Mick Barry (10 January 1919 – 6 December 2014) was an Irish road bowler. Barry was born in

Waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

outside

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

and was regarded as the greatest road bowler of all time. His career started in 1937 and continued until his last score at

Dublin Hill Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

on 1 June 1997.Mick Barry
on Ask about Ireland website He won eight All-Ireland titles, the last at the age of 56; the first All-Ireland championships were only held in 1963 when Barry was already in his forties, by which time he had won several Munster titles, which were de facto national crowns. Barry is famous for lofting a 16 oz. bowl over the Chetwynd Viaduct on

St. Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chri ...

1955.Chetwynd Viaduct
on Ask about Ireland website He later lived almost in the shadow of the viaduct. He worked as grounds superintendent at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

for 47 years. In 1999 the national road bowling organisation, Ból-Chumann na hÉireann, named Barry the "Supreme Bowler of the Millennium". He died aged 95 in 2014. His wife Betty and two of their children predeceased him, but he was survived by three daughters and three sons.

References

External links

"Mick Barry, the greatest bowler of all time"
1919 births Irish road bowling players 2014 deaths Sportspeople from County Cork {{ireland-sport-bio-stub