Do you know which is the fastest Sport played on the grass? Hurling is. You have never heard of it? This sport was created by the Celts around one thousand years ago in Ireland and it is still very popular on the island. Check out this ultimate hurling guide.
Not many people outside the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland have heard about hurling.
The existence of this sport was first recorded in Irish mythology, around three thousand years ago. Hurling is a variation of other sports played with a ball and a stick which were born in the British Isles and never left their birthplaces.
For example, in Scotland, there is shinty, on the Isle of Man we can find cammage and bandy is widely spread in England and Wales.Hurling is the fastest sport played on the grass with its ball reaching over 120 kilometres per hour in average.
Why hurling is the fastest sport played on the grass?
You can find some examples of squash or tennis serves, baseball fields or even golf drives that beat the speed of the shots of the hurling athletes. There is one major difference though: the Gaelic ball, called a sliotar, is always in play.
This means that the player while shooting with all his strength is either running or dribbling or both.
He is also looking at the opposition’s goalkeeper to try to score or for a teammate for a great pass.
The other mentioned sports only reach hurling’s speed because the game stops frequently. When a pitcher throws the ball or the tennis player serves there is no one trying to stop them, they are not running, they are just concentrated on hitting the ball with all their power.
These sports demand silence and frequently the referees tell the audience to shut up.
Can you imagine someone asking the entire population of Dublin’s Croke Park (82 thousand seats) to stop cheering during a hurling match?
Fastest balls on Earth
Since men started measuring the speed of the balls thrown in sports, no one has beaten the golfer Ryan Winther who struck his ball at 362 kph. There are other impressive figures coming from non-grass sports, like jai alai, squash and tennis.
The Brazilian Ronny Heberson, when playing by Sporting Lisbon (a famous Portuguese club) shot a free-kick over 211 kph. He also beat the hurling former player TJ Reid, whose strike could reach over 180 kph.
Hurling’s Equipment
Hurling has three mandatory apparatus to be used. The hurley is the wooden stick, through which you shoot the ball at the goal. The sliotar is the hurling ball. Since 2010, all players are obliged to wear helmets. This was a safety measure taken to reduce the number of serious injuries during the season.
Main Hurling’s rules
Let’s have a look at the main rules of hurling.
- The hurling field is larger than a rugby field. It is 130-145 meters by 80-90 meters.
- Each team has 15 players, including a goalkeeper.
- The goalkeeper has a bigger hurley than the rest of the players. It is called a bas.
- A goal is scored when the ball goes under the bar, like soccer. It is worth three points.
- A field goal is scored when the ball goes over the bar, like football. It is worth one point.
- The senior matches have 70 minutes, two halves of 35. The referee can add stoppage time according to the circumstances of the match, like soccer.
- If the ball (sliotar) is on the ground, it cannot be picked by hand, only by the hurley.
- The players cannot throw the sliotar with a closed hand. The sliotar must be thrown with an open hand, which slaps the ball.
- A player who has the sliotar in his hand cannot take more than four steps with it.
- The player who has the sliotar in the hand cannot switch the ball from one hand to the other.
Hurling’s Body
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) was founded on November 1st, 1884. Its mission is to promote Gaelic and Irish culture mainly through sports.
This body is responsible for the administrations of hurling, Gaelic football, handball (a totally different game from Olympic Handball) and rounders (similar to baseball).
Women compete in ladies’ football and camogie (the female version of hurling). The association also promotes Irish music, song, dance and language.
The GAA has 2200 clubs as members. They are spread throughout the 32 counties of Ireland (the 26 which are part of the Republic of Ireland and six which are under British rule in Northern Ireland).
During the season, over 1.5 million people watch the games of all sports at the stadiums. The All Irish final is sold out every year and 82.300 people witness the grand moment of Irish sport.
Recent rules approved by the GAA include the end of the ban against athletes who also played traditional English sports, such as soccer and rugby, and the obligation for every player to wear helmets during hurling matches.
Outside Ireland, the GAA helps the promotion of hurling in over forty countries, such as Canada, the USA and the United Kingdom.
Hurling’s All Ireland Senior Championship
The most important Irish championship is called the All Ireland Senior Championship. Twelve teams take part in this competition.
The five best teams from the province of Leinster and the five best teams from the province of Munster play a regional round-robin inside their groups. The top three from each advance to the knock-out stage.
Two clubs from the Joe McDonagh Cup also advance to the knock-out stage. In the preliminary quarter-finals, the two sides coming from the cup face the third-placed teams from Leinster and Munster.
The two winners play the quarter-finals against the second-placed teams from the group stage. The winners of each group start from the semi-finals stage.
Ireland has a total of four provinces. Ulster (Northern Ireland) and Connacht are not very strong at this sport, so they are not represented in the All Irish Championship nowadays.
Despite that, Galway won the trophy in 2017. For those who don’t know, Dublin is the major city from Leinster, while Cork is located in Munster.
All-Time Champions
| Team | No of titles |
|---|
| 1. Kilkenny | 36 |
| 2. Cork | 30 |
| 3. Tipperary | 27 |
| 4. Limerick | 8 |
| 5. Dublin | 6 |
| 5. Wexford | 6 |
| 7. Clare | 4 |
| 7.Offaly | 4 |
| 9. Waterford | 2 |
| 10. Kerry | 1 |
| 10. Laoios | 1 |
| 12. London | 1 |
Hurling’s History
The Celts invented hurling around three thousand years ago. It was played as a pastime to entertain the first Irish settlers. The sport is constantly mentioned in Irish mythology.
The Brehon Law, which governed the Medieval life in Ireland, also describes the sport in the fifth century.
The local ancient tales describe how heroes such as Cúchulainn, Fionn Mac Cumhail and Fianna played the game.
In the 13th Century, Kilkenny forbade the practice of hurling due to its violence. Of course, many rules changed throughout the years. As an example, animal hairballs were replaced by modern sliotar.
This is true for all other present-day sports. Standard rules were established to unify the games in the five continents of the planet.
After the English colonization of Ireland, there was a dispute between English and Irish cultures. In the 19th Century, the GAA was formed to keep alive Irish traditions and folklore, which was suffering prejudice in the English dominated society.
Only with Irish independence hurling could find ways to grow again.
Hurling’s Variations
Camogie is the official name of women hurling.
It is very similar to men´s sport. Some differences include a smaller sliotar, two halves of thirty minutes, players are not allowed to wear shorts and the goalkeeper uses the same hurley as the rest of the team.
Shinty, in Scotland, and Bando, in Wales, are sports derived from hurling. The rules of these games are quite similar to the Irish sport and the main differences are in the size and weights of the ball and of the stick.
Recently, they tried to unify the rules of shinty and hurling by creating a new sport called iomain. After an exhibition match in Dublin, it didn´t conquer the hearts of the Irish fans.
Hurling at the Olympics
Hurling was part of the unofficial programme of the 1904 Summer Games, which was celebrated in St. Louis.
Two American teams played the exhibition match. The Fenian GAA Club beat the Innisfáils GAA Club to win the gold medal.
Hurling in North America
The Gaelic Athletic Association has four members in North America: Toronto GGA (responsible for East Canada), Western Canada, New York and North American GAA. Each organization has its own “national” championship.
Hurling is not yet big in North America, but many people play it to keep in touch with the Irish culture since many Americans have Irish roots.
There are around one hundred clubs where you can practice hurling and around one hundred and fifty where you can learn any Gaelic sport. The North American GAA has approximately 2500 adults registered in hurling or camogie.
Can we bet on Hurling?
The Irish and the British love betting opportunities. Do you really think they would leave hurling out of the betting world?
The odds for the latest Senior Hurling Championships in Ireland are available. The Leinster and Munster Championship winners odds were last updated on June 28, 2021:
| Â Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 2021 Odds |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Galway | 1.73 | 1.78 | 1.75 |
|
Kilkenny | 3.80 | 3.75 | 3.50 |
|
Wexford | 7.50 | 7.00 | 7.00 |
|
Dublin | 11.00 | 12.00 | 11.00 |
|
Meath | 15.00 | 15.00 | 15.00 |
| Â Munster Senior Hurling Championship 2021 Odds | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limerick | 1.80 | 1.83 | 1.85 |
| Tipperary | 4.00 | 4.50 | 4.00 |
| Cork | 6.00 | 6.00 | 6.00 |
| Clare | 8.00 | 9.00 | 8.00 |
There are several ways to bet on hurling and our partners, such as Bet365, Spin Sports offer plenty of betting opportunities.
When Dublin plays Galway, for example, you can wager on the winner of the match (1×2), which is quite simple. Some sportsbooks offer handicaps to give a team an advantage. You can also try bet on the total number of points scored during the match, the exact correct score, the goal difference of the winner side, the team which will score the first goal and if both opponents will score at least one goal – or not.
Future bets are also available. Who will win the All Ireland Hurling Championship? And which team will celebrate its triumph in Division 1 (second level)?
If you prefer the excitement and adrenaline of live betting you can also go for it. If you are at a stadium of watching any game live on tv or the internet, hurling live bets are regularly available. CanadaSportsBetting recommends the below partners for you to invest your money:
Further Reading
If you want to read more about hurling, I recommend the following websites:
- Ancient Sites.
- Gaelic Athletic Association
- Gaelic Games Canada
- Hurling New York
- Hurling USA
- Toronto GAA
- Wikipedia
- Wikipedia (history)
