IT'S no secret that the passion for darts is growing across Ireland all the time.
And there are those who are turning that passion into something more tangible.
That's exactly what John Long of Dartsmith has been doing as he has turned his obsession with all the different shapes and sizes of darts into a growing business venture.
Speaking to Darts In Ireland, Cork man John has revealed how his love for darts was kickstarted in college in UCC over a decade ago.
Playing to a decent standard, John became well known in the Cork county circles, and was well known too for his love of swapping and selling darts sets.
John said: "I would always have a lot of sets of darts and would be chopping and changing them to see what worked best.
"That became a bit of a side hobby for me as I would be buying and selling sets and using online swap sites too."
However it was only last year that John took this to the next level, when he set up Dartsmith to offer precision made darts barrels that have already become a fixture for many players around Ireland and beyond.
John has currently designed three different barrels - known as The Helix, Code Breaker and Octo Bomb - which he gets precision made in China.
John said: "People used to joke to me that I had so many sets of darts going on that I could open my own shop.
"I thought about that but then decided to concentrate just on the barrels and the three I have now are proving to be very popular."
It helped, too, that John got rave reviews from prominent British darts YouTuber Neal Birkin.
John added: "Neal is obviously well known for his darts reviews online and is a cracking player himself, so I sent him off a set of the Helix barrels and asked him to give them an honest review.
"He did exactly that and all of a sudden the sales to the UK started to increase for me.
"I am now getting orders in from the likes of Scotland, Wales, Scandinavia and Germany and they all seem to be happy customers."
The one set that has really taken off for Dartsmith is the very striking blue barrelled Octo Bombs.
John said: "Yeah the Octo Bombs do seem to be very popular and I think it might be down to how well the blue barrel looks.
"Some customers have been so happy with the set that there are now ordering two to three sets of them.
"It's great to see the interest and also great for me to turn something I have a passion for into something that can give darts players what they want."
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