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

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.