; these numbers have grown to 67 in the most recent iteration of the event.

The Tournament is now a key activity for the BoI Club and is run annually both in the Spring and Winter. The Tournament has already established itself as a popular feature in the social life of Kenilworth B.C. Key individuals (past and present) associated with running the event are

Gerry Gibson, Michael Watson, Tom Caldwell, Pat Collins, Pat Tallon, Decd., Peter Keegan, and Graham Walsh.

Social Bowling Tournament Winners

2022 Winter Mike Hayes, BoI BC
2023 Spring Joel Eluk, BoI BC
2023 Winter Ronnie Hanlon, KBC
2023 Spring Paul Griffin, KBC
2024 Winter Paul Griffin, KBC

BLI Trophies Won

1989 Shott Cup
1995 Shott Cup
1999 O’D Cup
2003 O’D Cup
2018 Cassoni Cup (Div. 5)

BLI Honours
1986 Tyler Cup (Junior Pairs) John Lee, Conor Ahearne
2010 Mecredy Cup (Junior Fours) John Lee, Quentin Teggin, Gerry Gibson, John Kelly
John Lee – Lord Mayor’s Cup

Honorary Life Member
2017 Gerard Maume

Gerry Gibson
Club Captain, Nov. 2024

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