The national sport of choice, hurling is widely practiced, and has long been one of the leading exponents of Irish Gaelic sport… The game is so popular in Ireland that the Irish never miss an opportunity to watch a match, whether at the stadium or on television in a pub, with friends in a convivial atmosphere…
Hurling equipment – © revelpix
Hurling is an Irish sport invented centuries ago. One of Ireland’s oldest sports, it is also Europe’s oldest field game.
Its origins lie in Celtic mythology, according to which the national hero Cuchulainn single-handedly defeated 150 opponents in a single game of hurling. (based on information from a manuscript dated 1272 BC).
Recent Irish history also suggests that the nationalist Irish of the early 20th century regularly played hurling to deceive the British. They used to play with rifles that they held by the barrel as a grip. The English couldn’t believe their eyes!
Renowned for its complexity, it is also one of the most violent sports there is. Many would even agree that it’s akin to rugby!
A hurling team has 15 players, including a goalkeeper, 6 defenders, 2 midfielders and 6 forwards.
Each player is equipped with a stick called a “camán” or “hurley”, made of ash wood and measuring 75 to 90 centimetres in length. The game is played around a leather ball called a “sliotar”, weighing just under 100 grams. The sliotar can reach speeds of up to 110 km/h when struck by the butt.
As hurling is a potentially violent sport, players often wear helmets, although this is not compulsory.
The aim of hurling is simple: to score points by placing the ball in the opponent’s goal over a period of 2 x 35 minutes… But be careful, it’s not easy because the ball can’t be picked up by hand! So the player can only use his stick or his toes!
Once picked up, the ball can be distributed by hand, cleared with the stick (only on the tip), played with the foot and cannot be kept more than 4 steps in the hand or on the stick for a solo-run (this consists of running with the ball balanced on the end of the stick).
Because of the use of the stick and the feet, hurling is considered a brutal and violent sport. It can be easily likened to rugby, where confrontations between players can be ferocious, leaving a few players injured when they shoulder their opponents (known as Body Check)…
In order to limit the damage, elbows, hips, feet and fists were banned and punished.
Generally speaking, a hurling match is officiated by a main referee, 2 linesmen and four goal referees. A veritable armada of referees, in short, but entirely justified: hurling is played fast, and the ball sometimes reaches dizzying speeds, making refereeing difficult…
Generally speaking, it’s important to understand that the appeal of this sport lies in the fact that there are no offsides. As a result, it’s highly advantageous to clear the sliotar for an interception by one of your team’s players. Therefore, a player wishing to intercept the sliotar can only do so with one foot on the ground.
The pitch is 140 metres long and 80 metres wide, longer than a soccer pitch but slightly narrower. Hurling goals resemble rugby goals (H-shaped) mixed with soccer goals. It is therefore possible to score between the two posts, or in the cage; the score depends on it. If the ball passes between the 2 posts, above the horizontal bar of the net, the scoring team gets 1 point.
If, on the other hand, a player scores a goal in the cage defended by the goalkeeper, this is equivalent to 3pts. If a team scores 3 goals and 11 points, the score is 3-11 and is equivalent to 3×3 +11 = 20 pts.
Hurling competitions are organized by the GAA (Association Gaélique d’Athlétisme, founded in 1884). The 2 most important are :
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