Hurling: A traditional Irish Sport Hurling: A traditional Irish Sport Share: Comments | Image Credits A uniquely Irish game, Hurling is one of the world’s oldest field sports and has been played in some form in Ireland for more than 800 years. It is often compared to hockey but other than the fact that both games involve a stick and a ball there is no similarity. Some people have called it a mixture of hockey and war! The curved wooden stick with a flat end is known as a hurl or hurley, or in Irish a camán [say:come-awn], and is made from a single piece of wood, traditionally Ash. The lower end, or blade, is flat on both sides. metal bands are often used around the blades, as on the left, to stop the wood from splitting. Main image: Cork vs Offaly by Kman999 The ball, or sliothar [say: shlit-her] is about the size of a tennis ball and is leather covered with raised ridges where the leather is stitched. Hurling is an amateur game and is played only by men (or boys). A similar game, Camogie, is played only by women.

How Hurling is Played Games are played by two opposing teams of 15 players each. The object is to get the sliothar into the opponent’s goalpost. The goalpost is H shaped, with a net under the cross post. If the sliothar goes over the post, a point is scored, if it goes under the post and into the net a goal, which is worth three points, is scored. Players are allowed to strike the ball in the air, even above head height, as well as on the ground. When the ball is on the ground it cannot be handled but it can be lifted from the ground using the hurley, to be either caught in the hand or struck. Once caught in the hand a player can carry the ball for no more than three paces, but is allowed to balance it on the blade of the hurley while running. As well as striking the ball with the hurley, players can kick the ball or strike it with their hand. An impressive hurling skill is the ability to bounce or balance the ball on the hurl while running at full speed before finally flipping it high into the air and whacking it over or under the cross bar.

Tackling is allowed and although it is not permitted to hit another player with the hurley it can happen in the heat of play and protective helmets are now commonly worn. When first seeing a hurling match, the impression is of great speed and on closer observation of remarkable skill and dexterity – it is truly not easy to catch and control a small hard ball travelling at up to 150km/hr (about 90 mph)! Play moves rapidly up and down the pitch since it is possible for a good player to send the ball over 80 metres (about 260 feet) with a single strike. Scoring tends to be frequent, especially of points. The game’s speed and skill come from the ability required to catch andcontrol the hard ball. It can travel at up to 150 km/hour (93 miles perhour), and a good strike of the hurley can propel the ball over 80metres (262 feet). Where to See Hurling Played While it’s a wonderful game to watch live, the ball is so small and the pace so fast that unless you’re familiar with the game it’s sometimes difficult to follow on a small screen.

Still, this video will give you a feel for the game. Hurling is played in most Irish counties, though the strongest teams tend to come from Kilkenny, Tipperary, Wexford, Cork, Clare, Offaly, Limerick and Galway. Every year the counties compete over the Summer month in the All Ireland Championship , the winner of which receives the MacCarthy Cup. Matches in the Championship series attract huge crowds, with over 70,000 typically attending the final each September in Croke Park in Dublin. At local level there are many leagues and championships for adult and youth players and in the counties mentioned above especially there will be no problem finding a game to attend any weekend. Ask locally, or check the GAA website . For a real experience of Irish life, call into a GAA club on an evening when there is training in progress. You will be welcomed, someone will be happy to explain what is going on and will get a real grasp of how the game works by watching teams and individuals learn their skills. There are GAA clubs in pretty much every parish in Ireland, so just ask a local. Hurling in the US Army No, seriously!

Here’s the story of a group of US soldiers who saw a game of hurling in the television while on a stopover in Shannon, loved it and began to play: Hurling in the News The GAA - Latest Hurling News Latest Hurling news supplied by GAA.ie HURLING FOR DUMMIES HURLING FOR FOREIGN DUMMIES Howryez! Welcome to the The O'Byrne Files ï¿½ easy-to-follow, comprehensive online cut-out-and-keep guide on how to follow the sport called "hurling". It's full of handy advice to make even the most clueless person into an avid hurling fan in only a few centuaries. I should let you know first that hurling had a major role in the legend of Cuchulainn, who was a sort of Herculean or O'Byrne -type hero in early Irish politics and was apparently related to the country's latter day greatest villain, C. J. Haughey. I should also mention that in Scotland the natives practised "shinty", the Scottish form of hurling, alone in the hills of the Highlands (it was a solo game there for obvious reasons) and around St Andrews.

This led to the creation of golf. Hurling also reached Nova Scotia in the early 1800s and was picked up by the Micmac Indians, to create the multimillion-dollar sport known today as "Ice Hockey". Now, where were we? Oh yeah, the lessons Lesson #1: "What the feck is Hurling?" Hurling is an ancient game from the Ice Age, but it didn't get official recognition until approximately 1889 or thereabouts. As Liam Griffin, the former Wexford hurling manager and amateur poet, once described it: "Hurling is the Riverdance of sport." NB: This doesn't mean that it involves loads of tap-dancing by poncy blokes in black mini-skirts (or girls either). Hurling is actually a venerable outdoor activity, a traditional game of immense skill in which people of all ages beat the crap out of each other with quite big sticks. It also involves a ball (called a "Sliotar"), two goalposts (shaped like a "H", or a "h" if they need repairing), and a very muddy field named after a dodgy bishop.

The ball is about the same size as a tennis ball, only much heavier if you get whacked with one. If you get the ball over the bar but between the posts (as if they extended infinitely into the air), you get one point. When you do this, you get a damn big cheer and people slap you on the back and say "Fair play". If you get it under the H, you get a goal. This is worth three points. So you get three times as much cheers. More about cheering techniques in lesson six or seven. There are 15 players in each team, until several of them are sent off. The players' sticks are called "hurleys" (after which Elizabeth Hurley's family gets its name). These sticks have a broad bit at one end called the bas (boss). The rest is called "the rest". Incidentally, one of Ireland's former taoisigh (but not Jack Lynch) was also known as The Bas, and also sometimes called The Crook. Fair play to ya! You've reached the end of lesson one! Now turn off your PC and memorise all this until the next lesson.... ...and we are outta here.

Remember: In case of doubt, just make what you think you know sound convincing. Now, where were was I? Oh yeah "GETTING A STICK" A hurling stick or "hurley" is essential for every hurling fan. They are available at your local sports shop, usually next to the Liverpool and Chelsea shirts, for a very modest sum. But if you're from abroad you can easily make one yourself. All it takes are the following readily available items: * 1 large ash tree * 2-3 other tools * 1 good carpenter (or "chippy") Well done! Now that you have a hurley, it's time to pick your team. This is normally not required, because you are simply stuck with the parish/town/county you were born in. You are also stuck with a geansai (jumper or jersey) of a particular colour and shape. But for The O'Byrne Files many overseas readers this may not be an option. So you will have to plump for either Wexford or Kilkenny - because these are good hurling counties but brutal at football (let's keep it simple) - or Cork if the worst comes to the worst. Fair play to ya!

You've reached the end of lesson 2! Now turn off your PC and memorise all this until taking the next lesson. Welcome back to the The O'Byrne Files ï¿½ easy-to-follow, comprehensive online cut-out-and-keep guide on how to follow the sport called "hurling". Lesson #3: "Going to your first match" For this you will need the following equipment: # A decent coat # 1 cap # A good bit of cash (at least ï¿½30-ï¿½40*) (* It is often necessary to bring more money than this of course, e.g. you might have to survive for a week in a strange town if you are up for a big match such as a provincial final, or if you go on something called an "All Ireland Almight Bender".) On arrival at the ground, make a rough assessment of the players' ages. If they look like they're under 18, you're at a "Minors" match. Any older and you're probably at a "Seniors". Unless, that is, they are Under 21s. To complicate things, though, some players could be playing both Senior and Under 21.

Then again, others simply give up playing. And sometimes they are actually picked for an important game and though they are on the pitch they aren't actually playing. Seasoned match-goers often refer to this condition by its old Irish terms (either "Arafeck yalayzee bollicsya" or "Getuptha fieldya cunchya"). For the first few matches, keep as quiet as possible: listen to the other fans nearby, and if asked a question, answer as briefly as possible and never smile. It is always better to communicate with a quick nod or shrug of the shoulders rather than actually talking. Remember to clap when everyone else claps or jumps in the air. Then in the pub afterwards, you might be asked to re-create the finer moments of the game you have just witnessed. The Fairy Liquid bottles make an ideal bottom of the goalposts, and construct the rest of the posts with the coat hangers and sticky-back plastic. Get a sharp Stanley knife (always ask an adult to help you) and cut the beer-mats into the shapes of each member of both teams, in order to create that vivid action replay in full colour. Fair play to ya! You've reached the end of lesson 3!

Now turn off your PC and memorise all this until the next lesson.... Lesson #4: "Cheering" The most important part of hurling is knowing how to cheer. All cheering phrases begin with a "Grrrr" sound, and almost all end in a "yahh!" sound. You will also need to lower your voice as far as it will go. Practise this voice in the bath and on your kids/little sister/pet dog. Remember that even if your team scores a point or three, your voice must always sound a bit angry and growly. Next you have to get the accent right. The accent can be easily picked up at a local pub or Spar supermarket. To cheer properly you will also need one of the following multi-purpose phrases so you can fit in properly. * Come on ya! * Take him down! * Oh Noooooooooooo! Fair play! You've reached the end of lesson 4! Now turn off your PC and memorise all this until the next lesson....

Lesson # 5: "Shorts" In English premiership football, due to the inclement weather you will find many teams togged out in shorts that stretch down to their knees, and in the style of Accrington Stanley circa 1880. But in hurling (and Gaelic football too), there's no mucking about: shorts live up to their name. They are much shorter. In fact the shorter your shorts are when playing hurling, the more you will distract your opposition, and the more likely you are to win. Who needs skill! Fair play! You've reached the end of lesson 5! Now turn off your PC and memorise all this until I find out more and get around to telling ye.... Lesson # 6: "Junior hurlers" You know you're a junior hurler when..... You spend all winter on the beer speculating on who will be brought in to manage the junior hurling team next year. The hardest tackle you will make all year is in an indoor soccer match in January. When you break your borther-in-law's leg.

There are 35 at training under lights on a bitter February night (unfit but enthusiastic) - the average for Augsut is 7 (unfit, sick of training, reading Teagasc manuals and making silage) The club treasurer spends some time at the AGM lamenting the yearly cost of running a club and especially the bill for hurleys; a month later, the team is being urged to "give 'em timber lads - we have plenty of hurleys on the sideline..." When you go for a pick-up, you tap the ball at least twice on the hurley before you fumble it. Ground hurling is for juveniles and camogie players. The full forward has his son and grand nephew in the corners. The grand nephew is two years older. For a 2.30 throw-in, you start packing your gear bag at 2.40 and still manage to be on the field before the referee even arrives.

You can get a match called off because your star player is playing divisional under-16 the following week Your tight marking corner back never gives an inch - except of course, when the ball gets inside his own 50 and he charges out after it with all the other backs, forgetting that the other team are even on the field. Your goalie lets in a sitter every second game - this usually happens after you have scored 5 points from play to reel in a difficult half-time deficit. Or in the first minute if it is a final. Your full-forward can't score but "he's a good man to bust up the play". Your centre-forward can't score either but "he'll stop a good man from hurling". Your championship is either a round robin that requires you to play six league games to eliminate one team, or a knockout starting in October. Any members of your panel who claim to have back injuries are either lazy or completely daft. Unless you can see blood, bruises or bandages, they are making it up. Before every match, the forwards are told to stay wide and not bunch - but this is not what happens. The only time any forward goes wide is to take a sideline cut or if they are looking for water.

Your backs play from behind waving a hurley with one hand while resting the other on the forward's back - this is why all your scores and all their scores come from frees. You can't field a team during the fortnight of the Leaving Cert. The more people instruct you to "let fly if you don't get it up the first time", the more you ignore them. Your left-corner-back plays at No.4 because he can only strike off his left side. Ditto No.7. Your star player always has one other brother "that was even better but he couldn't stay off the drink". Fair play! You're a junior hurler, and you've reached the end of lesson 6! Now turn off your PC and memorise all this until we have our next lesson.... Lesson #7: "Micheï¿½l ï¿½ Muircheartaigh" This is probably the most difficult lesson in the entire series, particularly if you're from abroad. There is probably no more famous name in Gaelic Games than Micheï¿½l ï¿½ Muircheartaigh.

Well, apart perhaps from Tommy Semple, Jason Sherlock, Master McGrath, Cusack Park, Bibi Baskin and Lana Bus. "Micheï¿½l" is Irish for, well, "Micheï¿½l". A rough translation into other European languages is "Mikhail" or "Michelle". All of Ireland's greatest broadcasters have the first name of Micheï¿½l, with two notable exceptions: Gay Byrne and Gabriel Byrne. And ï¿½ Muircheartaigh is a good South Kerry name. In English it roughly translates as Moriarty. Broadcaster Micheï¿½l ï¿½ Muircheartaigh became famous from Ireland to Timbuktu for the special language he developed for people to talk about Hurling in all its glory. Micheï¿½l also covers major greyhound meetings, and beneath that genial exterior is a man of steel and a fierce competitor on the golf course. Fair play! You're a junior hurler, and you've reached the end of lesson seven! Now turn off your PC and memorise all this until we have our next lesson....

Lesson #8: "Heroes Of Hurling History" The first hero of hurling history was Cuchulainn, who was a sort of Herculean hero in early Irish politics and was apparently related to C. J. Haughey. We also forgot to mention in Lesson 1 that clansmen practised "shinty", the Scottish form of hurling, alone in the hills of the Highlands (it was a solo game there for obvious reasons) and around St Andrews Golf Course. This led to the creation of golf. Hurling also reached Nova Scotia in the early 1800s and was picked up by the Micmac Indians, to create the multimillion-dollar sport known today as "Ice Hockey". Hence the famous ballad "Micmac Paddywhack Give A Dog A Bone". Fair play! You're a junior hurler, and you've reached the end of lesson eight! Now turn off your PC and memorise all this until we have our next lesson.... Lesson #9: "Talk the Talk" An essential part of hurling is knowing how to talk the talk. While there are significant regional variations in this way of speaking, many of the key terms are much the same from county to county.

Take how they talk the talk in the west. For example, try getting your teeth into the unofficial "Galway GAA Glossary"... According to the glossary, here are the main VERBS you'll need: Welt - swing at. Bata - eg "I gave it bata" - I put a fair bit of effort into it. Warp - hit something hard as in "I'll f*ckin' warp you." Horsed - bout of rough play or intimidatory tactics as in we horsed them out of it. Sometimes referred to as kicking/batin' the shit out of the opposing team. Leh-it-in-ta-fuck-weddya - Full forward's appeal to a midfielder for a more timely delivery of the pass. Yabollixya - Corner back's formal recognition of a score by his esteemed opponent. Namajaysus - What was that for, referee? Next we come to the essential ADJECTIVES: Stomached - surprised eg. "Jaysus when he came up behind me I was awful stomached." Mighty - very good. Mantach - missing front teeth eg. Mairtin Staunton is mantach. Bullin' - angry. eg.

"the centre half back was bullin' after I lamped him". Bull thick - very angry. The Comm-it-eeee - Local GAA bullshitters in general. A Crowd - Eg. "that crowd from Ardrahan are a right shower of shites". The Bomber - a very popular nickname for a GAA player. A hang sangwidge - consumed with tay on the sides of roads after matches in Croker or Thurles. Citeog - he hit it with his citeog. ie. left handed/footed. A Shamozzle - a group of players shkelpin' one another but not exactly hittin' anyone at the same time! Flakin' - usually goes on for a whole game..... eg. "Jayz Paulie Cooney gave Pateen Og an awful flakin' below in Loughrea on Sunday". To "flake" a lad for a whole game usually starts off with a bit of the aforementioned "joshellin'" and "joultin'" and develops into a bit of "weltin'" and may even result in a good "lampin'" for the victim especially if he gets "bull thick".

Mullocker - untidy or awkward player. Horse - another untidy or rough player. There's one in every club. Burst the C**t - Common exhortation also referred to as the Turlough roar. Row - Fight involving four or more players swinging hurls like lunatics. Massive Row - Row involving both team, substitutes and supporters jumping fences. Running Row - A massive row that continues out in the parking area and or dressing room areas. Fair play! You can talk the talk like a Galway hurler, and you've reached the end of lesson 9! Hurling is regarded as a culchie game until Dublin win a match when it suddenly becomes "Hooorlin', da fastest field sport in da bleedin' wooorld". Warning: New Computer Viruses Microsoft Ireland has just issued a "high alert" warning concerning a new strain of computer virus that affects Irish personal computers. Many of these are most active during the summer months, and affect Outlook Express users. Infected messages contain the letters "GAA" in the Subject line. MEATH VIRUS: Throws you out of Windows. CLARE VIRUS: Memory forgets everything before 1995.

KERRY VIRUS: Five years of hard work wiped out by undetected Offaly mail. WATERFORD VIRUS: Not due to strike again for another 40 years. COLIN LYNCH VIRUS: Boots up some Waterford machines and carries on as if nothing happened. MAYO VIRUS: Always billed as harmful, but really nothing to worry about. MICK O'DWYER VIRUS: Attempts to install lots of foreign programs to replace existing slow-running applications. LIMERICK HURLING VIRUS: Causes problems for 65 minutes then disappears, never to be seen again. JOHN MAUGHAN VIRUS: System crashes in September. DAVID FORDE VIRUS: Hasn't been seen since the "Michael Duignan Virus Killer" was invented. MICHAEL DONNELLAN VIRUS: Attacks operating system and timekeeper and then deletes all records of this ever occurring. GER LOUGHNANE VIRUS: Speakers emit a continuous whining sound, keeps generating data corruption messages, PC blows up but it won't accept any blame. MARTIN LYNCH VIRUS: Computer pretends to go down, but then boots back up and is OK.

This material is courtesy of my friends from Wasting time @ Work Back to top of the page O'Byrne Files ï¿½ World Martin Fogarty: 'Hurling should be on the curriculum of every school' Martin Fogarty was recently appointed the GAA's National Hurling Development Manager. Martin Fogarty: 'Hurling should be on the curriculum of every school' Wednesday, July 20, 2016 By John Harrington Martin Fogarty strides across the UCD playing fields resplendent in a sky-blue Dublin jersey, carrying a hurley in one hand and a gear bag in the other. The hurley and gear-bag are familiar companions, the Dublin jersey not so much. Fogarty made his name as a selector and coach with Kilkenny from 2005-2013 when the Cats won six All-Ireland titles, so to see him in county colours other than black and amber jars the senses. "When in Rome...", he explains with a smile. Fogarty had just taken a session with the Kilmacud Crokes minor hurling team along with Dublin county hurler Niall Corcoran, Kilmacud's Gaelic Games Promotion Officer.

Making connections with every hurling tribe in the country will soon be his full-time job as the GAA's newly appointed National Hurling Development Manager, so that sort of mindset should help. His coaching acumen will earn him respect wherever he goes and add weight to whatever recommendations he makes, and his history as a long-serving Primary School in Firoda National School outside Castlecomer suggests he has the drive to tackle what will be a busy and wide-reaching role. When he was appointed in 1981, Firoda NS was a single-teacher school under threat of closure because of falling numbers. Under Fogarty's watch, the school blossomed and now has three mainstream teachers, one special need's assistant, one resource teacher, one learning support teacher and almost 100 pupils. So, what sort of impact can he have in his new role? Will the game of hurling also be in much ruder health by the time he is finished his work? GAA.ie sat down with National Hurling Development Manager to find out his goals and how he plans to achieve them. Q: Martin, you’ve been immersed in the game all your life, so is the position of National Hurling Development Manager your dream job?

A: It's a great opportunity to do something I'm passionate about. To get this chance is having butter on the two sides of the bread. Martin Fogarty believes hurling should be part of the school curriculum in Ireland. Q: Why did you see yourself as a good fit for the position? A: When you go for interview you have to see yourself that way. I've been fortunate my whole career as a teacher, as a club person and then being involved in Kilkenny I've been fortunate to see the game at all levels from four years of age right up to top level senior inter-county. I think that's a great advantage and seeing players, seeing teams perform, the best in the country, and at the same time as a club person seeing the pain of not being able to win matches, having the sad days so I can empathise with people who don't win. What happens in Kilkenny doesn't fit for every county. In fact, very few counties. My job is not about All-Irelands. It's about trying to get more people hurling and get more people enjoying it. I would have a belief that hurling should actually be on the curriculum in every secondary school.

I was involved in a Comenius project a few year ago where Irish schools link up with European schools. We linked up with German, Polish, Spanish, Swedish. You share culture, you share practice, and visit with each other. We had these people over with us and we brought them to a hurling match and a lady teacher from Sweden said to me - "If we had this game it would be on our curriculum." Up to that I looked at hurling as hurling. But she was dead right. They were blown away with the game of hurling. We had them up in our school for a start. And then we brought them to an inter-county game. At that stage they would have said it, but I would only have realised it after that the game of hurling is up there with the language, with the Book of Kells. You look at 1916 and all that was done with this year. The thing about hurling is that it's alive. I think everyone should have the opportunity to play it at some level. Q: Why should hurling be a more obvious fit to be on the curriculum of a school than any other sport?

A: If you think about it, it's our native game and something that no other country has. And it's our heritage. If you ask yourself 'why do we study history?', for example. Why do we study wars and battles and people killing each other? Why don't we study something that's alive? It's like our Irish dancing or our Irish music. You take art, why do we paint pictures in schools? Why do we play a tin whistle? Why not hurling? I would love to see a situation where it's a Leaving Cert subject where you could get points in your Leaving Cert for playing the game, coaching the game, or maybe just knowing the whole history of the game. Unfortunately like a lot of countries with things that they have, sometimes they don't appreciate them until they are gone. The time to keep something strong is when it's strong. If you were to imagine down the line hurling failing and then people trying to retrieve it and revive it. If you go to America and you take the Native Americans, everyone wants to go over and see how they used to live years ago but they're gone, they're wiped out. The time to keep something alive is when it's alive.

Q: The links between schools and clubs in Kilkenny seems to be one of the reasons why hurling is so healthy there. Are strong club-school links the most obvious thing every county should get right? A: The numbers are in the schools, everybody is passing through the schools. I would say that to promote it more through schools is one of the ways. Then obviously through clubs. But you may have children in schools that don't have access to clubs, the school is your opportunity if people are open to it. It doesn't have to be a team. It can be just playing the game for the fun of it. I believe that if enough people play the game for the fun of it you are going to grow more clubs, you are going to get more people involved. But the game is very strong. I was amazed, I was invited up to a little club in Roscommon, St Dominic's, to do a little bit of coaching and I was blown away with the level of interest, the level of skill. I was on the way home and found myself outside Hyde Park. I had a bit of time and in I went thinking it was a football match with the amount of cars there were. It turned out to be a hurling match.

The same club were playing there. So that little pocket up there would just blow you away with the level of interest they have and the standard. There are pockets like that everywhere. Martin Fogarty is enthused by how healthy hurling is in pockets of counties like Roscommon. Q: How strong is hurling now compared to 10 years ago? Is the game on the right curve? A: I think it is. I heard the figure that there will be 120,000 at Cul Camps this summer. Someone said to me that's only the first week or two, that could lead to 150,000. that's a huge amount. I heard another figure then that the coaching courses have started out, foundation and level one, and something like 10,000 people have trained as GAA hurling coaches. That's phenomenal. I just think that, going back years ago, if you look at clubs that maybe had one pitch, they now have two or three pitches.

Look at clubs even in my own area, you might have seen a bit of training going on a Tuesday or a Thursday and you might have seen youngsters and they might have one match in a competition and they got knocked out and that was it. You drive through the country now and there are scores of children in them, scores of adults. I think it's growing strongly. I know sometimes people criticise the level at the top, and if every match doesn't end in a draw there's a problem. I think the level of inter-county play is phenomenal. If a player backs off a metre from an opponent, it's generally a score. You spill a ball it ends up in a goal. The amount of fitness levels, the accuracy levels have gone through the sky. It's very difficult to compare now with 20 years ago. You just can't do it. Q: How easy or difficult will it be to have more counties genuinely competing in the top tier of the inter-county game? A: You see they talk about promoting people up to the top level but the people at the top are rising as well and it's very difficult.

I looked at the Ring, Rackard and Meagher matches this year and, to be honest about it, there would be plenty of players in Kilkenny that are hurling all their lives and they wouldn't make those teams. The standard is pretty good. You go up a level and it's higher again and then you take the top level. You're looking at fine margins then as you go up the grades. Unfortunately if a team finds themselves out of their depth in a game of hurling you can get a fairly serious beating. Take last week with Tipperary and Waterford. Waterford are an outstanding team. Their skill level is something else, their fitness levels too but a couple of balls go wrong in a game and suddenly you are wiped out the door. That's sport. It's like boxing, step in with Ali years ago and drop your guard and you're on the floor. Q: Offaly are an example of a once successful county now fallen on relatively harder times. How possible is to get Offaly back winning Provincial titles in the short to medium term? A: To win, so many things have to go right for you. You have to have the talent, exceptional talent.

And when Offaly were winning they had a bunch of exceptionally talented players. When Kilkenny and Tipperary are winning they have them. You can be doing a very good job, you can have very good ordinary players, but a team that comes against them have a few exceptional players, you're not going to beat them. If you look at the golf when Tiger Woods was dominant. Was there a problem in golf? All the other players, sure they were very good. It's just Tiger was that bit better. It's not a matter of saying, right, there's 10 counties we'll do this, this and this and win your All-Ireland. My end of it, I won't say I'm not interested in All-Irelands, but if you were to take the next 10 years if a different team were to win every year that's 260 All-Ireland medals over 10 years. That's only a small amount of players. There's not going to be 10 All-Ireland champions for the next 10 years. How many players are you looking at over the next 10 years are going to have an All-Ireland medal.

If you were to say 100, whereas I'm looking at thousands enjoying the game. Fogarty says he's willing to help Cork hurling in any way he can. Q: Would you see yourself as having any role in revitalising hurling in Cork? A: I'll put it this way, I will go wherever I can help out. You know, the likes of Cork, a huge hurling county. Haven't been winning titles. And that's the upper end of the scale. Now, I know for certain because I've been down there, there's a huge amount of work going on at club level. A huge amount of coaches working. And, without a doubt, if there's anything I can do for any county like that then I certainly will do it. Cork people are not happy obviously because they're not where they were at inter-county level and that is a problem for them. But compare it to other counties, they're still way ahead. So it's a double-edged thing.

I think the way forward in a county like Cork, and I would be very, very slow to tell them what they should be doing, but the way forward, I suppose, is to have a look at their games programs for a start. I think every county has to start off and look at their Games Programme and see are we providing a meaningful amount of games at a proper level for every player. That has to be the start of it. And if we're not, can we look to a county that is providing it and then can we build towards that? Tied into that then, once you have your Games structure in place, obviously then you need the people at the coal-face in the clubs to look after those and they need to be up-skilled. The structures are there in the GAA, I think, the advice is there and the people are on the ground to build it. And then, you know, to do what Cork wants to do and every county wants to do, to actually go and win. If you get all of those things in place, then you're still looking for the players with that little bit of extra talent. Like, if you take Galway as a prime example.

Haven't won a senior All-Ireland since 1988, but look at the hurlers and look at the underage. Look what they have. Year after year after year something happens to keep them from winning (an All-Ireland senior title). It doesn't mean their structures are wrong, it doesn't mean anything is wrong. There's a huge amount of hurling going on there and the standard is unbelievable. The fact that you don't win, so many things have to fall in place for you to win. Luckily enough in Kilkenny they have fallen into place. But I could see over the years the smallest little thing in certain years and you wouldn't even be in an All-Ireland. I think sometimes people get a bit nervous about the game. And they judge. I wouldn't judge hurling in a county by the progress of the senior team. Because for the senior team to progress so many things have to come right. Joey Holden lifts the Liam MacCarthy Cup for Kilkenny in 2015. Martin Fogarty believes Kilkenny's hurling success in recent years has bred further success. Q: You said the Kilkenny model isn’t a one size fits all one.

But what elements of it are easily transferable to other counties? A: You see we're spoiled in Kilkenny in that we've had success and success breeds success. If I was to say it's easy for a Kilkenny player to really become dedicated, now, I say 'easy' in inverted commas because they know if they put in the work and the graft and get things right and they know they have a very, very good chance of a big day for a start. And they have a reasonable chance of a bit of silverware. Now, you take a player from a county that hasn't had success, they can put in the same work and in the back of their mind they're saying, "What's ahead of me only a 20-point beating at the end of the season?" And, unfortunately, that little bit of doubt can be what holds them back the fraction that tips the scales in their matches. Sometimes you get teams I believe that in trying to achieve they actually maybe work too hard. And if you work too hard and train too often then you become stale. I have sympathy for teams and players that do that in order to try to rise to the level of the Kilkennys and maybe actually overdo it.

Now, what can be learned of the likes of Kilkenny, I suppose, is a couple of things. And that being the first thing. That freshness. Not over-training. Burn-out has been bandied about in the GAA for years. Looking after players where there's an overlap of players in age-groups, looking after them so that they're not burned out. That's huge. Especially up around College level. Youngsters coming out there 18, 19, 20 years of age and they're involved in minor, U-21 teams, club, county, college teams. There's a huge area there where there can be serious burn-out. I won't say we have the balance right in Kilkenny, but we're very, very mindful of trying to get it right. Then, what we have in Kilkenny, and we're lucky to have it in that almost every school, almost every parish, has the culture. It's hard to compete with that, the culture. What we have in Kilkenny, and they have it in other places too, is that as well as the competitive hurling you have recreational hurling and that's huge.

It doesn't have to be just the training nights that players go to the field. You can take the current Kilkenny players, all of those players, it's not just the training nights. Recreationally they're going down on the off nights and pucking a ball and they're working on their skill and that's huge. It's very hard to buy that. Martin Fogarty intends to sit down with Liam Sheedy and his Hurling 2020 Committee and help them implement their plans. Q: What would have hoped to have achieved by the time you’ve finished as National Hurling Development Manager? A: To start off with I have a lot of talking to do or more so a lot of listening to do because there are several initiatives in place already in the GAA. My job will be to support them as best I can, help out if I'm needed and if I'm not needed which will be in many cases, my job will be just to support. I will need to talk to the various committees that have done research, a huge amount of work and what they're suggesting and what their vision is.

Hurling 2020 have a huge amount done and while I'm pretty familiar with what has gone on and what their recommendations are I'd need to sit down with the people involved and really tease them out. There are a handful of counties there that have been designated as needing a bit of extra attention. I would be hoping to have a good ear and listen to people in various counties and see what can be done to improve where they are at. It's so broad because if you take for example a county like Offaly and Westmeath. What are their needs? They have a pocket of very serious hurlers, a pocket of great clubs and it might be to support those and keep them strong. Take a county team, minor, senior or U-21, and it might be a bit of advice. It might be getting some people to speak with them and letting them see that they're on the right lines. There may be clubs in these areas needing help. The help might come from me directly or it could be help that I can get for them. If it's down to club structures, if it's down to games programmes.

Personally I mightn't have the answers but I might say, listen, here's a games programme that's happening in such a county. Maybe we'll set you up and have a chat with them and see does it fit. Then we go down to schools. If you have a development school or a school that is maybe gone off the boil a bit and they want a little boost again. Maybe we can get some coaches in and get them on track again. Maybe in other counties they want to raise the level of coaching. It's as broad as they want it to be but at the end of the day to answer your question what would I like to see, I would certainly like to see some hurling happening where it hasn't happened. I would like to see it growing in places where it is reasonably strong. Of course I'd like to see more teams competing at the very top but if that happens, it won't be down to me it will down to the people working at the coal face who have been working for years doing that job. One of the main things I can do is to enthuse the people who are at the coalface and have been working for years doing that job.

I've been lucky enough to be invited to several counties to give coaching seminars, et cetera. I would be quite envious of some of the clubs that I have gone to that think they're not doing things right but are absolutely wonderful. If you take the four main teams above in Antrim in Loughiel, Cushendall, Dunloy and Ballycastle. The structures they have up there, the amount of hurling going on up there, the culture, it's enviable. It's unbelievable. You could say Antrim hurling is not where it was, because when Antrim hurling was strong they had a nucleus of very, very talented players. Now, at the moment you have four very, very strong club that need no help from anyone other than people to say, look, you're doing as well, in fact you're probably doing better than clubs in Kilkenny. But to get it happening at county level we need to reinvigorate the other clubs that are maybe gone a little stale and see if we can lift them up a little bit again and build the whole thing. That's, broadly speaking, what would be in my head. *** How many GAA players in Ireland - Adult & Juvenile?

- National - HoganStand Forums must be at least 100 adult and 200 juvenile. at least goalpost (Armagh) - Posts:215 - 22/10/2010 15:26:12 801857 Well I play....so that's one in anyways. MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts:10402 - 22/10/2010 16:02:20 801900 haven't a clue. At a wild guess I'd say 750000. Floops (Dublin) - Posts:1607 - 22/10/2010 16:11:31 801908 Very hard to put a figure on that.

men_of_49 (Meath) - Posts:1928 - 22/10/2010 16:17:42 801914 Hurling Hurling Managers and Coaches Hurling – The Fastest Game on Grass A uniquely Irish game, Hurling is one of the world’s oldest field sports and has been played in some form in Ireland for more than 800 years. Contact us for more information about getting involved! Hurling Often called the fastest game on grass, hurling is the national sport of Ireland. Fifteen players comprise a team for this stick-and-ball field sport that showcases endurance, creativity and athleticism. From the tournament-oriented Division B and C squads to the more relaxed City League, there are many ways to become a Gaels hurler. The team has enjoyed much success at the national level in the past; most recently capturing the Division B Shield at the 2010 National Tournament in Chicago. For more information about Seattle Gaels Hurling, contact the hurling manager. What is Hurling?

Hurling is a game similar to hockey, in that it is played with a small ball and a curved wooden stick. It is Europe’s oldest field game. When the Celts came to Ireland as the last ice age was receding, they brought with them a unique culture, their own language, music, script and unique pastimes. One of these pastimes was a game now called hurling. It features in Irish folklore to illustrate the deeds of heroic mystical figures and it is chronicled as a distinct Irish pastime for at least 2,000 years. The stick, or “hurley” (called camán in Irish – pronounced “kay-maan”) is curved outwards at the end, to provide the striking surface. The ball or “sliothar” (pronounced “slit-er”) is similar in size to a hockey ball but has raised ridges. Rules Playing field Hurling is played on a pitch 137 – 145 m long and 80 – 90 m wide.

The goals at each end of the field are formed by two posts, which are usually 6 m high, set 6.4 m apart, and connected 2.44 m above the ground by a crossbar. A net extending in back of the goal is attached to the crossbar and lower goal posts. The same pitch is used for Gaelic football; the GAA, which organises both sports, decided this to facilitate dual usage. Lines are marked at 13 m, 20 m and 65 m and 45 m in gaelic football from each end-line. Shorter pitches and smaller goals are used by under-13s and younger. A standard hurling pitch Teams Teams consist of fifteen players and they line out as below: The panel is made up of 24-30 players and 5 substitutions are allowed per game. No exceptions are ever made. Timekeeping Senior inter-county matches last 70 minutes (35 minutes per half). All other matches last 60 minutes (30 minutes per half). For age groups of under-13 or lower, games may be shortened to 50 minutes.

Timekeeping is at the discretion of the referee who adds on stoppage time at the end of each half. If a knockout game finishes in a draw, a replay is played. If a replay finishes in a draw, 20 minutes extra time is played (10 minutes per half). If the game is still tied, another replay is played. In club competitions, replays are increasingly not used due to the fixture backlogs caused. Instead, extra time is played after a draw, and if the game is still level after that it will go to a replay.

Technical fouls The following are considered technical fouls (“fouling the ball”): Picking the ball directly off the ground (instead it must be flicked up with the hurley or the foot) Throwing the ball (instead it must be “hand-passed”: slapped with the open hand) Going more than 4 steps with the ball in the hand (it may be carried indefinitely on the hurley though) Catching the ball three times in a row without it touching the ground (touching the hurley does not count) Putting the ball from one hand to the other Hand-passing a goal Throwing the hurley Square ball: If, at the moment the ball enters “the square” (the small rectangle surrounding the goal), there is already an attacking player inside, a free out is awarded Scoring Scoring is achieved by sending the sliotar (ball) between the opposition’s goal posts. The posts, which are at each end of the field, are “H” posts as in rugby football but with a net under the crossbar as in soccer. The posts are 6.4 m apart and the crossbar is 2.44 m above the ground.

If the ball goes over the crossbar, a point is scored and a white flag is raised by an umpire. If the ball goes below the crossbar, a goal, worth three points, is scored, and a green flag is raised by an umpire. The goal is guarded by a goalkeeper. Scores are recorded in the format {goal total} – {point total}. For example, the 1997 All-Ireland final finished: Clare 0-20 Tipperary 2-13. Thus Clare won by “twenty points to two thirteen” (20 to 19). 2-0 would be referred to as “two goals”, never “two zero”. 0-0 is said “no score”. Tackling Players may be tackled but not struck by a one handed slash of the stick; exceptions are two handed jabs and strikes. Jersey-pulling, wrestling, pushing and tripping are all forbidden.

There are several forms of acceptable tackling, the most popular being: the block, where one player attempts to smother an opposing player’s strike by trapping the ball between his hurley and the opponent’s swinging hurl; the hook, where a player approaches another player from a rear angle and attempts to catch the opponent’s hurley with his own at the top of the swing; and the side pull, where two players running together for the sliotar will collide at the shoulders and swing together to win the tackle and “pull” (name given to swing the hurley) with extreme force. Restarting play The match begins with the referee throwing the sliotar in between the four midfielders on the halfway line. After an attacker has scored or put the ball wide of the goals, the goalkeeper may take a puckout from the hand at the edge of the small square. All players must be beyond the 20 m line. After a defender has put the ball wide of the goals, an attacker may take a “65” from the 65 m line level with where the ball went wide. It must be taken by lifting and striking. However, the ball must not be taken into the hand but struck whilst the ball is lifted.

After a player has put the ball over the sideline, the other team may take a sideline cut at the point where the ball left the pitch. It must be taken from the ground. After a player has committed a foul, the other team may take a free at the point where the foul was committed. It must be taken by lifting and striking in the same style as the “65″. After a defender has committed a foul inside the Square (large rectangle), the other team may take a penalty from the ground from the centre of the 20 m line. Only the goalkeeper and two defenders may guard the goals. It must be taken by lifting and striking. If many players are struggling for the ball and no side is able to capitalize or gain control of the sliotar the referee may choose to throw the ball in between two opposing players. This is also known as a Clash. Officials A hurling match is watched over by eight officials: The referee Sideline Official/Standby Linesman (inter-county games only) Four umpires (two at each end) The referee is responsible for starting and stopping play, recording the score, awarding frees and issuing penalty cards to players after offences.

Linesmen are responsible for indicating the direction of line balls to the referee and also for conferring with the referee. The fourth official is responsible for overseeing substitutions, and also indicating the amount of stoppage time (signalled to him by the referee) and the players substituted using an electronic board. The umpires are responsible for judging the scoring. They indicate to the referee whether a shot was: wide (spread both arms), a 65 m puck (raise one arm), a point (wave white flag), or a goal (wave green flag). Contrary to popular belief within the association, all officials are not obliged to indicate “any misdemeanours” to the referee, but are in fact only permitted to inform the referee of violent conduct they have witnessed which has occurred without the referees knowledge. A linesman/umpire is not permitted to inform the referee of technical fouls such as a “Third time in the hand”, where a player catches the ball for a third time in succession after soloing or an illegal pick up of the ball. Such decisions can only be made at the discretion of the referee. Helmets From 1 January 2010 the wearing of helmets with faceguards became compulsory for hurlers at all levels.

This saw senior players follow the regulations already introduced in 2009 at minor and under 21 grades. The GAA hope to significantly reduce the number of injuries by introducing the compulsory wearing of helmets with full faceguards, both in training and matches. Hurlers of all ages, including those at nursery clubs when holding a hurley in their hand, must wear a helmet and faceguard at all times. Match officials will be obliged to stop play if any player at any level appears on the field of play without the necessary standard of equipment. The rules of Hurling are available in PDF format at the GAA website . Some of the finest GAA players you’ve probably never heard of Some of the finest GAA players you’ve probably never heard of Many of the top performances in this season’s championship have come from women Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 01:00 Sporting heroes: Waterford’s Trish Jackman, Cork’s Bríd Stack, Roscommon’s Amanda McLoone and Tyrone’s Shannon Quinn.

Photograph: Inpho “It’s a pity to think that I have played with Cork for over 10 years now and I have never once played an intercounty game in Pairc Uí Chaoimh – that’s an opportunity lost.” Bríd Stack has won nine All-Irelands with that Cork football team in those 10 years. She has completed nearly 1,000 training sessions under Eamonn Ryan’s tutelage as well as winning six All Stars. She is arguably one of the most successful players the game has seen, and yet she has never played a single intercounty game in Cork’s home ground. More than 1,200 female intercounty players, in 52 county squads, in 1,500 clubs, all training on average five times a week across both codes of the Gaelic games – but how many could you name? “Visibility and acknowledgement remain the main challenges to women in the GAA. People usually can’t name any more than three players at most,” says Aoife Lane , chairperson of the Women’s Gaelic Players Association.

Free-flowing In terms of where the women’s sport is going, it’s a long way off men’s and a comparison can prove tricky. James Daly , the Armagh football manager, says the women’s game is more “natural and free-flowing, there’s no pullin’ and haulin’, no cynical fouling.” Jackie Cahill , a football reporter, says women like to play an “open, expansive” game. “Some of the best games I’ve seen over the last few years have been ladies’ football matches. The 2014 All-Ireland final, when Cork came from 10 points down to beat Dublin, was one of the greatest sporting comebacks I ever witnessed in the flesh.” According to another reporter, Daragh Ó Conchúir, camogie is “on a whole different planet in the space of about three years”. There is “greater emphasis on defensive systems and sweepers, which would have been unheard of a couple of years ago, as well as isolating a couple of forwards inside”. ADVERTISEMENT Tyrone footballer Shannon Quinn agrees.

“It’s all just out and out football; you might have one sweeper who’ll come back but they don’t actually sit back – they’re going back and attacking too. “One of the best attributes of ladies’ football is the fact that it’s so open, free-flowing, with lots of kick passing.” That free-flowing nature of the game has produced some of the finest showings of athleticism this championship season. Cora Staunton scored a stunning 1-15 for Mayo against Galway two weeks ago, all but two points of her team’s total. Dual-players Breige Corkery and Rena Buckley played two county championship matches for Cork within four hours of each other on the same day. Strength and conditioning, as well as diet and coaching, has also become increasingly important to keep up such a high level of fitness required for forward play. “I remember 10 years ago there was none of this psychology or gym programmes or diet but that’s all been introduced just because teams are all looking for that edge to stay up,” says Stack.

Sledging In terms of defensive strategies, cynical fouling and sledging – the uglier side of the Gaelic games – it doesn’t seem to feature to the same extent in the women’s game. “I’d be surprised if ladies’ football went to the same extent in terms of defensive systems as men’s has gone, and I’d be sad to see it go like that,” says Quinn. “Girls hate to lose as much as men do, but you would never hear girls bitching and moaning to their own team mates. I train the Drumintee men’s minor team, so I know what the men’s game is like. There’s so much giving out for not making a tackle, or not catching a ball, where you would never hear that at a ladies’ game,” says Daly. The much discussed sledging “does not feature at all”, according to Quinn and every other player who I spoke to throughout this has agreed. “I’d be horrified if anyone ever said anything along those lines to me.

I’ve never heard of it featuring and I hope it stays that way.” 1,200km commute Dedication to their game comes second to none, with no finer example than Trish Jackman , the Waterford camogie player who travels over and back from Lincoln in the UK every weekend to train with her county. “It’s not something which I feel is an effort. Don’t get me wrong, it’s tough, but I took it on as a challenge. I don’t see that challenge as being greater than anyone else’s on the team.” James Daly sums it up, saying, “It’s not a Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday thing for county players. It’s full-time, seven days a week. When you’re not training you’re watching your diet, you’re in the physio – there’s so much more to be done.” For a woman who has played for her county for the past nine years, the new challenge of a weekly 1,200km commute doesn’t dull Jackman’s sense of enjoyment in the game. “I really appreciate the nights I’m home to train, I’m always really fresh coming back into it.

I’m really enjoying being at this stage of my career and enjoying my camogie now more than ever.” Injury For others, that appreciation in their health and opportunity to play for their county has been thrown into sharp focus through injury. Shannon Quinn is one of many players to have recovered from a cruciate ligament tear and return to the pitch – no mean feat. “Injury is an emotional and physical rollercoaster,” says the Tyrone footballer. “It takes a lot of work on your own [in the gym], which isn’t always the best thing, especially when you’re so used to being with a team. It’s a very challenging place to be.” ADVERTISEMENT “There were times when you’re nearly thinking, God, if this happened again I don’t think I could do this.” Amanda McLoone, the Roscommon footballer, is another player to have suffered cruciate ligament damage and recovered after surgery. “I was diagnosed with the injury the day before we were due to play in the intermediate All-Ireland semi-final. I was vice-captain at the time, and it was absolutely heartbreaking to miss out on the biggest game of my career.

Sitting on the sideline was just so frustrating.” Respect Gaining recognition and respect for that level of skill and commitment is a real problem for these women. “It’s not fair, because these girls train every bit as hard and are as committed every bit as much as the men, and to me they don’t get the same respect,” says Daly. “I have never heard any players complaining about this. Every club and county girl goes to training off their own back. They don’t get a cent towards miles or any kind of expenses and you never hear them talking about it. “We never played one game in the Armagh county grounds this year, and I know a lot of other counties are the same. Whenever you play on your county’s own ground you take extra pride in your jersey, but instead they’re off on some backwards pitch in the arse-end of nowhere somewhere down the country.” When they get to that backwards pitch in the arse-end of nowhere, it’s tough to encourage supporters along too.

Attendances at games can be very low, but when compared to European standards on women’s sporting finals, Ó Conchúir points out that it can be quite high: “Fifteen thousand would be a massive turnout at an FAI Cup final.” Increasing attendances would be a key step in increasing the coverage of women’s GAA in the media. As Ó Conchúir says, “You still get the sense that if copy was’t supplied, it wouldn’t necessarily be covered. Coverage will come with attendances, because attendances reflect interest and translate into newspaper sales.” Motivation The tide seems to be changing on that, slowly but surely. The WGPA’s recent partnership with PwC and its “Behind the Player” campaign has brought faces and names to households across the country. “Younger club girls who I play with are opening up the paper now and seeing my face in it and they think to themselves, Well if she can do it there’s no reason why I can’t. “It gives girls the motivation to help them realise that: ‘Well you know maybe I can go out and play for the county.’ It’s those small things that will increase the participation rate,” says Shannon Quinn.

More than 1,200 intercounty players, 52 county squads, 1,500 clubs: the sport is growing, the spectacle has been acclaimed. All that’s missing is for us to be able name those three players. Amanda McLoone (24) Roscommon football Amanda plays wing-back or midfield for Roscommon and her home club of St Faithleach’s. She started playing with her school in Ballyleague when she was eight and in her own words: “I was really, really crap at it. But I stuck at it and worked hard because I really wanted to impress my dad.” The hard work paid off and she made her county debut when she was 15. She also lined out for UCD while she studied nutrition there. She went on to become a fitness instructor. While playing Longford last August, she tore her cruciate ligament, which led to her missing an All-Ireland semi-final and in need of reconstructive surgery. ADVERTISEMENT During this time she decided to set up a blog called CleanAndLeanSportyGirl, which combined her knowledge of nutrition and training with her story of recovery.

The page now has almost 5,000 followers between Facebook and Instagram, and gives advice on how to follow a more nutritious diet which fuels exercise and sports training. Sarah Donnelly, (27) Ex-Tyrone football Sarah is a former Tyrone footballer who is now living in Perth and captain of her local team, Southern Districts. She was 15 when she started playing football for her home club of Trillick. She says that from about the age of 17 her career in football “snowballed”, especially when she went to college in Jordanstown whose “culture for football was massive”. Donnelly won the O’Connor Cup with her college. A highlight of her time playing in Ireland was beating Cork in the 2010 All-Ireland quarter-final, the only time the Rebels have been stopped in the last 10 years. After deciding she wanted to travel, she moved to New York in early 2012 and then on to Australia at the end of that year, where she now works as a maths teacher. Making the decision to leave her county team was tough but that has been eased through playing abroad. “I wouldn’t go anywhere where there wasn’t football.

I make my friends through it and it’s a way of having a family when you’re away.” Donnelly says leaving her club in Australia would now be almost as hard as leaving Tyrone was three years ago. Trish Jackman, (24) Waterford camogie Trish plays centre back or midfield for the Waterford camogie team. Her love of the game goes back to 1996, when at the tender age of five she took to celebrating on the streets of New Ross when her mother’s home county of Wexford won the All-Ireland. Her home club is Gailltir, which she has been playing with since she was seven. Trish spent six years at Waterford Institute of Technology. Her college team won the Ashbourne Cup five times. Trish also won the All-Ireland Poc Fada final six years in a row. She is now doing a PhD in sports psychology at the University of Lincoln. Over the past academic year she has spent five weekends in England, flying over and back to train with her Waterford team every other weekend. After playing on the senior county team since she was 15, her decision to continue was simple: “My goal was to play this season.

There are far worse things than having to make a trip over and back from England.” Irish Hurling -- A True Amateur Game Features > Irish Hurling Irish Hurling -- A True Amateur Game The game of hurling is more than just a game -- it is Ireland's national passion. But to appreciate hurling, one must look beyond the mere fact that it is a sport, because it is much more. Countering the trend towards big-money professional athletics, hurling has remained strictly amateur. It is a game played purely for the fun and history of it. It is a game woven deeply into the social fabric of the Irish people. Which is amazing when one considers just how extraordinarily dangerous the game is. First, the basics. Hurling is best compared to lacrosse. Hurling is an outdoor ball-and-stick game played with fifteen players on a field larger than a soccer pitch. Whereas lacrosse is played with netted sticks, hurling is a played with a flat wooden club, and the ball is struck by swinging the stick vice flinging it as in lacrosse.

Hurling players can catch and carry the ball in the hand, but can only pass it by hitting it with the stick, kicking it, or slapping it by the hand. As you can surmise from the first photo, the object is to drive the ball either into a soccer-sized goal or 'over the bar'. A goal is worth three, over the bar is worth one. The common tactic is to accumulate single points, chasing goals only when a clear opportunity presents. An average senior-league score would be about 22-18, with three-to-five goals averaged per game. There's little equipment involved. The second photo shows me holding a hurley and the ball. The ball is fairly soft, even softer than a softball, which is good because the ball is sometimes traveling at pretty high speed among the players. Helmets are commonplace, but not required, and many players didn't wear them until the last decade. Although the risk of injury is great (imagine getting smacked full force by one of these sticks!), they aren't as common as you think. Of course, when they happen, they can be pretty nasty -- missing front teeth are common among players.

The reason they aren't common is because the game is played honorably, and this is where the game's amateur status is very important. The players play for pride, not money. They play the game hard, but fairly, and they are careful with their sticks (but not at the expense of the play). The referees are strict and respected. And when the game is over, any bad blood is left on the pitch, and the players exchange their uniforms for factory clothes and return to work the next morning. And when their playing days are over, they merely hang up their hurley and continue their working lives unless they elect to become the team manager. Amateurism keeps the game within reach of the average fan. Most games are free or minimal admission and played on the local radio station. Games are played at the local sports club (I recall once watching a game where they had to move the cows off the pitch and off to the nearby pasture). Each borough, town, or collection of towns has a club, and club leagues are run at the county level. The third photo shows an example of a club match between the lads from Portlaw (in blue) playing a neighboring town Colligan.

Games are almost always held on a Sunday afternoon over the spring and summer, and normally played on only certain weekends. That's because players not only represent their home towns in the local leagues, the best compete for a spot on the county team that plays a concurrent season. These county teams play against other counties within the province. The four provinces of Leinster, Munster, Ulster, and Connaught stage their own league. The winners square off in the All-Ireland championships. One can liken this system to that of European soccer leagues, where the national leagues play on some weekends, while other weekends are reserved for international matches only involving some of the players. The total number of matches is small. County leagues only have about a ten-game season, followed by championship tournaments. Yes, this means every game counts -- not like individual baseball or basketball games in the US, whose leagues play inflated schedules in order to pay for their players' salaries. But that's not to say the All-Ireland championships aren't big business. The 2002 championships will be played in the newly-constructed Croke Park facility in Dublin.

This stadium seats 86,000, and will be filled to capacity, with tickets going for 35 Euro and up. National coverage of the championship rounds utterly dwarfs any other sports coverage in the country. Still, I would adjudge the coverage to be very low-key. The images of the lads from Waterford, Clare, Offaly, and Limerick are very boy-next-doorish. Their words are carefully measured -- there is no expression, not even a hint, of ego involved. This is hardly packaging. As my relatives and me wandered around a parade in downtown Waterford, we encountered a couple of Waterford's key players. They were just faces in the crowd enjoying the parade like the thousands around them. No posse, no sunglasses, no attitude, just good honest lads that you'd want to raise a pint on any given night. There are two other noteworthy aspects of hurling that add to its character. First is the fact that the equipment is manufactured the old-fashioned way -- by hand, and by small hometown operations. The fourth photo was taken from a hurling ball factory in Portlaw, one of only a handful in the country.

This factory is only a four-man operation, occupying a crammed room in an old schoolhouse. Leather, cork, elastic strand, and thread are brought in and manipulated using simple machinery. There is no assembly line. This means the products are both high quality and largely unchanged from years past -- no 'souping up' like with modern baseballs. The other aspect is in the youth leagues, who do not play a watered down version of the game. The fifth and final photo shows an under-14 game being played, and leagues are played as young as under-10. Apart from changes in the size of the field and equipment, the game is played exactly the same way, baseball swings and everything. To Americans who have generated watered-down versions of sports for application in youth clubs, this might seem horribly perverse. Yet, safety and respect for the opponent is bred into these lads at a very young age. This leads to greater respect for the game at later ages. Oh by the way, hurling is also played by women (and girls). The ladies' variant of hurling is called camogie, but the only real differences in the game concern the size and weight of the equipment.

Camogie is every bit as rough as hurling. Budding fashion models need not apply. Hurling is a great game, not just because it is a great game by itself, but because it seems to illustrate the best of Irish culture -- its folksy character, its work-hard and play-hard virtues, and its community-based values. Given a choice between two national pastimes -- baseball and hurling, I'll take me pint of stout and curl up pitchside for a game of hurling any day. Perhaps soon, enough Americans will agree after all those work stoppages, drug charges, fan abuse, and spitting at umpires. (c) 2002 Tom Galvin

Question: How many players are there on a hurling team?
Answer: Fifteen