It was once a popular pastime for many people in Letterkenny until it was allowed to fall by the wayside like so many others before it.
But the famous Skittle Alley at Lower Main Street is enjoying a popular revival.
Thanks to a county council-assisted grant and the passion of a few locals, Skittle Alley is bowling them over once again.
There are now eight teams competing in the Skittle Alley league on a Saturday evening in the busy town.
A milling crowd is the only clue that something a little different is taking place as delivery trucks and people going about their daily business pass by.
The crudest way to describe the game is bowling with sticks.
Freshly-cut tree branches are stripped of their leaves and smaller and turned into solid tree cuts.
They are then thrown the length of skittle alley to knock skittles of their perch at the other end.
Local man Richard ‘Dickie’ McGranaghan from The Row remembers playing the game as a young man in the 70s.
He’s delighted the pastime has returned and brought a sense of the old town back with it.
“It’s great to see it back and people learning how to play skittles again.
“I remember passing hours here as a younger man and the craic used to be great.
“It’s great to see that we are able to revive those times once again,” he said.
Local town councillor Tom Crossan also remembers when skittles was big business in the Cathedral Town.
As he marks the scores in the comfort (and safety!!) of his van, Cllr Crossan is part of a legacy not only trying to revive traditions of old, but keen to pass them on to the next generation.
An odd wager between teams keeps it interesting.
But it’s the social legacy that is the most important aspect of all such pastimes.
For those couple of hours, the players at skittle alley can forget their troubles, mortgages, bills and whatever else may be causing them to sleep a little less at night.
A simple tradition for simple times.
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