Hurling is a 15- a side
stick and ball game.
The sticks are not unlike hockey sticks but
broader and made of ashwood. the ball
may be caught but not thrown and picked
up from the ground with the stick. The
Stiotar, or ball, can be played either in
the air or on the ground. There is no offside, so
players can propel the ball for great distances.
The game is very old and can be dated back,
in some form or other to pre-christian
times, when teams of warriors would play
for days on end.The parliament
of Kilkenny in 1367 tried to ban the sport, and the
Archbishop of Armagh at the same time threatened to
excommunicate any catholic caught playing the game!
He said it was a cause of "mortal sins"
beatings and "homicides".
Hurling is mainly played in the provinces
of Leinster and Munster, Co. Galway and
Co.Antrim.
|
