James J Donnelly known as 'Jimmy' is a retired Irish international

lawn bowler Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

Bowls career

He represented Northern Ireland at three Commonwealth Games and his best achievement was winning a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in the pairs at the

1970 British Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games (Scottish Gaelic: Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis Bhreatainn 1970) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first tim ...

in Edinburgh with Syd Thompson. He won the 1979 pairs title and 1968 fours title at the

Irish National Bowls Championships The Irish National Bowls Championships combines Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Traditionally the game was played mainly in Northern Ireland but the Kenilworth Bowling Club of Dublin joined the Irish Bowls Association in 1906 which pr ...

when bowling for the Falls Bowls Club. In addition he has won five National indoor titles and was Ireland's bowler of the year in 1965. He was the runner-up in the

1979 World Indoor Bowls Championship The 1979 W.D. & H.O. Wills World Indoor Bowls Championship was held at the Coatbridge indoor bowling club, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, from 10 to 14 January 1979. The championship was a men's singles event in which David Bryant won his first ...

, losing out to the legendary David Bryant.

Legacy

The 'Jimmy Donnelly Trophy', an award given to Ireland's best bowler at the annual British Isles International series is named after him. He was a mentor to Jim Baker.

Personal life

He was a teacher by trade.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Jimmy Possibly living people Male lawn bowls players from Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games medallists in lawn bowls Bowls players at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 1978 Commonwealth Games 1928 births Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games