'Bowls saved my life' says Irish para bowler once housebound for three decades

Liz Thompson plays bowls for Ireland.

The Shankill woman pinches herself every time she says it, to check if she's dreaming.

The brand new navy and green Team Ireland tracksuit she is wearing to meet UTV at Grove Visually Impaired Bowling Club practice is a tell-tale sign that it's really true.

Liz turned 66 on the day of filming, and the last year of her life has been a 'bowler-coaster' for her.

That's because Liz, a mother of three and grandmother of four, represented Team Ireland at the European Bowling Championships in Scotland.

Remarkably, this special milestone came less than two years after taking up the sport for the first time ever and being totally 'bowled over' by it.

She had started to lose her sight, and didn't know what to do with herself. She could no longer see the crafts she previously enjoyed, so was in need of a new hobby.

In steps a lady called Olive Rodgers from the charity the RNIB's Community Connection team, who asks Liz what she might like to do.

Liz said that as a girl, she used to watch the bowlers out on the green with awe, and so it was decided that Liz would go to the Grove Visually Impaired Bowling Team.

It transpired that Liz was very good at bowls... So good in fact, that less than a-year-and-a-half after starting bowling for the first time ever, she went on to represent team Ireland's para pairs in Ayr with teammate Billy Finnegan from Larne.

Liz has not just been dealing with sight loss, she also once spent 30 years housebound due to agoraphobia, which is the fear of open spaces.

This meant she was afraid to go outside, but one day 18 years ago, she decided to start taking baby steps and walked to the end of the street.

Then she would try go to the other end of the street, and eventually Liz overcame her phobia and began living a normal life again.

Just when she was fully back in her stride with the agoraphobia behind her, the sight problems started.

What happened next was life changing - this time for the better.

"Would it be fair to say that bowls saved your life Liz?" I asked her, on a visit to the home she was once confined to for such a long time.

"Yes," she said immediately and emphatically.

"Yes, it really has saved my life.

"When you're told they're losing your sight, you go, 'What's next? What am I gonna do here?' You think it's all over."

"But there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it's the best light have ever had," she said.

"If anybody was to say to me one day you'll play bowls for Ireland, I'd say you're talking nonsense.

"But I do play for Ireland and it's the best thing that has ever, ever happened to me, I love it," Liz said.

At the Tuesday morning practice, Ian McClure and Chris Mulholland from the Irish Bowls Federation are on hand.

They help verbally call out instructions regarding where the jack is situated, tell bowlers where their bowl landed or went off the mat, and stand close enough for bowlers who may be partially sighted to point their leg in line with where they are aiming.

This time of year, bowls are played inside, which is only a quarter of the size of the outdoor green and indoor bowls are notoriously more difficult.

The RNIB was praised by many other participants of the bowling group, who said that home visits Olive Rodgers encouraged them to step outside their comfort zones.

Several of the bowlers said they also took up 'blind tennis' at Ormeau Park, and availed of audiobook services thanks to Olive.

“This programme is so important," said Olive.

"It helps visually impaired people gain confidence and feel that they are part of a support network and community that is there for them for as long as they need it.”

To get more information about the services available through the RNIB Community Connection programme in Northern Ireland, you can also call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or click here to access the website.

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