Hurling (Sport)

How widespread is this GAA sport known and appreciated?

It's a mix between golf and rugby (maybe a bit like lacrosse, but not as much as you'd imagine not having seen it), fastest team ball sport in the world (AFAIR), and it's absolutely brilliant.

There's no great youtube clips out there as yet (from a very lazy search at work, mind), but if you get the chance to see the current Kilkenny side at work you will witness one of the great collective talents in any sport.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN7GIuZOGRw

^ watch in the highest definition possible, the ball is tiny, and it goes fast

It's awesome. We have a slightly crappier version of it in Scotland of course.

well, same as that tbh. I'm not from a hurling stronghold.

too many ditches in the poor soil of the west, see?

dope imo

and on the 'hurling stronghold' and apropos of nothing more, here's some GAA quotes:

Great GAA Quotes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. I love Cork so much that if I caught one of their hurlers in bed
with my missus, I'd tiptoe downstairs and make him a cup of tea"- Joe
Lynch, actor.

2. "We've won one All-Ireland in a row"-Wexford Fan in 1996.

3. "The toughest match I ever heard off was the 1935 All-Ireland
Semi-Final. After 6 minutes, the ball ricocheted off a post and went
into the stand. The pulling continued relentlessly and it was 22 minutes
before any of the players noticed the ball was missing" - Michael Smith.

4. "Sylvie Linnane would start a riot in a graveyard"-Tipp fan on
the Galway legend.

5. "I'm not giving away any secrets like that to Tipperary. If I
had my way, I wouldn't even tell them the time of the throw-in" - Ger
Loughnane.

6. "He's like Lazarus; but Lazarus didn't have such a sweet right
boot"-Micheal O'Muircheartaigh on Colin Corkery.

7. "Whenever a team loses, there's always a row at half time but
when they win, it's an inspirational speech"-John O'Mahony.

8. "There are 2 things in Ireland that would drive you to drink.
GAA referees would drive you to drink, and the price of drink would drive
you to drink"-Sligo Fan after 2002 Connact final.

9. 'Life isn't all beer and football...some of us haven't touched a
football in months' - Kerry player during league campaign 1980s

10. "When my friends were besotted with Jason Donovan, my heroes
were Colm O'Rourke and Barney Rock"-Sue Ramsbottom (Laois Ladies Captain).

11. 'We're taking this match awful seriously. We're training three
times a week now, and some of the boys are off the beer since Tuesday' -
Offaly hurler quote in the week before a Leinster hurling final vs.
Kilkenny

12. 'Ger Loughnane was fair, he treated us all the same during
training-like dogs' -anonymous Clare hurler

13. 'Any chance of an autograph? Its for the wife...she really hates
you' - Tipp fan to Ger Loughnane

14. 'You can't win derbies with donkeys' - Babs Keating before Tipp
played Cork in 1990

15. 'Sheep in a heap' -Babs Keating description of Offaly in 1998

16. 'Babs Keating 'resigned' as coach because of illness and
fatigue. The players were sick and tired of him' - Offaly fan in 1998

17. 'And as for you. You're not even good enough to play for this
shower of useless no-hopers' - Former Clare mentor to one of his subs after a
heavy defeat

18. 'Babs Keating was arrested in Nenagh for shaking a cigarette
machine,but the gardai let him off when he said he only wanted to borrow
twenty players' - Waterford fan after 2002 Munster final

19. 'They have a forward line that couldn't punch holes in a paper
bag'
* Pat Spillane on the Cavan football team

20. 'Meath players like to get their retaliation in first' -
Cork fan 1988

21. 'Meath make football a colourful game-you get all black and
blue'
* another Cork fan 1988

22. 'Colin Corkery is deceptive. He is slower than he looks' - Kerry
fan

Subject: FW: Micheal O Muircheartaigh masterpieces

"In the first half they played with the wind. In the second half they
played with the ball."

"... and Brian Dooher is down injured. And while he is, i'll tell ye a
little story. I was in Times' Square in New York last week, and I was
missing the Championship back home. So I approached a newsstand and I
said 'I suppose ye wouldn't have the Kerryman (Paper) would ye?' To
which, the Egyptian behind the counter turned to me and he said 'do you
want the North Kerry edition or the South Kerry edition?'... he had
both...so I bought both. And Dooher is back on his feet..."

"Anthony Lynch the Cork corner back will be the last person to let you
down
* his people are undertakers."

"I saw a few Sligo people at Mass in Gardiner street this morning and
the omens seem to be good for them, the priest was wearing the same
colours as the Sligo jersey! 40 yards out on the Hogan stand side of the
field Ciaran Whelan goes on a rampage, it's a goal. So much for
religion."

Colin Corkery on the 45 lets go with the right boot. Its over the bar.
This man shouldn't be playing football. He's made an almost Lazarus-like
recovery from a heart condition. Lazarus was a great man but he couldn't
kick points like Colin Corkery."

"1-5 to 0-8.. well from Lapland to the Antarctic, that's level scores in
any man's language."

"Pat Fox has it on his hurl and is motoring well now... but here comes
Joe Rabbitte hot on his tail ...... I've seen it all now, a Rabbitte
chasing a Fox around Croke Park!"

"I see John O Donnell dispensing water on the sideline. Tipperary,
sponsored by a water company. Cork sponsored by a tae company. I wonder
will they meet later for afternoon tae."

"Teddy looks at the ball, the ball looks at Teddy"

"Danny "The Yank" Culloty. He came down from the mountains and hasn't he
done well."

"He grabs the sliotar, he's on the 50...... he's on
the 40.... he's on the 30.......... he's on the ground"
>
"He kicks the ball lan san aer, could've been a goal, could've been a
point...... it went wide."

"Stephen Byrne with the puck out for Offaly....Stephen, one of 12....all
but one are here to-day, the one that's missing is Mary, she's at home
minding the house..... and the ball is dropping i lar na bpairce...."

"Pat Fox out to the forty and grabs the sliothar, I bought a dog from
his father last week. Fox turns and sprints for goal, the dog ran a
great race last Tuesday in Limerick. Fox to the 21 fires a shot, it goes
to the left and wide..... and the dog lost as well."

"Sean Og o Hailpin.... his father's from Fermanagh, his mother's from
Fiji, neither a hurling stronghold."

"Teddy McCarthy to John McCarthy, no relation, John McCarthy back to
Teddy McCarthy, still no relation. "

Shinty is insane, but I've never really watched enough hurling to tell the difference. I have occasionally been to see the international shinty-hurling matches where I think Scotland play to their rules and Ireland play to their rules and basically it's very fast and insane and people get their teeth knocked out a lot and no-one except dedicated experts (we used to get to go because my mum's boss sponsored the beer tent when it was held in Inverness) has the faintest idea what's going on.

Classic, obviously.

And, while we're about it, Gaelic Football is awesome too

it's very fast and insane and people get their teeth knocked out a lot

yes i believe that's the one

When I said shinty is crappier, only in the sense that hardly anyone plays it or watches it, in comparison with hurling

whisper it softly tom, but i never really took after the GAA footy tbh. the english version of the beautiful game won it for me on subtlety grounds.

"English" version LOL

I dreamt about hurling last night! I dreamt I was on holiday in Dorset and I ended up in an indoor hall where hurling was to be played. It was basically indoor hockey with two sticks, one of which was bendy. I know this isn't what hurling is. I also dreamt I was leading my classmates down the London Underground on a mission against the Russians, and that Muse's album 'Absolution' was actually called 'Amnesty' and was a post-modern prog masterpiece where every song contained the line "New York I love you but you're bringing me down" in the chorus and that this was so very witty

I'm in Dublin next month but the weekend after the big final* otherwise efforts would be made to try to attend.

* can't be sure I've got the right sport here tbh - could be Gaelic football

I got those O'Muircheartaigh quotes fwded to me the other day, kind of a tonic as I got mad love for Sid Waddell still but his classic work is all in decades long gone

You;d need to have heard Míchéal's craggy tones first to get an idea though.

IK- if you can get to Croke Park for a game at all it's worth a look, staggering stadium.

"English" version LOL

only two types of football, man- ours and theirs!

There's supposed to be an u21 final the following week that we might be going to, but venue still tbc

Wouldn't bother for a GAA match myself, especially if it's not at Croker.

when you come out of the cork airport this is the first thing you see:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3454/3878540757_cf6d67d1d7_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2490/3878546491_258c3db181_b.jpg

Cork know what's up. Kilkenny and Tipperary would be the other main exponents of the art over the years.

Current Kilkenny side are equivalent to 1950's Real Madrid side, there basically isn't anyone else playing this sport at the moment. Everyone else is in a reserve competition, and the second best team in ireland is probably the Kilkenny Minors.

Tom Humphries (as always) covers match report and their dominance in the one article

Just watched all of the hurling final and yeah it's pretty rad but I have a question:

Why do the goalkeepers not wear facemasks?

Is it a macho thing or part of the rules to make goalkeeping less palatable?

A plastic protective helmet with faceguard is mandatory for all age groups including senior level as of 2010.

None of them would be wearing the helmets were it not mandatory, it's a fairly new development.

but why are the goalkeepers the only ones NOT wearing helmets

also when that guy gets twatted in the face with a stick I bet he's glad he's wearing a helmet

Hurling is older than the recorded history of Ireland. It is thought to predate Christianity, having come to Ireland with the Celts.[5] It has been a distinct Irish pastime for at least 2000 years.[6] The earliest written references to the sport in Brehon law date from the fifth century.[5] In the book by Seamus King "A History of Hurling" there is a reference from Irish verbal history of hurling as far back as the 1200 B.C.

but why are the goalkeepers the only ones NOT wearing helmets

Not involved in as many clashes? I'd guess

The tale of the Táin Bó Cuailgne (drawing on earlier legends) describes the hero Cúchulainn playing hurling at Emain Macha. Similar tales are told about Fionn Mac Cumhail and the Fianna, his legendary warrior band

BTW LJ if you're not doing much with yourself atm look this stuff up.

I really enjoy hurling. I think the skill level is phenomenal. I love Kilkenny for the fact that they are leagues ahead of everyone else but I couldnt watch more than 25 mins of the match yesterday, they just destroyed Cork. Having grown up on the limerick side of the tipp-limerick border, I automatically have to hate Tipp but I usually cheer them on (Nicky English is a cousin!). Although in the semi, I cant help but shout for Waterford's gnarled, grizzled old vets.

As a mayoman, I don't really have to worry about allegiances later on in the championships

'We're taking this match awful seriously. We're training three
times a week now, and some of the boys are off the beer since Tuesday' -
Offaly hurler quote in the week before a Leinster hurling final vs.
Kilkenny

LOL

Thing is, that's a lol out of the mouth of, say, Dara O'Briain, but from an inter-county hurler I have no reason to believe that it's anything but sincere.

whisper it softly tom, but i never really took after the GAA footy tbh. the english version of the beautiful game won it for me on subtlety grounds.

i played it when i was younger but it can be dreadfully scrappy to watch at times (quarter finals were great this year tho) and i dont know if these new rules are helping things either.

well god help us and bless us sure we all played it.

played hurling up to u-13 level, loved it. always found the football too physical as a participative sport, tbh.

was pathetic at hurling tbh

took up golf, the marking was easier

Just watched both halves of that 2009 final - Tipperary seemed so unlucky! Maybe that was the editing though?

Is there passing in this sport?

yeah, short hand passes (slap the ball to someone, basically) then medium/long range pucks with the hurl.

i kinda wish there was a better/clearer clip- yesterday's performances on both sides were basically impromptu group poetry through the media of ball and physical abuse.

love this shit

both times ive been to ireland ive caught games on tv and they were rad. a bit like a more vicious field hockey with fewer rules

hurling don't mean shit in ulster iirc

This always used to be on when I used to have Setanta RIP and I never watched it :-(

wow that ball is small in relation to the size of the field!

I guess if you ever wondered "what would full contact golf be like" this is your answer

have to say I think tom humphries is one of the most tedious and overrated people in the irish media. an article. begins. like this. like any other article. every week. in a parish. in tom humphries' parish. with a computer. on a keyboard. mighty. passion. astonishing.

like the gaa tho, amazing that dublin are in the semis this year, i can dream of a victory. was there in 1995 when they last won and at tons of games in the early 90s. haven't been to croke in years as my dad worked near the stadium and i had a job from age 14 till i moved to london at 25 manning their car park where they invited customers to park. prob the most lucrative job i'll ever have.

my favourite o'muircheartaigh moment isn't in that email, i heard it myself one time a few years back, i avidly listened to him in the car park job.

it was some random game and a streaker ran on the pitch but naturally he didn't let that stop him commentating.

"there's a streaker on the pitch. there's a streaker on the pitch. he's on the 40 yard line, he moves towards the 50 yard line. he's still going, he's on the 60 yard line. he is evading the stewards. he's on the 70 yard line....eh em eh...the stewards are still trying to catch him........eh...........IN FAIRNESS HE'S MADE A GREAT RUN BY NOW!"

i like the backround mumbling of humphries, and every now and then he writes an astonishing piece.

all ireland final just started
. Get streaming folks. Tipp just scored! Kilkenny heavy favourites tho.

link?

watchin on terrestial tbh and surfin on crappy nokia browser so not in great position to go checkin streams, sry

Use mymp2p.eu for footy streams you might have some luck there? Teams are kilkenny and tipperary

Kilkenny 0-3 Tipperary 1-6

shocking!!

I shan't be going to the u21 final when I'm there next weekend. It's in Thurles, not Croke Park (in a stadium holding 53,500 in a town of just over 7,000 folk!)

kilkenny star man h shefflin off after 13 mins- had no right to even start did his cruciate only 6 weeks ago or somethin crazy

No stream on myp2p but vimeo claimi a link.

Great goal kk!

well done tipp. they were outstanding. the subs they brought on made a huge difference as well. they hit four or five wides in the whole match?!

TBH I have a huge grudge against the GAA, because my schoolboy sporting years were during the 'ban' where, if you played Gaelic Football or Hurling, you weren't allowed play any 'foreign' games - or 'garrison games' as football, rugby, cricket and hockey were even more pejoratively known. Strangely, American Football, Basketball, and Boxing were, fine, so you can see what particular variety of 'foreign' was the target.

Thus, in my school in Galway, it was a punishable offence to play 'soccer' on school grounds: if a priest or brother appeared, whoever was on the ball would hastily pick it up, and pretend we'd been playing gah all along.

Needless to say, all this bred in me lifelong passion for football and a hatred of bogball and stick fighting. I live less than a mile from Croke Park and I've never seen a game of either. On top of that, Michael Ó Muircheartaigh taught me Irish in my final secondary school in Dublin - so even the undoubted pleasures of his commentary are not unmixed.....

unbelievable result!!!! i mean, tipperary just beat the best hurling team... EVER, right??

yeah, sums it up. Radio commentary described them as the best team to ever grace croke park, of either code. Missed second half, but tipp looked good value in the first.

ffffffffffff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcRwbuSoGyc

^ gets it

but why are the goalkeepers the only ones NOT wearing helmets

― visit europe more (acoleuthic), Monday, 9 August 2010 14:26 (1 month ago)

because nobody fucking argues with a hurling gk. see video.

Took the tour of Croke Park yesterday. Quite the stadium indeed - it feels really intimate despite its 82,300 seats, and this was empty so it must be positively claustrophobic when full. The capacity seems unbelievable actually, when it's almost totally open at one end. The views were great.

Anyway, fun tour of the stands, boxes, dressing rooms etc, ending up in the museum which had an interactive bit - some of which even worked, so I got ten minutes thrashing about with the ball-and-stick* in the nets. Proud to report that the speed gun clocked my best effort at a mighty 64 mph.

* (yes I know they have special names, I just can't remember them right now)

I used to play shinty when I was a kid, in Campbeltown, Kintyre. Lots of people watch hurling there, and I dig it, I've just never played. I used to play shinty for the school, though I was rubbish and I only got a game once everyone else had been smashed up. Put me in good stead for hockey later in life, on the east coast though, because we didn't have any pads for the goalie I just got stuck at that position, as all fear of the injury had long since been knocked out of me.

I'd be too scared to play either shinty or hurling these days, but they're good games if your fear is abated by being young, stupid or drunk - preferably all three.

I don't know what my commas are up to in my last post. Sometimes they get away from me.

huh IK i was in dublin last night in temple bar, which tbh isn't a common occurrence. yeah croker's a beaut of a stadium alright, the intensity when full is something else

ps sliotar, hurl = ball stick

dowd maybe a belt of an aul sliotar has taken the comma part of yr brain out of action

Ah, chance spurned there for the fap thing - I was staying in there. Ships in the night etc.

The thing that seems wrong with both the big GAA games is that you can score by hitting over the bar. Half the footage seemed to be of heroic goalies achieving the impossible, and the other half unchallenged long punts rendering their efforts pointless.

goals worth three points tbf, and also tbf to the outfield players, it's usually a case of getting a shot in from any angle before you get brained so swings and roundabouts really

HURLING HAS A GAY GOALIE SO THERE

lol at (sport) in the thread title here

it seemed easier to just put that out there really

Read a good bit about Tipperary and someone, doing this, in a book called Our Man in Hibernia the other day. Now I almost understand what hurling is in a vague sense not involving knowing any of the actual rules.

no, you now know the full of it basically

the rules are the same ones as in patton's speech to the troops

Btw, Laurel, hurling is an excellent sport to watch. I have an Irish friend who likes to recount how, "Soccer is a gentleman's game played by thugs. Rugby is a thug's game played by gentlemen. Hurling is a thug's game played by thugs - with sticks!"

<3 thugs

It's good fun, really. It's tremendously athletic, fraught with danger and passionately supported and while there's more scoring than in soccer, it doesn't look easy at all.

He starts out with hurling in myth and Cuchlaininnnninn (or someone) getting that name by killing someone's dog by hurling a sliotar down its throat and then tells all about this v dramatic game btw Tipperary & whoever the reigning champs were, p much going play by play. Interspersed w little sport anecdotes, liek the one about some historic keeper who was hit in the junk in a first half, played the whole game in agony, and was later found at the hospital to have one testicle burst open and split in half.

Good part of the book imo.

so hurling is a real thing, huh? i always confuse it with shirling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gu3mbl8SAk

oooh burst testicle

and was later found at the hospital to have one testicle burst open and split in half.

Now there's a hard man for you.

puts bert trautmann into perspective

Sorry, don't have book with me or wd supply more details.

someone was telling me that before the GAA took over Irish sport in the late 19th century, cricket was the most popular sport in ireland. cricket strongholds of the time = kilkenny and tipperary!

and cork and dublin too

i think that you've supplied all the detail i'd want laurel tbh

Camogie's where the real brutality's at.

I hear you got a lifetime ban from Croke Park, Michael B.

America was the same with the cricket aiui, squeezed out by baseball and nationalism.

Any suggestions for pubs in North / Central London where i can get a decent lunch and watch the All Ireland final? Thinking 12 Pins but it's a bit of a dive. Porterhouse might be a better alternative.

I don't really follow hurling but I do know that Kilkenny is supposed to be virtually untouchable yet Tipperary have managed to beat them in the final before. Would like to see the clash.

In front of the Cork airport a couple of years ago I took these photos -

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3454/3878540757_cf6d67d1d7_z.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2490/3878546491_258c3db181_b.jpg

never watched games in central ldn shari...i watch gaa in a pub on broadway market called the perseverance...it doesn't do food but there are lots of restaurants around. is a really good place to watch sport and generally not too busy.

i remember you watching it last year.

Klkenny are perennial favourites, getting beaten in the final is a bad year for them

i thought as of last year it's kinda felt that tipperary are better than kilkenny. haven't seen any hurling this year tho, watched a lot of dublin's football gams so far.

games...

donegal do not play 'great stuff' imo

"the game from hell", colm o'rourke said. kerry will beat dublin easily imo but it's nice to have a final to look forward to at least.

'look forward to'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSH10CVC014

xxxxxxp, thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into it.

Tipp are a solid outfit, but much as I hate them, I can only see Kilkenny taking it.

Sadly, I have a job interview the next morning so I'm going to probably stay home and torrent the thing. I can't believe RTE will make the Toy Show available outside Ireland, but not this!

missed this due to hospital visit to ms mac's granny. Anyone catch it?

yeah. the scoreline flattered tipp tbh. kilkenny defence was outstanding and tommy walsh the motm. dont think tipp got a point from open play in the first half.

ok, from score i thought it might have been close but analysis seems agreed that the cats had them locked down

up the fucking dubs

indeed. im sick of kerry winning the damn thing. i hope its a good game!

wish i was at home for it, have to settle for watching it in a pub, possibly on my own as my friends who like gaa are going to it.

this is a thread for hurling

Take your no-rules no-skill no-tactics no-one-scares-me-til-i-go-to-australia clogfest elsewhere

Fu we are champions.

i am disinterested.

Mods, as a thread starter i demand ronan/all dubs be banned

there isnt a hell of a lot of tactics going on in hurling either tbf

Football is incredibly tactical, darragh you're wrong. It's too tactical if anything. Up the dubs!!! Would kill to be in fairview now.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/818963/tickets.jpg

GAA Hurling Championship Semi Finals

Cork V Galway

Tipperary v Kilkenny

Kilkenny are not looking as imperious as they have in previous years. They were beaten by Galway in the Munster Final and looked a bit slack for the majority of the match against Limerick (who are starting to look like a decent team again) but ended up winning by 3 goals in the end.

Would love to see limerick win an all ireland, for my parents' sake.

How are Cork looking at the moment?

I didnt see the match where they beat Waterford yesterday but it was a close game apparently. They've looked good from what I've seen but I dont think they'll beat Galway.

Kilkenny v Galway in the final today. Donegal and Mayo in the football final. could it be a double for the WESHT this year?

right wing back for Kilkenny Tommy Walsh might be my favourite athlete on the planet right now

challenge tommy walsh

This is powerful shtuff from galway

Yeah, Galway have been great. Kilkenny coming back into it towards the end though.

that was some goal by galway

how do i watch this

Drama!

Really pleased Canning tied it up. He didn't deserve to be on a losing team. Shefflin was immense though.

Fancy Kilkenny a bit more in the replay. Very nervy match though, missed chances all over the place.

Yeah I agree, after the match galway looked like they believed their chance had gone

so i'm watching the galway killkenny game from a couple months ago (leinster senior final??) and my god this sport is fucking savage, i love it

Was it 13 wides Galway had this game? I can see why they felt like that; they could have beaten Kilkenny but they allowed them back in it.

two in injury time alone. not taking away from their first half tho.

gbx- tbh, it's pretty tough to find streams (well, short of lolpaying) but if i can find anything out before the replay in three weeks i'll post. Same for the football final, tho as i've said above the gaa footy is cloggy enough compared to hurling.

Was watching a great stream yesterday. I'll get gyac to find the link.

I'll post it for you next time gbx! It was just a flash stream but it was good enough quality - no pop-ups or delays.

i think i'll be away too so that'd be great

thx dude

tomorrow!

no that's not quite right

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2BwBZ9IQzAk#t=492s

no.18 broken down into his consitutent parts of 1 & 8, now works for sesame st

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/185207_10151082032468907_1026175729_n.jpg

otm, bugt we're still outnumbered if it's a pick of 'best 15 hurlers'

there's a game in it

Hurling (Sport)

Hurling (Illicit Practice)

lol so true (re: map)

anyone need/want a stream?

Kilkenny take a 15 point lead....

yeah, fairly relentless crushing

idg gaa refs, the way they encourage this shite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NQOyYDb-Rk

unbelievable, probably too afraid to send the psychopath off

he's a big strong boy

did the ref just not spot this or what?

i figure he thought the boys went down easier than befits a gael

he's really got hold of that one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=L5SpsSALp9A&feature=endscreen

My girlfriend's cousin has just been sent off for KK.

Str8 red.

fair play

how many women and children do you have to kill to get a straight red in hurling?

Might go to Offaly vs Waterford tonight if the rain ever stops.

i was over the moon with limerick's win against tipp a couple of weeks ago. i dont think we're going to win the all-ireland but its great for the championship in general

Waterford were poor but Offaly always looked off the pace. Too slow and too sloppy. Maurice Shanahan was the difference really.

Cork Clare is very tight. Think Cork might take it with the wind in their favour.

London drew the Connacht football semi final vs Leitrim!

dublin drew with kilkenny! kilkenny were lucky to get the draw apparently

apparently london are improving hugely cos of all the people moving over. obviously, i suppose.

was reading about the limerick win and my mum mentioned it recently. would love if limerick could win an all-ireland, my parents would be over the fucking moon.

eoin morgan currently playing well for england in the cricket. gaa's loss is the poms' gain huh

When they beat Sligo some of the London players mentioned they might have been playing for the other side had they not moved over recently.

It's a shame they play in Ruislip. Would make the effort if they were up against Offaly but it's a massive trek otherwise.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/972043_546619158708476_1876032150_n.jpg

some win today. though a funny one this year as normally i'd be dying for limerick to win the hurling, with all my family being from there, yet this year a dublin double is at least possible if not at all likely.

my mum and dad were at the game today, over the moon when i spoke to them, the scenes after sounded amazing.

kind of amazing once you take into account what a shambles the limerick hurling team was about 4 or 5 years ago

hurling championship is really exciting this year btw (even if kilkenny win it again), lots of great matches and giant-killings

http://www.joe.ie/gaa/gaa-news/hawk-eye-system-suspended-in-croke-park/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v86C9LZHBI4

P accurate depiction of the game tbf

can we talk about football here too?

http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.1513298.1378113349!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_620_330/image.jpg

ya

tho tbh us men of the wesht, we'll do our talking on the 22nd if its the same to yourself squire

i had the privilege of sitting pitchside for the tyrone match and there was some serious hits out there, great stuff. tho the biggest on the day was in the minor game, one of the mayo lads went up like aidan o'shea and came down like icarus, the monaghan lad absolutely minced him and rightly so. not everyone is built like aidan o'shea son, take the lesson. and uh best wishes with the recovery.

tho tbh us men of the wesht, we'll do our talking on the 22nd if its the same to yourself squire

haha, think you did a bit of optimistic talking already elsewhere on ilx! absolutely cracking game yesterday, both hurling and football this year has been better than i can ever remember it.

mayo are favourites i guess, dublin's defence isn't great from what i've seen.

there's no point talking them down this year- they are a clearly superior team to anyone else out there, and tyrone as a test was badly needed imo. but 6 finals lost since 89 tells it's own story, and i don't think the favourites tag is worth much. i didn't see the dub game but by all accounts a swashbuckling outfit themselves, so here's hoping for an open final.

yeah it's been an absolute vintage year across both codes, great match follows great match.

here's yerman btw

http://s3.thejournal.ie/media/2013/08/cian-hanley-is-taken-off-injured-630x472.jpg

there's no point talking them down this year- they are a clearly superior team to anyone else out there, and tyrone as a test was badly needed imo. but 6 finals lost since 89 tells it's own story, and i don't think the favourites tag is worth much. i didn't see the dub game but by all accounts a swashbuckling outfit themselves, so here's hoping for an open final.

i think this is the thing really. anyone can lose a final and i guess dublin have the monkey off their back after 2011's smash and grab. i reckon it is going to be incredibly entertaining.

no point even looking for a ticket, and tbh id nearly begrudge myself it cos i dont follow it religiously or anything.

but eh if you hear of one like...

getting into the hype for this now. the entire country v dublin. listening to the analysis you'd swear mayo losing a few times would make it a heinous crime for the dubs (with plenty heartbreak of their own, loads...) to go and win it.

dublin have prob lost as many all-ireland finals as mayo in the last 20 years.

Not in a fuckin row tho!

Anyway, ye're the dubs, hence everyone wants us to win. Twas ever thus, even when we're prob favourites.

Too close to call imo, altho it turning into a real beating wouldnt surprise me either way too. Mental strength on the day wins it, and id obv not back mayo there historically.

No tickets goin have ya

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/mayo-god-help-them-ireland-greatest-sporting-curse-153938284.html

littered with spelling errors god help us

mayo are close to evens for this, that's pretty tempting.

Your move, Cork.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BVPTqJrIcAAveql.jpg

Good luck @GaaClare @ClareHurlers for All-Ireland final. Today Santi & me smashed it over the bar #wristyhurlers

surely this is cos of former munster/ireland rugby player jerry flannery being arsenal's gym coach?!

no tipperary this year huh

looking forward to dublin doubling in the next few years btw lads

Alas, it was not the great Jerry, it was Declan Lynch the head physio.

There are loads of Irish there I believe.

Finally a working stream, and I've missed everything!
http://nutjob.eu/njtvx2.html

Bet the second half'll be boring now.

Ok, this one is better.
http://online--soccer.eu/channel14.html

it was the AFL final earlier. 'tis the season.

enjoyed the 5 minutes I saw of that, probably watch the 2nd half. croke park is fucken enormous innit; only seen it from the outside before

4th biggest stadium in Europe!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_stadiums_by_capacity

haha oh my god, hurling has its own rogerio ceni/chilavert

is it often the case that goalkeepers are free-hit specialists?

Basically three-sided too, would be 110,000 at a guess if they really wanted.

yeah goalkeepers taking free's is a bit more common in GAA

rip-roaring first half btw

I mean, I physically visited Croke Park once, but didn't go in, there was no match. Just gawped at the exterior

have alternative goal:point ratios been mooted? 3:1 is about right but I'd wonder about 7:2 myself, he said idiotically

Shoppin ffs howsa goin

sitting in the crowd behind the goal would be pretty exciting/terrifying

clare by 2 points

I feel like it comes up every so often, but never seriously, more as a hypothetical. You think goals need to be worth more?

Nah, 3:1 seems right really

This is superb, superb sport btw - I'll definitely be watching more of this

"the teacher from Mitchelstown CBS"
that'll be a fun day for him if they lose Monday.

love the insanely skilful and elegant stickwork contrasted with the clumsy football elements when the ball's in a ground scramble

level scores btw

"ready to celebrate..." cut to celebrating fans, ten seconds pass "...first ever championship goal!" cut to the same fans, now devastated

same as it ever was.

the commentators would appear to be learned in the arts of speaking far too soon

fuck fuck fuck

...ing spectacular.

yep, amazing

if in future you come here with direct links to hurling streams, I'll probably tune in

that was just incredible

clare knocked out limerick earlier in the championship and their manager davy fitz is a bit of a wanker but i cant begrudge them

lj did u have a word

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/02/in-praise-of-hurling

haaa o dear. hope i didn't come across as *that* condescending itt

Elegaic games

what would people praising other sports do without dickhead footballers to attack?

From the Irish Times...

A shining example of sportsmanship, it certainly is. High praise this morning for the game of hurling in the wake of last weekend’s All Ireland final has come from a somewhat unlikely corner.

So impressed with the spectacle of Cork v Clare in Croke Park on Saturday, the London-based Guardian newspaper has penned an editorial for this morning’s editions marvelling at the game played “for love, not money”

ronan violently OTM there

delighted with their pat on the head there in the IT.

London!

That article! I can hear the uileann pipes as I read. Assume the comments will be the usual bashing of hurling as a sectarian pursuit.

The Indo are reporting it as well

A quintessential part of British culture, the Guardian newspaper, has hailed the 'ancient Irish' game of hurling as a beacon of sporting courage and commitment. In it's editorial section, the publication heaps praise on hurling's "sporting combatants playing for love not money" and chastises the Premier League for being "soiled with prima dona antics".

Don't they know all their ex-readers now read The Guardian?

I'll tell you what this is

We Londoners are - and have always been - bone-shakingly envious of you, with your rolling wilds, your pace of life, and above all the fact that when you were five a hurley was thrust into your hands and you took to the garden

Cheers,

The London Press

We, for our part, like that you get jobs and dentistry.

Are the Anglo converts going to be encouraged to pick a county, like the American guy we somehow managed to convince to support Newcastle on ILF?

mayo for the football is the most obv ilf cross-support campaign ever

Which county's your Merseyside?

....mayo

mayo for the football is the most obv ilf cross-support campaign ever

most obvious charitable anti-sport campaign ever, prob why they lost this year, the whole country had deserved them into the win before the game even started.

wait there's already a London, no need

pace of life

pace of life is more calm in london, once you are off the tube.

dubs, bitter even in victory, that's how much they feel they deserve it, terrible stuff, terrible

haha... vindicated in victory!

vindictive i think you meant

already gearing up for next years championship itt, love it

the jacks are back fyi

can i just mention my joy at dublin's best player having the (sort of) initials "mdma" here? not sure if this is wildly used as a nickname but in my circles it's a non-stop open goal.

it's be blinkered to say that there could be a decade of battling btw mayo/dub, with the ages of the two teams.

if mayo had won this year, then maybe

xp he plays with a high tempo, a lot of energy

Are the Anglo converts going to be encouraged to pick a county, like the American guy we somehow managed to convince to support Newcastle on ILF?

"You're from where? The middle of Ireland? Bogs and ruins? Yeah, I'll just stick with Cork..."

bogs and ruins are a+ selling points to irish fetishists tbf

There's a long-gone history of success, annual crushing disappointment, lazy flair players - Offaly could pick up some of the Spurs fans.

already have mayo tbh

limerick are sort of like newcastle, constant in-fighting, tho have come closer to "the title" more often.

i think limerick might be hurlings liverpool. glory days a long and distant memory, inordinate amount of hype when we got a few wins under our belt....

feel like all gaa teams are kinda liverpool. besides kilkenny and kerry who are man united.

tyrone football team = stoke

kerry are sort of like netherlands or something.

There's a long-gone history of success, annual crushing disappointment, lazy flair players - Offaly could pick up some of the Spurs fans.

more's the fuckin pity

mayo is like liverpool, spurs, old-city rolled into one, the worst parts of them except for the nobility and dignity with which we bear our suffering.

Surely Limerick fit the Netherlands better, with the infighting and all the teams who almost won it? I mean, they even lost the 1994 final in the dying minutes and the Dutch have that last-gasp Iniesta goal in the World Cup.

i guess, i meant more in terms of the pedigree of the game in kerry and all that. tho yeah, more successful. i suppose kerry are brazil then.

yeah they are

the green and gold

the vast unexplored territories

goochio

paidiose

Who are Galway? Inevitably young, plucky & unlucky, they can be utterly great or utterly shit with no middle ground.

everton

villa

i mean are galway more successful than that

i mean arsenal maybe

Jesus ye have it hard in the west with the fucking priests!

The story goes that a priest noticed that some of the Galway hurling team leaving mass early one Sunday morning, because they were on their way to Dublin to play a big match. He put a curse on them, that they would never win another All-Ireland (they were champions in 1923).

well i mean whatever way you look at the statement it's true tbf

the priests were great men for the cursing tbf, before pope john

the story goes that a priest noticed the entire country was under the power of the church and had no ability to discuss sexual matters in an open manner.

the senior teams were lucky to get away with a light cursing tbf, after what was done to the minors

neither went on to win all-irelands.

Have Spurs won the league as recently as 1998? darragh is correct about Mayo being a more natural fit.

That's true.

Surprise champions from an unfashionable area now languishing in the doldrums. If you can convince one of the six Indian people in Tullamore to take over as local GAA chairman Blackburn Rovers could be an option.

Well surely we could just borrow you and then we could be Fulham.

tbf it's not that far back that villa could be considered an option there either

gonna support laois because that's nearly my name

c'mon laois

FUCK YOU

:D what brazen beast have I invoked

it's pronounced laio

In Connacht dialect, yeah. If you want to pronounce it like we do in Leinster, the L is silent.

oh I thought they had a brutal & obnoxious hurling team, but it's a pronunciation controversy

if you mispronounce my name it sounds like aio as well. hell if you mispronounce my username too. it's perfect

Laois are the lesser Offaly, in every respect.

Are the Anglo converts going to be encouraged to pick a county, like the American guy we somehow managed to convince to support Newcastle on ILF?

Tyrone, ya bass... do they have a team?

oh do they ever

more correctly, they have a pack

One of the most unspeakably brutal counties.

they did play nice stuff some years, it wasn't always true that they were brutes.

That'll do for me!

http://ballsdot.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Amarilio.gif
http://balls.ie/gaa/finland-gaa/

A photograph of a hurley bizarrely wrapping itself around the head of a Limerick player during a match on Sunday has since gone viral online.
The attention-grabbing image, taken by Limerick-based photographer Tony Grehan, was published on the front page of The Irish Times yesterday.
“It was a bust of 11 photographs and it just happened to be in the middle,” says Grehan.

The photo, which depicts Limerick’s Cathal McNamara being hit in the face with the hurley by Clare’s Nick O’Connell during the Waterford Crystal Cup Quarter-final, has attracted much notice since.

What makes it particularly fascinating is that O’Connell’s hurley is bent around his opponent’s head.

“I hadn’t seen anything like that before,” says Grehan. “I’ve seen lots of comments online saying I used Photoshop and that it was impossible.”
O’Connell’s hurley survived the blow without breaking - as did McNamara’s nose, which as the photo shows took a ferocious impact. “The physio came out, gave him a quick look and he got up and continued playing,” says Grehan. “The hurley was perfect afterwards.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.1663125.1390324823!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_620_330/image.jpg

did ya see this from the other day? (around 20 seconds)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzwSPDf6Af8

barcelona hey

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/sky-sports-buys-exclusive-rights-to-14-gaa-matches-1.1746026

ah lads

is that story even real though? I feel deeply confused, like...

Well it didnt just break today if yr askin, was floated last week.

Im not agin it, im curious.

The auld fella must be going pure solid apeshit over this

him and every auld fella in the country I'd say

yeve no excuse now folks

http://balls.ie/gaa/twitter-hurling-reaction/

Had to be us getting stuffed by Kilkenny in the first televised match, of course.

26 points. Ouch. Were you watching it on Sky?

I wasn't, thankfully.

Lots of "Kilkenny are the Man Utd/Spain/Real Madrid of hurling!" comments I bet

don't they always televise ye getting stuffed by Kilkenny tho

I'm amused by the graveyard behind the Roscommon goals in the game on now

chrisht
http://www.joe.ie/pic-of-the-day/pic-just-look-at-the-bruise-on-stephen-okeefes-leg-after-he-stopped-an-anthony-nash-penalty-with-it/

Galway Kilkenny game was amazing.

Galway came back from a 9 pt deficit to draw the game in the last 10 mins

Limerick v Kilkenny game is helter-pelter stuff so far

the all ireland final between tipperary and kilkenny today was probably the best game of hurling ive ever seen. it ended in a draw and there was ridiculous skill, a furious unrelenting pace, great scores, two saved penos, the lead went back and forth several times and tipperary got a last minute match winning point which was eventually ruled out by hawkeye.

can we compare henry shefflin to anyone in a way that would explain this to the uninitiated

idk

Teddy Sheringham

duncan ferguson

might as well put this here - hilarious stuff - a list of what one intercounty team has banned this year.

http://balls.ie/gaa/346334-gaa-code-of-conduct/?utm_campaign=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter

6. No Highlights in Hair

http://discoverwaterfordcity.ie/userfiles/image/events/medium/David-McSavage-The-Theatre-Royal.jpg

Is it possible to like both soccer AND hurling? Apparently not....

course it is

jaysus tho that match

nah i know. im just reacting to the usual anti-soccer guff that rears its head* when there's a great hurling match. and yea that was a great hurling match.

* see also: those facebook memes that show a bloodied GAA footballer and some soccer player diving as if soccer players never actually get hurt

same thing happens during the Olympics tbf

oh it was cuntish during the olympics tbh

pfft the olympics

the olympics is fine but everything around it is kinda awful

Olympics is awful - that hurling yesterday was amazing. I found myself comparing it to soccer, mainly cos it was up against City Chelsea on the same channel, the difference in quality was insane. Like all-time stuff v grist to the mill.

just watched a semi-extended highlights package of the second half - wonderful stuff - that one save by the galway keeper was genuinely jawdropping

that one foul by the galway defender was neckbreaking

is there anywhere i could find a replay of this online? i haven't watched hurling in ages.

yeah I'd watch too

asked on fb- try rte player with hola extension on chrome

I still use it occasionally but fwiw

http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/29/8685251/hola-vpn-botnet-selling-users-bandwidth

i'll see if i can get it on the rte site. thanks.
wtf hola!

https://youtu.be/0DgYb__Cx0Q

if you get nothing better this gives a flavour of the finish

spot the ball challenge wha

that is the video I watched

Galway point at 1.24 is incredible

should be a good game this weekend (am using this thread for football i suppose) - fairly nervous actually, too close to call. yet again it's incredibly tedious and patronising the way the whole country besides dubs are like "ah sure it'd be lovely if they won" about mayo. it's far too high level for that kind of crap.

talking to my ma about the game last night and she has this strange thing where she is up for dublin v mayo, but like mad up for kerry to win the all-ireland. she's from limerick, it's really odd. and she fucking despises cork. limerick people, michael b, is this normal? she has lived in dublin for 40 years or more.

theres always been a bit of back and forth banter between Cork and Limerick. Cork being seen as up their own holes and the whole "Peoples Republic of Cork" thing. and Cork ppl think Limerick is full of scumbags of course. i never really understood myself tbh. its hard not to root for perennial chokers Mayo this Saturday! tho i dont get rooting for Kerry, i would have thought everyones sick of them winning everything at this stage

dubs game to lose, too varied an array of options for us to nullify

Most of the pundits are tipping you, but I guess I feel everyone wants you to beat us so badly that it's a bit skewed.

there's nothing more to say here it's all poormouthery

Underdogging. One suitable truism: it should be a brilliant game.

yeah I think it'll be a worthy semi

incredible point followed by an incredible foul. value.

galway lost the heads completely in the second half - stopped playing smart short balls and resorted to hit and hope.

twas a lot like yesterday tbh

bigger gulf today i reckon

bet tipperary would have given kilkenny a better game, tbh

Bumped for the poor ignorant yanks

i was in kilkenny last weekend and as we came out of the pub onto the empty town square (around half past one on a sunday night), we see two lads pucking a sliotar at each other across the main street. crazy.

^^^ I saw two blokes doing this... on a quiet side street in what could be considered the Jewish area of Melbourne (Australia)!

The word's getting out.

Smart money starts developing the ps4 game now imo

Pretty bad but hey maybe EA Sports might give it a go

https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/516%2BMZ6fnxL._AC_UL320_SR230,320_.jpg

:)

Read through this thread three times over the course of a couple of weeks, seen all the vids, read up online and am beyond fascinated. I am seriously considering going to Dublin for the All-Ireland final. I've just pitched the idea to write a piece abt it to a national paper and mag here in h0lland, and both are fairly interested, as it's virtually unknown here and a great thing to cover. The pay will cover my trip expenses, and I believe in this, so this could potentially be grebt.

However, and this is where input of all of you would be greatly appreciated, both media told me they would like to hear more about the social and cultural background and context of the sport. (Both the paper and mag are leftist media. Obv :)) As would I. Something beyond the apparant non-capitalist nature of hurling today (no huge salaries or prize money etc), but rather about if the sport is where it is now, and what it is because maybe it's been carried for decades (centuries?) by the working class? Or about how commerce and big money is being kept at bay? Thinking out loud here, but something along those lines.

Are there any good books or articles that could give me more insight into that aspect and background of hurling? Dead serious here, and it would be amazing if ilx could help me get hurling published in a national. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated!

Hmmm.

Will try to get a few pointers. The non-capitalist angle is probably a little played out here but certainly can see the attraction abroad.

I know of a few good gaa writers, but theyd be mainly articles. Tom Humphries used to hit something essential in a few of his pieces but well we dont talk about tom humphries no more. Maybe someone else can recommend good longer form stuff.

Possibly theres a second captains feature or two that would also give good flavour.

Be great to see you in dublin obv.

i am also fascinated by hurling, and would frikkin love to go to the all-ireland final

i think a german magazine did something on it a while ago? second captains covered it i swear, you could tweet them. you're aware there's both football and hurling, right? i'd prob cover both as "gaa" if i was you, i guess because it's hard to extricate one from the other entirely as a culture, even if the two sports are different. it might be odd for a foreign paper to just talk about one of football or hurling. maybe.

some interesting stuff that may be too granular or may be stir your imagination;

1. the tactics - when i was growing up watching it there wasn't really such a thing as tactics or formations, like the teams lined up when the anthems were sung, in position, like a grid with each player marking each other, even as a child i always wondered why nobody ever talked about formations or tactics, like soccer. now the game is like fucking teeming with this shit, sweepers, two sweepers, defensive teams, attacking teams.
2. sky sports now show both - interesting in a way but so far has probably been good for the game.
3. search the articles by donal og cusack - in the last few years he's penned a few lyrical thumping heart of hurling pieces, like deep into the culture, the people, the history, really brilliant journalism. i'm a much bigger football fan than hurling but found this one amazing: http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/columnists/donal-og-cusack/at-home-on-hurlings-holy-ground-274299.html - he is also the first openly gay gaa player.
4. lol go and watch dublin if you come - says a dublin fan. but i paid 10 euro to see them in the semi-final last year and the game was immensely high quality. the hill 16 terrace when dublin play is p strange and fun too. presumably you could get press tickets for the all-ireland final though. if you get that far come back here - the general culture on matchday, especially if it's sunny, and the pubs around croke park are really amazing. it is p crazy to think that a full croke park is likely one of the biggest sporting events if not the biggest in europe on a given weekend in summer.
5. you probably need to find some classic commentary by this lad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%ADche%C3%A1l_%C3%93_Muircheartaigh
6. kilkenny hurling is like a dominant and legendary thing.

it's p hard to know where to start with an angle that makes it a news story, but i know it always comes as a shock to people that this sport exists, but even moreso that it's so massively popular, like that our country is obsessed with this sport that's unknown elsewhere.

Also

Mayo haven't been on dis ting since 1951: ILF welcomes all comers to Cluiche Cheannais na hÉireann 2013

Something came back to me as we were driving and the head was clearing. Damien Fitzhenry coming and finding me after the game had finished. He had a hurley in his hand.

Here, he said, sign this. We might never be together again.

He handed me the hurley. I added my name to the three names already on it. Davy Fitzgerald. Damien Fitzhenry. Brendan Cummins. Dónal Óg Cusack. Ah Damien, what a great thought.

All those years we stared at one another from different ends of pitches from Walsh Park to Ennis to Thurles to Croke Park. There was a bond there between us. Once we were kings. Or thought we were. Now we are four names on a hurley somebody might pick up and look at 50 years from now. Maybe a few yarns will be told.

Now we are part of the atmosphere and history of hurling places, fellas who once played, growing old in the great tribe of hurling people.

just re-read this bit of that donal og - absolutely brilliant writing.

I second getting in touch with second captains. Id say theyd be more than happy to help. Obessesion with tactics has hurt football as a spectacle (even my dad would say this, overuse of handpassing that makes it more akin to basketball and a bit of diving creeping in too) but not so much hurling which is interesting.

I like Con Houlihan's writing on gaelic games although hes of a different era

some of the final few games in football in recent years are so much better than what i remember, but i guess i first went to see it in the 90s. like okay dublin and meath had those amazing games but there were many really turgid shitfests then, there have been a few all-time classics in the last 4/5 years. i like the basketball stuff, when done well. i think dublin work with a basketball coach.

Ulster teams worst offenders obv

You guys are really following through! Thanks Ronan, Deems, Michael B. Will digest and get back with a proper answer tomorrow, too sleepy now, but thanks again, this helps immensely.

Checked the Dutch newspaper db, last thing written abt hurling in a national daily over here is from 1987 (!). Niche five liner. Really feel like ive got something here, hidden gem. It's the time for it, too, at least here it is, to write abt a sport somewhat unspoiled that gathers hundreds of thousands, across socio-economic divides, a sport preserved, that allows players to become modest heroes of some sort yet brings so many spectators to the Park. It's about identity, tradition and sportsmanship in the truest sense of the word. I'm not of the exoticising (is that a word?) kind, would not want to romanticize hurling over here, but living in a country that regrets all things slipping away, either because of narrow minded right wing nationalism or its counterpart - finding solace and safety in the beauty of The Game - I feel this story could speak to many people over here.

Ok, above prob gibberish, am tired, but I'm busting. I'm planning my Dublin trip. Final is sold out (semis still available), but watching it in a pub with people somehow seems appropriate too. A trip to Dublin with an actual purpose would also mean I would be redeemed for being chucked out of the Temple Bar in 2004 emptying a bottle of champagne on stage at New Year's Eve, singing along to Paperback Writer too loudly. But that's another story.

Will get back with a proper reply after a nights sleep, but thanks again, all of you. Massive.

I have this at home, but have admittedly never actually read it:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/GAA-Peoples-History-Mike-Cronin/dp/184889225X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1470208336&sr=8-3&keywords=history+of+gaa

As an outsider, the nationalist angle is one of the most interesting. GAA has always been a vehicle for the promotion and maintenance of a distinct Irish culture and language - commentary and announcements are frequently done only in Irish, even at a junior level captains will be expected to give victory speeches in Irish, everyone sings the national anthem before matches, etc but it's not particularly exclusionary. You see a lot of young Irish-Nigerian kids at football and hurling practice and the Irish-Fijian Ó hAilpín brothers are Cork legends.

This is a nice article:

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/gaa-club-s-integration-policy-pays-off-in-ireland-s-most-ethnically-diverse-town-1.2237262

To some extent it does arguably have a lot of the trappings of a commercial sport - sponsorship, logos on shirts, advertising, etc, the money just doesn't go back to the players.

That Og Cusack article is some properly amazing writing

it honestly gets the hairs on the back of the neck going, i don't even understand every reference in it and that seems unnecessary. i'd love to read him writing more about goalkeepers, like that piece touches on a kind of guild of keepers or some deeper philosophy of the position which is probably interesting. a few rungs up from football's "goalkeepers are all crazy".

it does have a bit of that kind of terse vagueness signifying meaning you get in sports writing but it is a rare case in that it uses that technique effectively.

To some extent it does arguably have a lot of the trappings of a commercial sport - sponsorship, logos on shirts, advertising, etc, the money just doesn't go back to the players.

and they keep the prices relatively fair. i honestly couldn't believe it was only 10 euro to stand on hill 16 for a game when i saw the dublin mayo replay last year. the quality of that match was prob higher than anything i've seen live in any sport, for about 7/8 times the price.

I'm watching the '15 final now, which is up on youtube in its entirety in hd! (Don't spoil the final score for me please ;)) Pretty heated affair so far, things "hotting up" frequently as the commentator puts it.

Am at minute 22 now, and for the first time a player was penalized for running more than four steps with the sliotar in hand, but... I've had the feeling this has happened like a million times already? Is this rule strictly seen to or do the refs blow the whistle when someone takes the micky doing eight or nine steps with it? Just seems like it happens loads, but maybe there's something wrong with my eyes?

Is tú mo stóirín, chaps, all of you.

Ronan, that Óg Cusack article is fabulous, striking stuff. Like you said, you may not get all references (I certainly don't), but it goes straight for the heart. Both of the game and of the reader. Even if you don't know anything about hurling.

(An aside, to illustrate the obscurity of hurling, up to the point of people simply not believing it exists: I rang my bro tonight to tell him about my plan to actually go to Ireland to write about this. He genuinely thought I was pulling his leg for a solid ten minutes. 'Quite frankly,' he said, 'it sounds made up'. It took quite some convincing to make him believe hurling actually exists. He's watching the '15 final too now :))

ShariVari, thank you, I ordered the book you recommended by Cronin!

So, the plan:
The story isn't expected to be a 'news story', as Ronan mentioned, but rather a feature story built on three pillars: the history/tradition aspect of it, the nationalism (I hate this word in this context, it's got a right wing, narrow minded, xenophobic connotation, but I explicitly do not mean it in that sense) and how it brings people together, and the (anti-)capitalist aspect. It being a sport of the people, somewhat, still. I want to string these three components together by speaking to people and obviously going to a match.
Now, on that match: despite visiting the final would be awesome, I think I will go to a semi. That allows the paper to publish it in its Saturday sports section saying 'tomorrow, 110,000 Irish people will go to Croke Park for etc etc. LBI delved deep into this age old sport, yadayadayada'. Even if Dutch ppl can't actually catch the match unless they have Sky Sports or RTE, a reader would rather know something special is happening tomorrow, instead of someone writing 'last week was the final'. I can see that and agree with the editor there.

Roughly, that's the plan now. Promised the editor a detailed pitch over the weekend and then we wait for the definite 'go'. Not written for them before, but a 2,000 word story would be fucking perfect, and a four figure (barely, but four figures are four figures innit) pay.

I am still busting over this! Will keep you all posted, and thanks for all the advice (will def get in touch with the second captains!)

Kilkenny snapped it up. Fuck, I'm out of breath watching this final, and I've just watched it on the telly. The pace is crazy.

kilkenny snapped it up

this might become a theme :)

is it just hurling you're going to cover? i think it's a p good story to do it in advance of the final. donal óg would be a great interviewee i'd say as well.

i came to this thread to talk about the football. dublin a bit average yesterday, i'd be concerned about kerry but i guess have to assume we have another level.

Yep. Looked rattled and ill-disciplined in the last twenty though comfortable enough early on.

i am starting to wonder about connolly - it's definitely true that he's targeted but he always reacts. they need to get his head right or drop him - despite being a brilliant footballer he is a liability.

Kilkenny v Waterford on in 30 mins btw

Fucking Kilkenny masters of the well timed goal. Great game.

So eh this went all topsy-turvy at the last min. Waiting for the go-ahead from a this national paper now. Will know tomorrow eve if I fly to Dublin this weekend.

(btw gosh Dublin yr hotels are expensive!)

Booking.com is yr friend.

Have gone up loads, though - the last hotel I stayed in, albeit a couple of years ago, has doubled in price. There used to be some OK budget options around Harcourt Street. I can only assume the boom is back, baby.

This weekend for how many nights lbi?

*a third national paper, I meant.

I swear I have looked at all hotels above the Liffey, where I want to be, but booking.com offers the best deal at Best Western for 150 a night. Steep! Nothing in the 80-120 range at all, a dece price range you can still get in lotsa other EU capitals. And I feel like I'm too old for dorms ffs. Seen every Airbnb too but they were all meh and I don't have the energy for meeting ppl and sharing loos and petting kittens when I'm just there to do my own thing tbh.

Will drop by here tomorrow if to say if I got the nod, if anyone is up for a fap on Saturday night,

Xp two nights. Coming in on Sat and returning early Monday because I have a funeral to attend here :-/

U should prob webmail a friendly irishman imo

Will def do that D! :)

Kinda meant before u book anywhere

I kinda realized that straight after. Am expecting to hear a def go or no go by this morning, will keep you posted

Woof this match

Waterford must be gutted. Will watch todays semi later on YT hopefully.

Semi final fell through, but the final is a def go, got a good deal w/ a daily wanting to print the story. /davecool.jpg

Dublin fap anyone? Ronan, you about in the motherland weekend of sept 3/4?

Alriiight

Did you go see it in the end? I was in London unfortunately, pretty good game tho. Tipp were brilliant to watch.

Was there at Croke Park, saw it all. Tipp in the second half, especially Séamus Callanan, was mind blowing stuff. Had the best seat in the stadium, and was impressed by how the GAA takes care of the press. And got to chill at Darraghmac's for two nights, which was wonderful. Once in a lifetime experience for me. Handed in my story today, should be published tomorrow in two big Dutch dailies (the Dutch Observer and its separate paper for youth). Will post a screen here tomorrow.

What struck me about Dublin in the end was how the poverty is so on the surface. So many beggars, so many drunk somber people trying to reach out on the streets. And especially, so many lonely old people in ill-fitting suits without teeth, drinking their pint, grabbing onto me like as if I were their chance out of grim death. Sad really. I didn't realize on forehand. Holland has swept the streets clean of beggars and homeless, which is probably for the worst. But the poverty and depravity was really in my face. And I wasn't even looking for it.

That shook me up, but the All Ireland was simply amazing an experience. Words can't describe.

"got to chill at Darraghmac's for two nights, which was wonderful. Once in a lifetime experience for me."

Fair review imo

http://i.imgur.com/hSLWGXq.jpg

Great article LBI! (Just read it with Google Translate). As you mentioned Ballybough is very poor. I moved in nearby (about a mile away from Croker) two years ago and I was shocked by the deprivation. There is a homelessness crisis across the city but I'm talking about endemic poverty, malnourished-looking kids etc. I've lived in the inner city for more than a decade and I've never seen anything like it (apart from some traveller settlements).

I'm pretty sure it's been that way for years - Ballybough comes from the Irish "Baile Bocht" which literally means poor town. Since moving here it's often struck me that many rural Irish people must have a very particular impression of Dublin as a whole if they've only ever seen the area around Croke Park. Wonder if the GAA could do more about this. It's not a given that the area around a stadium must be shitty, the other major stadium (Landsdowne Rd aka Aviva) is in an extremely well-heeled part of town.

P-dog, thank you! And for going through the trouble of finding and translating it, too, really appreciate that.

I was struck by the very same deprivation. Deems and I spoke about the homelessness problem as well, as there seemed to be way more homeless in the city than I'd anticipated (and it lead me to wonder about the Amsterdam homeless; they're there, but the city sweeps the center clean I think... :-/)
It'd be hard for rural Irish people to only see Croke Pak or Ballybough though, because all transport (buses and luas) go through the better off areas. Initiatives like this will be very welcome I'm sure.

Were you at the match or out and about on Sunday? Atmosphere all around was great.

Liked this bit from wiki:

n 2013, Dublin City Councillor Nial Ring started a controversial campaign to change the official Irish name from Baile Bocht to Baile Bog, on the grounds that 'Poor Town' was insulting to the residents. A counter-campaign was started by some Irish-speaking residents.

It may be Poor Town but it's our bloody Poor Town.

Great article LBI!

why would you want to be called "soft town" instead of "poor town"

"baile iontach" obv the choice here.

Thanks SV, means a lot!

Had more social-cultural stuff in there but had to bring it down from 1400 to 1000 words 20 mins before deadline :-/ Trying to get an English version of it published too. If only to cover costs lol.

Baile funk would be my pick tbh

(soz)

Put a guy up for a few nights and all he wants to do is slag the town off

:)

Work related Q: anyone here familiar with tehF0rtyTw0.ie? They'd like an English translation of my piece (for an outsiders view). Happy to oblige, but wondering if I can ask for a (translation) fee. If they are a commercial org or just some public initiative without a dime. Will prob do it anyway, but learned the hard way in the past of doing work for nowt.

F33 sorted.

Piece is up! Lol at the comments.

42 is a fairly big sports site in Ireland, possibly the biggest website beyond older media, it's connected to Daily Edge I think.

There's some very irate Tipp fans over Seamus Callanan not getting hurler of the year

seems the player awards are now just a pat on the head for the team that lost.

Don't know how it was in previous years, but that seems otm for this year.

(do we not have a rugby thread on here? happened to watch last nights second half seeing you tweeting abt it Ronan, that was fantastic!)

swap ye so

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/hockey/98absolutely+zero+similarities+retired+netminder+journeys/12994152/story.html

former canuck alex auld to try his hand at hurling

and lee chin to the canucks

id think chin would get destroyed, but theyll prob go easy on him

stoked to watch that toughest trade show

That could be good

Ah yeah, down with this.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/lee-chin-surprised-by-levels-of-drinking-and-fighting-in-nhl-1.3003990

“And they have this thing called a ‘change up’, when a player is not on form, not scoring. The manager will call a ‘change up’, and basically that player has to go out and ruin himself for the night, then come back the next day, with the attitude of you just don’t care.

“So they send him out, drink 20 pints, go off with a couple of women, whatever he wants. And come back the next day. That’s the way they live. It’s the culture, what they believe in, letting off steam like that. I don’t know if they look at the science behind it.”

more gems here https://thestanch.wordpress.com

shouldn't that really be in an nhl thread

glad u asked

answers no

I think ye should consult an authority

Answers no

otm

The Wexford hurler spent a week training with the Vancouver Canucks last month, one of the top teams in the professional NHL

I'm going to need a fact checker here stat

top like one of the further north

that was one of the more harsher one tbh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXus8AbWGps

previous episode on yt as well

https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2017/0310/858773-canucks-president-blasts-chin-drinking-culture-comments/

go home chin yr drunk

lee up

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/hurling/breathless-brilliant-bewildering-cork-sink-tipperary-in-epic-1.3091096?mode=amp

this were good

sounded fantastic alright.

that is some wild scoring, a score a minute almost. ffs.

that sounds amazing. good write-up too.

Big win for Cork, they've been a long time in the wilderenews. Good potential for this years championship to be open. The usual suspects, Cork and then Galway who are league champs, Waterford too

We're allowed talk about Tom humphries now apparently

All Ireland semi final draw

Galway v Tipperary (6th August)

Cork v Waterford (13th August)

At some point in the four day battle the Fir Bolgs took the time to challenge the Tuatha De Danann to a game of hurling, three times nine Fir Bolgs played against a similar number of Tuatha De Danann, many Tuatha were killed

thats the fuckin stuff for them lads

"I want to see no fir bolg men fucked over any fuckin line like no fuckin loaf a bread" quoth the home coach

Timely revive! I've just read abt Sétanta/Cú Chulainn yesterday, slaying the vicious hound of Culain w/ a hurling ball.

ríastrad ftw imo

lookit i am sick pushing the wyrd formorian cycles etc on to an ungrateful ilx

Bres turned out to be a bad king who forced the Tuatha Dé to work as slaves and pay tribute to the Fomorians. He lost authority when he was satirised

miriam lord ft prehostoric w

ilx would prob only take in Táin Bó Cúailnge if there'd been a VAR involved

extra táin

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_le_Brocquy_Táin_illustrations

get on these btw

fuck ya anyway wiki

Galway v Clare semi final yesterday was an absolute belter. A draw after the end of extra time and the replay is on next Saturday. Draw was a fair result

Limerick v Cork today. I think Limerick will just about shade it, at least I hope they do

And they did! Has there ever been a Limerick vs Clare/Galway final before?

Limerick v Galway in 1980 apparently

I think Limerick will do it this year, theyve got a strong squad, subs that came on against Cork made a big difference. Galway not as great as I had previously assumed. Clare gave them a lot of gifts in that first half to make them look good.

https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/gaa-offaly-vogue-paris-magazine-12989342

Not in an Offaly jersey though, alas.

this doc on rte2 now is looking good

proper voices

great production

great footage

I'm watching a fillum

What docu is this?

anout hurling buck hurling

When hurler chin thought he cld play hockey and canada trolled him

Fuck Canada

https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2018/0730/982052-hurling-have-problem/

Watch The Game on @RTEOne from 30 July. The ultimate story of hurling, as told by @CTLFilms with stunning live footage, enthralling interviews and rare archival footage #RTEGAA #GAA #TheGame pic.twitter.com/O60aJpL823

— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) July 16, 2018

Michael Bollins u wash that dirty mouth of yrs w soap young man

galway limerick tomorrow in the final folks

not a great final tbh

not a great match but cracking drama when comeback looked on

flying back when the match was on so i only caught the nail-biting last 10 minutes. im over the moon, limerick are such a big hurling county its great to win the thing at last. limerick city was dead quiet this morning according to friends

I got those O'Muircheartaigh quotes fwded to me the other day, kind of a tonic as I got mad love for Sid Waddell still but his classic work is all in decades long gone

― welcome fake world we hope enjoy cardboard melon (DJ Mencap), Monday, 9 August 2010 12:30 (nine years ago) bookmarkflaglink

You;d need to have heard Míchéal's craggy tones first to get an idea though.

― "It's far from 'loi' you were reared, boy" (darraghmac), Monday, 9 August 2010 12:40 (nine years ago) bookmarkflaglink

https://youtu.be/SPB6LTWThH4

O has taken me to the Blythe Hill Tavern to see her lads

The downside is that they're playing maybe the greatest team of all time, apparently

Winning atm mind!

Still winning! Limerick look rattled. Have observed that they seem less the Man City of hurling than the Chelsea

Uh oh. Limerick have found their groove. Still, for half an hour one could dream

This thread title is perfect

How much do you enjoy the violence intrinsic to both the performance of and enjoyment of the sport, Louis?

I'm a football fan, so...a fair amount? Limerick are horrid bullies tho

Ooh, eight all...

Some fun thing to say in the pub while supping on a pint to seem knowledgeable:

- any reference to “wristy hurling”
- “of course that fella didn’t have an arse to his trousers when I was watching him play u21”
- “ah sure it’s like watching the fucking ploughing”
- “clash of the ash” you can only say this unironically if you’re ten drinks in OR Pat Spillane
- “Henry Shefflin isn’t that great”
- “personally I thought DJ (Carey) was better in those mastitis ads than he ever was in the noughties
- “ah you’d be glad to see THEM* get bet all the same, wouldn’t you”

I will update with more as they come to me, I was born the same year as my county won the all Ireland though so you can trust me definitely

* them usually refers to Cork/Dublin/Kilkenny but can also refer to your local rivals from ten yards down the road

I'm informed the Henry Shefflin one might require updating. Extending it to the entire Limerick team and especially whoever their star player is

Ty though, I intend on using the wristy hurling line a lot for the remaining 20 minutes

The only other guy watching it in this pub is a Wexford fan too lol

Goal Wexford! A thriller

Gerrin there you overhyped twats

(this is probably Wexford's greatest result in...years?)

They’ll be selling strawberries on the roads tonight!

Must be some hiding in a freezer

The All-Ireland Champions came to Wexford today they were talking about painting the Town Green. But By God The Boys of Wexford were having none of it. OUT ye Go. OUT OUT they Said

— Buff Egan (@buff_egan) February 6, 2022

a fine sentiment

How many times have you talked about the wristy hurling now

Everyone knows it's wristy

I missed all this

this limerick team have greatness in them, dominant say in the way of that very physical, athletic and organised Mou Chelsea etc but the greatest of all time will fall between Kilkenny (pick yr era) and I'd guess (not a great knowledge of the historical brilliance of individual teams) Offaly, Tipp?

This thread title is perfect

otm it is among my favorite thread titles on ILX.

xp even I wouldn’t nominate Offaly despite the greatness of the 1998 side. Cork must be up there, Tipp certainly

I made sure to talk about wristy hurling very often yes

this limerick team have greatness in them, dominant say in the way of that very physical, athletic and organised Mou Chelsea etc but the greatest of all time will fall between Kilkenny (pick yr era) and I'd guess (not a great knowledge of the historical brilliance of individual teams) Offaly, Tipp?

― Ár an broc a mhic (darraghmac), Sunday, 6 February 2022 17:01 (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

lol notice how someone who'd never seen a game before picked up on this exact comparison after watching them for fifteen minutes

That was a pretty low scoring game yesterday, imago. Blustery winds a factor, id say. Limerick were bad yesterday, but sure look it, its early days in the league and we'd only a b team out.

Deems hasnt a clue, I forsee a decade of brutal dominance for this Limerick team.

My expectations are now unreasonably high for Wexford, lol

I dunno that 'they aren't definitely the greatest team of all time' is quite enough to hang that I haven't a clue on tbh

Especially from a lad who probably pronounced hurling with three syllables until yesterday

no that's bourke now attacking me tbf

and on the 'hurling stronghold' and apropos of nothing more, here's some GAA quotes:

Great GAA Quotes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. I love Cork so much that if I caught one of their hurlers in bed
with my missus, I'd tiptoe downstairs and make him a cup of tea"- Joe
Lynch, actor.

2. "We've won one All-Ireland in a row"-Wexford Fan in 1996.

3. "The toughest match I ever heard off was the 1935 All-Ireland
Semi-Final. After 6 minutes, the ball ricocheted off a post and went
into the stand. The pulling continued relentlessly and it was 22 minutes
before any of the players noticed the ball was missing" - Michael Smith.

4. "Sylvie Linnane would start a riot in a graveyard"-Tipp fan on
the Galway legend.

5. "I'm not giving away any secrets like that to Tipperary. If I
had my way, I wouldn't even tell them the time of the throw-in" - Ger
Loughnane.

6. "He's like Lazarus; but Lazarus didn't have such a sweet right
boot"-Micheal O'Muircheartaigh on Colin Corkery.

7. "Whenever a team loses, there's always a row at half time but
when they win, it's an inspirational speech"-John O'Mahony.

8. "There are 2 things in Ireland that would drive you to drink.
GAA referees would drive you to drink, and the price of drink would drive
you to drink"-Sligo Fan after 2002 Connact final.

9. 'Life isn't all beer and football...some of us haven't touched a
football in months' - Kerry player during league campaign 1980s

10. "When my friends were besotted with Jason Donovan, my heroes
were Colm O'Rourke and Barney Rock"-Sue Ramsbottom (Laois Ladies Captain).

11. 'We're taking this match awful seriously. We're training three
times a week now, and some of the boys are off the beer since Tuesday' -
Offaly hurler quote in the week before a Leinster hurling final vs.
Kilkenny

12. 'Ger Loughnane was fair, he treated us all the same during
training-like dogs' -anonymous Clare hurler

13. 'Any chance of an autograph? Its for the wife...she really hates
you' - Tipp fan to Ger Loughnane

14. 'You can't win derbies with donkeys' - Babs Keating before Tipp
played Cork in 1990

15. 'Sheep in a heap' -Babs Keating description of Offaly in 1998

16. 'Babs Keating 'resigned' as coach because of illness and
fatigue. The players were sick and tired of him' - Offaly fan in 1998

17. 'And as for you. You're not even good enough to play for this
shower of useless no-hopers' - Former Clare mentor to one of his subs after a
heavy defeat

18. 'Babs Keating was arrested in Nenagh for shaking a cigarette
machine,but the gardai let him off when he said he only wanted to borrow
twenty players' - Waterford fan after 2002 Munster final

19. 'They have a forward line that couldn't punch holes in a paper
bag'
* Pat Spillane on the Cavan football team

20. 'Meath players like to get their retaliation in first' -
Cork fan 1988

21. 'Meath make football a colourful game-you get all black and
blue'
* another Cork fan 1988

22. 'Colin Corkery is deceptive. He is slower than he looks' - Kerry
fan

Subject: FW: Micheal O Muircheartaigh masterpieces

"In the first half they played with the wind. In the second half they
played with the ball."

"... and Brian Dooher is down injured. And while he is, i'll tell ye a
little story. I was in Times' Square in New York last week, and I was
missing the Championship back home. So I approached a newsstand and I
said 'I suppose ye wouldn't have the Kerryman (Paper) would ye?' To
which, the Egyptian behind the counter turned to me and he said 'do you
want the North Kerry edition or the South Kerry edition?'... he had
both...so I bought both. And Dooher is back on his feet..."

"Anthony Lynch the Cork corner back will be the last person to let you
down
* his people are undertakers."

"I saw a few Sligo people at Mass in Gardiner street this morning and
the omens seem to be good for them, the priest was wearing the same
colours as the Sligo jersey! 40 yards out on the Hogan stand side of the
field Ciaran Whelan goes on a rampage, it's a goal. So much for
religion."

Colin Corkery on the 45 lets go with the right boot. Its over the bar.
This man shouldn't be playing football. He's made an almost Lazarus-like
recovery from a heart condition. Lazarus was a great man but he couldn't
kick points like Colin Corkery."

"1-5 to 0-8.. well from Lapland to the Antarctic, that's level scores in
any man's language."

"Pat Fox has it on his hurl and is motoring well now... but here comes
Joe Rabbitte hot on his tail ...... I've seen it all now, a Rabbitte
chasing a Fox around Croke Park!"

"I see John O Donnell dispensing water on the sideline. Tipperary,
sponsored by a water company. Cork sponsored by a tae company. I wonder
will they meet later for afternoon tae."

"Teddy looks at the ball, the ball looks at Teddy"

"Danny "The Yank" Culloty. He came down from the mountains and hasn't he
done well."

"He grabs the sliotar, he's on the 50...... he's on
the 40.... he's on the 30.......... he's on the ground"
>
"He kicks the ball lan san aer, could've been a goal, could've been a
point...... it went wide."

"Stephen Byrne with the puck out for Offaly....Stephen, one of 12....all
but one are here to-day, the one that's missing is Mary, she's at home
minding the house..... and the ball is dropping i lar na bpairce...."

"Pat Fox out to the forty and grabs the sliothar, I bought a dog from
his father last week. Fox turns and sprints for goal, the dog ran a
great race last Tuesday in Limerick. Fox to the 21 fires a shot, it goes
to the left and wide..... and the dog lost as well."

"Sean Og o Hailpin.... his father's from Fermanagh, his mother's from
Fiji, neither a hurling stronghold."

"Teddy McCarthy to John McCarthy, no relation, John McCarthy back to
Teddy McCarthy, still no relation. "

― "It's far from 'loi' you were reared, boy" (darraghmac), Monday, 9 August 2010 11:50 (thirteen years ago) bookmarkflaglink

rip to the voice of gaelic games, míchéal ó muirceartaigh at 93 - 75 years after his first commentary gig

sunday, bbc2

i expect to see some big activity itt lads

Has the final been shown on BBC before?

maybe a regional (NI) but i think this is the first

only turning on now

two great points in succession clare

watching this. seems like a nice, gentile sport.

its been a soft game alright

xp celtic in fact

the fans are sitting next to each other in the stands, completely mingled together.

some run from clare this

it's a bit hockey, a bit rugby, some egg and spoon race and a bit of 2000ad's aeroball. i have no real idea what's going on

its full contact golf played by frustrated rugby lads

Who’s playing I can’t watch cos I’m working

the fans are sitting next to each other in the stands, completely mingled together.

Cork - Clare?! LarryDavidugh.gif but as always, fuck the Banner

its an exhibition of hurling

also noticeable was that after 40 minutes of that they all jogged off at half time

Oh fuck, I thought this was on later.

some game

clare leaving gaps but absolutely determined to shoot from anywhere

Referee in the wars.

ive no idea how this is close its been all clare but they have been perhaos too content to take their points

Couldn't really be any closer!

clare have the legs but cork look far more efficient

i think at this stage of a final....you want to be efficient

love to have a leather ball hit flush at about 90mph towards my goal, get a wooden club in front of it to stop the score and hear a bored commentator say "you'd expect to save it"

Well that was somewhat thrilling.

jesus unlucky with that last effort

if cork had lumped it all game they might have been clear

clare had them for legs all game

Some statement from Limerick today.

I wasn't expecting that scoreline. Adam English's goal was terrific.

Cian Lynch was unbelievable also. The first half was a performance for the ages.

Jesus Christ, what a match.