Salina Police team wins third Salina Irish Road Bowling, $3,000 raised for KWU pantry
The Salina Police Department's Blue Bloods are the 2026 Salina Irish Road Bowling champions. Jerry and Nancy Lonergan recently presented the team with a small trophy recognizing the win.
The contest was held Sept. 12 at Indian Rock Park, and 22 teams took part. Counting volunteers, organizers said well over 100 people were involved, and the event raised $3,000.
The winning team was Mat Newton, Andrew Meek, Derek Wies and Spencer Kochanowski. The trophy includes the battered "bullet" the team used for its round. Each team plays with its own bullet, a replica of a small cannonball. Each member of the winning team also got an all-season pass to Kansas Wesleyan University sporting events and a $20 gift certificate to Red Fern Booksellers.
This was Salina's third road bowling competition and the second time the Police Department has won the championship. The team tied the course record of 17, set last year by the Good Old Guys. Jerry Lonergan told the team that changes expected to the course before next year's event mean the shared record of 17 will stand permanently.
$3,000 for KWU's hygiene pantry
The SIRB planning group will deliver the $3,000 to Kansas Wesleyan University President Matt Thompson for the school's student hygiene pantry at a women's basketball game later this season. The Lady Coyotes, coached by Harper Taylor, have served as course monitors and team caddies at all three SIRB events.
About the game
Irish road bowling comes from rural Ireland, with roots going back to the 1600s. As the story goes, Irish rebels stole 28-ounce cannonballs from British armories and, rather than carry them, rolled them down Irish backroads. That led to contests over who could roll the cannonballs, which came to be called "bullets," the farthest. In the United States, teams of four take turns rolling the bullet around a set course, and the team that finishes in the fewest rolls wins.
Salina's course runs over and around Indian Rock Park, with challenges like a quarter-mile stretch on a dirt path and the climb up the big hill.
Some credit the event's success to the promise of beer and donuts at 9 in the morning, but the Lonergans see it differently. "We knew starting something from scratch would be a challenge and annually it is a lot of work. We get multiple payback from a great group of volunteers and event participants. You can't beat an early Saturday morning filled with laughter and smiles from adults playing an odd, somewhat silly game," they said.
Other winners
Three teams tied for second place, and Arseways Allies took the runner-up recognition. The Bocce Ballers, a team that flew in from New York for the event, won the novice team title. The team's Garufi family members are cousins of Jerry Lonergan.
Lucky Lobbers won the prize for longest first roll. So every team has a chance at a prize, one team is picked at random, and this year that was The Garden Party.
Opening ceremony
Local actor Mary King again sang the U.S. and Irish national anthems before the first roll, singing the Irish anthem in Gaelic. Dr. Robert Kraft, CEO of the Salina Family Health Center, bowled the ceremonial first roll. Kraft is leading a capital campaign to raise $55 million for a new facility and has served as the emergency medical personnel at all three SIRB events.
At the opening ceremony, Jerry Lonergan thanked the Salina Parks and Recreation Department for its help putting on the event, and credited the support and encouragement of departing Parks Director Jeff Hammond for bringing Irish road bowling to Salina.
Next year
The next Salina Irish Road Bowling event is Saturday, Sept. 11, 2027. Updates will be posted at www.SalinaIrishrb.com and on the Salina Irish Road Bowling Facebook page.
