All righty, then

Clearly I have depressed all of you into silence with yesterday's posting about Kilmainham Gaol. You came, you read, you slunk away without comment, in too much despair to carry on.

So here's a pleasant, random picture from the trip to take your mind off the gloom.

We were in Blackrock when we took this picture. I think they're bowling, but I'm not entirely sure. Those of you who know about Ireland can perhaps fill us in on the details.

I remember reading somewhere about how, in the old days, in the west of Ireland, people would set up bowling games on the country roads. That was back when traffic was nothing more than an occasional donkey cart hauling peat; you'd be killed if you tried that now.

But I don't know if that's what these people are playing. We stopped a couple of gardai who were walking by and asked them, but they didn't seem to know any more than just "bowling." Of course in American bowling there aren't anywhere near this many balls.

So what game is this?