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Hurling is a Gaelic sport originating in Ireland that has been played for over 2000 years. I didn’t recognize the sport which was surprising to me as I am second generation Irish Canadian (my grandfather was born in Ireland).

Hurling goes back to origin of Julian’s Calendar before the current Gregorian Calendar we use globally. Sports history of Hockey, Baseball, Basketball, and American Football origins only go back to the  late 1800’s.

Here is a short video to help you better understand Hurling, which is referred to as “The Fastest game on Grass”

The most intriguing part of Hurling is that is combines various sports skill sets. Skills required for baseball, football, rugby, soccer, lacrosse and even field hockey are all part of the game. Early specialization is becoming more and more popular in our modern society. The kids involved with Hurling in Ireland can develop a broad range of skills due to the requirements of the game. Kids in North America are only able to learn the various skill sets if they are enrolled in multiple sports. The kids that specialize in a sport too early in their life wouldn’t be able to play Hurling because of the wide variety of skills it requires.

Hurling is the ultimate example of the benefits of a versatile skill set. These athletes have all the motor skills for almost every sport that evolved from Hurling.
To be an elite Hurler, one has to be proficient in many motor skills;

1. Hand-Eye Coordination: The ability to hit a ball with a baseball swing. The hurler uses a cricket shaped stick as a “bat”, which they called the Hurley,

2. Cardio: It is comparable to soccer on a larger playing field with 15 players on each team. Hurling players run countless miles across a huge field for 60-70 minutes with only a short intermission for water at the half,

3. Strength and Endurance: To be able to “hit” the “ball” over 150 kilometers a hour (93 MPH) and over 110m (100 yards) in distance,

4. Balance and agility: Ability to “carry” the “ball” (called a sliotar) while running at full speed, meanwhile trying to avoid being tackled. Unlike our rules in North America they can use arm tackles that have been banned in American and Canadian Football. These tackles are subject only to a yellow card (if called) due to the potential for serious neck injuries. Imagine that you were doing the egg carry on a spoon during your school sports day with all your students rushing at you. They would be coming at you in all directions to knock the egg off the spoon. Using methods such as slashing, pushing and wrapping their arms around you in many ways is how a hurler feels when they have the ball. I suspect that egg would have dropped before you came anywhere near the finish line.

5. Ability to shoot: Ability to hit the ball from longer distances to score (3 points in the goal like Soccer, Hockey, 1 point in the uprights like Rugby)***

Compare this to other sports:

• Hockey – the Hardest Slapshot is just over 100 Mph

• Baseball – the hardest pitch is just under 100 Mph

• Soccer – the hardest kick is also just over 100 Mph

The players do all this wearing no plastic protective gear, a jersey, shorts, socks and cleats like those I used in Rugby. The only protective gear was an optional helmet similar to what is used in field lacrosse. In 2010 helmets became mandatory for all players. However, like hockey there were some players who were grandfathered into the sport who continued to play without them to the end of their career. Many of the goalies I saw in various video segments wore no helmet, just a small hat that resembled that of a baseball cap. Jaques Plante introduced the first goalie helmet four decades ago as a result of injury he sustained from a puck to his face. Before that, like the players, goalies wore no helmets for protection. Imagine you were in goal 15 feet from a Hurler shooting a ball similar in speed to a baseball, which can be up to 93 MPH with NO PROTECTIVE GEAR.

Look at Football and Ice Hockey and the level of protective equipment they now wear vs. decades back. The reason I loved rugby so much is I could run faster without all the protective equipment, nor did I suffer injuries due to equipment used in Football. Rugby is a Hooligans game but it is played by Gentlemen.

The helmet is being used as a lethal weapon, kids are entering tackles head first and are sustaining more head injuries. When I played rugby I never had a player target my head or back with a helmet. This unsafe practice is leading to more concussions and brain injuries in young athletes today.
Kids start learning hurling as early as four years old. Through small stations and games, they can develop their skills. In their teens, they transition into full field games learning to play on a field approximately 20-35% larger than all other grass team sports.

Compare that to other field sports:

• Canadian Football 110 yards long by 55 yards wide

• US football fields 100 yards x 50 yards

• Soccer fields optimal by FIFA are 110-120 yards (100-110 m) long by 70-80 yards (64 – 73 m) wide

• Field lacrosse 100m (110 yards) long by 55 m (60 yards wide).

CNN listed hurling as second of 10 sports events you need to see live, second only to the olympics but ahead of the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro Cup. Hurling is played in various countries, but in Ireland it is a fixture of life. Some players even carry their Hurley around with them, except for church on Sundays.

Men’s teams have sponsors, media coverage, gate and concession receipts from stadiums seating more than 80,000 people. The merchandising and various revenue streams is in the Millions of dollars each year.

What intrigued me the most was the fact that all the players are amateur. Meaning that they do not get paid, although sponsorship and media coverage would permit them to play professionally.
They all have jobs in various industries, but practice and play like they did in their youth for the love of the game.
Instead of paying the players, the profits from the various revenue streams goes back to the sport. In Ireland, they take pride in building and maintaining the training fields. Young athletes can practice with the best training facilities for a chance to represent their respective counties and battle for a National Championship

Opposite to the free agent culture that we have in professional sports, hurlers represent their own countries. We are seeing it everywhere, even BC minor hockey is considering allowing rep players to play for other associations. This would hurt the smaller associations who don’t attract the elite players. Any association, big or small, can have an excellent program, but they must have the culture of excellence to do so.

The New Zealand All Blacks are the most successful sports team ever. They come from a country of only 4 Million but play against countries that are much larger. The most successful county in the National Championship is Kilkenny, winning 11 of the last 15 national Hurling Championships. Like the All Blacks, their top player Henry Shefflin has been on 10 of those teams and states he would not have changed playing as an amateur for the world. When you are getting paid it changes the mentality of why you play. He also stated the reason for his Kilkenny team’s success was the tradition and culture of expecting to win. They have dominated hurling for the past two decades and continue to do so.
It is refreshing to see a sport that promotes all the aspects of sport. It allows young athletes to focus on the community and giving back to the youth for the tradition of the game. The mighty dollar, which drives sport as we know it is taken out of the equation and the athletes can focus on what matters.

It also is refreshing for me with Irish Heritage to have bragging rights that our culture is not just about Kilkenny Beer. Kilkenny’s National Champion Hurling Team and the supporting infrastructure creates an opportunity for youth to develop their skills in a true amateur sport. It makes me wish I had found out about Hurling when I was experimenting with all my youth sports. To have the chance to play a sport that incorporated all the various motor skills I learned would have been awesome.

Hurling is the Ultimate “Multi” Sport, I suspect it will continue to be part of Ireland’s culture for centuries to come.