Tom swaps the GAA pitch for pétanque
Tom Donnellan with Caroline Cadam, French teacher, Scoil Mhuire, Strokestown, and Ann Brudell, Head of French Department at Scoil Mhuire, Strokestown, during a recent visit to the school promoting pétanque.
Former Roscommon footballer Tom Donnellan has swapped the GAA pitch for the game of pétanque.
Donnellan, who was part of the Roscommon senior football team that appeared in the 1980 All-Ireland final against Kerry, is hoping to boost the popularity of the French sport in the West of Ireland.
He discovered the sport while on holidays in France. Now Donnellan is keen to propel pétanque forward in his role as a development officer for Connacht.
“I have an interest in sport generally. I played football with Roscommon years ago and would have played hockey at a high level in Dublin and interprovincially. I would have played a bit of soccer and hurling too, so I was always very interested in sports. When you get that bit older, you have to taper everything to your physical condition.
“I have been on holidays to France and saw that people were playing this game in a fun environment. People of all ages but, in particular, people of older ages were playing it and enjoying it.
“Walking football has developed in Ireland, so there is an interest in sports for older people. It is just to encourage people to maintain a level of activity and be social. We are also hoping that people associated with GAA clubs or any type of club would play to maintain a level of activity,” he explained.
So what is pétanque?
It is a sport that is similar to lawn bowls. The aim is to get the ball as close to a designated mark as possible. Unlike lawn bowls, pétanque can be played on a wide variety of surfaces with a smaller, metal ball used by competitors.
The 1979 league champion with the Rossies states that it is easy to form pétanque clubs and insists they do not need an abundance of space to thrive.
“We are hoping to create a synergy with golf clubs or GAA clubs, so that if there is a small area in a club that is unused, pétanque could be played there. These clubs would have facilities so it would be great to form a link between an existing club and those who might be trying to set up a pétanque club.
“For example, in Belturbet, there is a nine-hole golf course. Some people started with a Men’s Shed situation in Belturbet itself. There is a decent-sized area up there and there is a lot of heavy traffic on the golf course. So they worked together and identified a place within the grounds of the golf course.
“The golf grounds is thriving but people interested in playing pétanque didn’t need a huge space. They found an area and now pétanque is set up and growing up there,” he noted.
There are no pétanque clubs in County Roscommon although Donnellan is hoping that every county will see at least one club form within the next two years.
He insists the sport has grown since the pandemic due to the fact it can be played on different surfaces, in small areas and by people of all generations.
“We have started involving schools. I was down not that long ago to Scoil Mhuire Strokestown where some of the students were being taught French through pétanque. Some teachers and parents saw what was happening and they said, for very little money, we could put in a piste (a playing area for pétanque).
“It is a growing sport, and it is very cheap to install an area to play. I hope that every county in Connacht will develop at least one club. It might not happen in this calendar year, but I have no doubt that it will. Once one club starts up and the word goes out and even through a newspaper like , covering it, that will raise the profile even more,” he concluded.
