☘️☘️ Hurling Irelands national sport

The All Ireland hurling final took place yesterday and it is the biggest day in Irish sport for many. There was around 86,000 people at Croke park in Dublin to watch this great sport. Hurling is the best sport in the world said everyone ever after they have sat through a full 70 minute match. Its the second fastest ball game in the world if you take out ice hockey and we all know thats not a real sport. Anyway Bloomberg once described hurling as "a warlike ball game played on foot with clubs". Another description is "a cross between hockey and murder".

But its not like that at all. It requires skill and courage, strength, fitness. There are 32 counties in Ireland and each county competes once a year in the All Ireland. My home county of Tipperary are one of the best counties to play hurling along with its bitter rival Kilkenny. Here's a good video to get a taster.

Yes it does look a bit mental but it's great to watch. Sky TV have invested in it and alot of people from the UK are hooked. And it is not common knowledge but there are teams in Boston and New York that compete in the All Ireland every year. But they never get through because they are not that good.
So there are 15 on each team. You have your attack, midfield and defense. Hurling is played with hurleys. These are wooden stick made of ash. The ball is called a sliotar and it is around the size of a tennis ball. There are goals and points. A goal is 3 points (score in the back of the net )and a point is 1 point which is over the bar. A player can not hold the ball in his hand for more than 3 seconds. You can solo(carry) the ball on their hurley for as long as they want. You cannot pick the ball up off the ground. They must use their hurley for this. The ladies game is called Camogie with a similar set of rules.
Now I know what you are all thinking. This game is dangerous. But a few hurleys cracked off my back back when I was 13 never did me any harm. It just made us more condescending when we watch the likes of Neymar dive when someone touches him. I played hurling right up until I was around 20 and I loved it. You don't feel the slaps because of the adrenaline. The next day you will have a bruise here or there but most games you come away unscathed. It is compulsory to wear a helmet for obvious reasons. The most common injury is the broken fingers from catching a ball.
If any of you ever visit Ireland in the summer it is a great way to spend Sunday. I recommend it to anyone. The GAA museum which is the sports governing body have a museum beside the stadium where you can try your luck scoring a goal with a hurley. I had two German work colleagues over and one of them was a natural.
I remember being in a pub and a tourist walked in and asked why there were so many oars in the pub. They were in fact hurleys.