irish sports

When in Dublin, especially during the summer months, you should make an effort to catch a game of Gaelic Football or Hurling, two uniquely Irish sports that are passionately supported across the country. The summer term is when the annual championships in both sports are held, with each county fielding a team. The championships culminate in September and tickets are like gold dust, but you might find another event in early summer that isn’t sold out. The biggest stadium in Ireland, for any sport, is Croke Park, and that’s where the most high-profile events take place.

Gaelic football became popular in Ireland as early as the 16th century, when teams could consist of all men in the form of a town or parish. In those early days, the rather disorganized game began between the two towns and ended when one side managed to force the ball across a line into the other’s territory.

The modern game is played like a mix of soccer and rugby. Teams of 15 players kick or pass a ball around a grass field into each other’s goals to score a point on the bar or goal. The ball used in Gaelic football is round, slightly smaller than a soccer ball. The action is fast and furious, and the gameplay is rough. The protective equipment is non-existent.

Hurling is similar to lacrosse or hockey. It is played on a large field with a curved wooden stick (or “hurley”) and a 6.5 cm (2.5 in) leather ball (or “sliothar”). It can be described as one of the fastest and most skillful field games in the world and it is not for the faint of heart. The bodies hit, the ball is as hard as a baseball, and the clubs are made of solid ash.

While Gaelic football is an ancient sport, hurling is ancient. Irish mythology is replete with stories of heroes, such as the legendary warrior Cú Chulainn, who were expert throwers. Such myths point to a history of hurling some 2,000 years old and to the sport’s prominent place in Irish tradition.

While the games have ancient roots, their modern history is inextricably linked with the revival of Irish culture and nationalism that occurred in the late 19th century.

In 1884, with Ireland under the rule of the British Crown, a group of Irish nationalists set out to establish an organization for Irish athletes, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The initial plan was to resurrect the old Tailteann Games and establish an independent Irish organization to promote athletics, but eventually hurling and Gaelic football prevailed.

It is still the governing body for hurling and Gaelic football (as well as women’s football and carmogie, a women’s sport similar to hurling). GAA has always promoted more than just sport. The Gaelic Athletic Association was a cultural thing and was created as a direct response to the way Irish culture was being wiped out. Along with the Gaelic League and the Irish Literary Revival, it provided a mechanism for the creation of a sense of Irish identity.

In their early years, the Gaelic games themselves took on political significance in the turbulent Ireland of the time.

The athletic association developed a strong rural network throughout Ireland, and many GAA members took part in events related to the 1916 Easter Rising.

In 1918 the British government banned the organization, but the games were still played as an act of Irish defiance. The game was directly affected (was influenced) by the conflict.

On November 21, 1920, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) murdered 14 British agents and their informants in Dublin. Later that day, British forces (the infamous Black and Tans) opened fire on the crowd at a Gaelic football match at Croke Park. [http://www.roadtoireland.eu/Ireland-Dublin-Croke-Park.html] killing 14 spectators and one player, Michael Hogan, who was playing for Tipperary that day. This day went down in history as “Bloody Sunday.”

Until recently, current or former officers in the British Army were not allowed to take part in Gaelic athletics.