Hurling needs to be seen to be believed. A combination of rugby, hockey, polo, lacrosse, baseball and soccer. This is non-stop action for 70 minutes. Players wield clubs or hurling cudgels which enable them to hit small hard balls with amazing accuracy into soccer/football goalposts.
The physical non-padded contact is intense -- with some players not wearing helmets. Today's championship match featured perennial powerhouse Kilkenny, winners the last three years, against upstart Tipperary which was seeking a major upset. Tipperary as a 10-1 underdog almost pulled off the miracle. Extremely exciting game with an earnest and appreciative audience. Kevin educated us about the rules and finer points of hurling. There were 82,000 screaming fans in the stadium, and the entire country keenly watching on the telly. Great stuff. The guinness tastes better in this environment. Note photo in the Ballyconneely Grill Room .
The adventure continues -- onto the West Coast Challenge!!!
P.S. Thank you again to our spouses -- Hi to Nora in Montreal!
I believer that one John Considine was a hurler of some repute in Ireland. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Considine_(hurler).
ReplyDeleteI thought curling was a sport played on ice... isn't it in the winter Olympics? Or is that something else? There is a sport that's like shuffleboard on ice. Definitely not as exciting as what Michael describes and I can't imagine a rapt audience tuning in on the telly. Although the Guiness might certainly help!
ReplyDeleteToo MUCH guinness could cause one to hurl, thus you'd become a "hurler"!!
ReplyDeleteThe Doctor and Skinness were shocked and amazed that the fearsome foursome chose to leave a golf course during competition. Didn't the legacy of Portsalon teach you anything? Thirty points in the stableford is indeed impressive!
ReplyDeletes/ Jealous in Concord, Bill and Glenn