What Is The History Of Hurling?
Although hurling is generally recognized as a Gaelic sport it should possibly be called a Celtic one. For the history of hurling is actually older than the history of Ireland itself. It started even before Christianity, arriving in Ireland more than three thousand years ago with the Celts.
The earliest references to hurling in Ireland is in early Irish laws dating back to the fifth century. Hurling played a major part in early Irish mythology. Legendary Irish heroes such as Cuchulainnt and Fionn Mac Cumhail and his Fianna are both written of as taking part in hurling.
Hurling is, in essence, a stick and ball game. The game is reckoned to be related to the games of shinty that is played primarily in Scotland, cammag on the Isle of Man and bandy that was played formerly in England and Wales.
The stick was, and indeed, still is called a hurley and the ball a sliotar. Early Irish lawn Law stated that the son of a r? (local king) could have his hurley banded in bronze, while others could only make use of copper. It was unlawful to confiscate a hurley.
The object of the game is for players to use the hurley to hit a small ball through the opponent’s goalposts either over the crossbar for one point, or under the crossbar into a net guarded by a goalkeeper for one goal, which is the same as three points.
The sliotar can be caught in the hand and carried for not more than four steps, hit in the air, or hit on the ground with the hurley. It can be kicked or slapped with an open hand (the hand pass) for short-range passing. A player who wants to carry the ball for more than three steps has to bounce or balance the sliotar on the end of the stick and the ball can only be handled twice while in his possession.
The English occupation of Ireland led to many statutes prohibitting or restricting the playing of hurling as it diverted people from archery practice. The earliest of these goes back to the 13th century.
However, it was the Eighteenth Century that came to be known as the ?The Golden Age? of hurling as members of the Anglo-Irish landowning gentry frequently kept teams of players on their estates and challenged each other’s teams to games for the pleasure of their tenants.
Tales of colourful hurling matches from this period continue to be collected from contemporary Irish storytellers and newspapers of the era. The contemporary era of hurling In Ireland dates from the formation of the Gaelic Athletic Association formed in 1884 in Thurles, County Tipperary under the memorable sponsorship of Thomas Croke, Archbishop of Cashel and Charles Parnell.
The 20th Century saw greater organisation in hurling. The all-Ireland Hurling tournament came into being along with the provincial championships. Cork, Kilkenny and Tipperary dominated hurling in the 20th Century with each one of these counties winning more than 20 All-Ireland titles each. Wexford, Waterford, Clare, Limerick, Offaly, Dublin, and Galway were also strong hurling counties during the 20th Century.