What does hurling mean to you?

[deiseach]

We are, and we should be. Coming from a dual county, and living in a county that is very much a dual county now, you have no chance unless you are in it together.

[Hardy]

You ain't seen nothing yet, if you continue to reward my bad behaviour.

Seriously, though, since you brought it up I'll assume I'm not boring you by explaining. I love hurling. It vies with NH racing as my second-favourite sport. I just get great amusement from the tendency of hurling people (as I see it, anyway) towards self-congratulation for being discerning enough to choose "the fastest field game in the world" as their favourite sport. Over and over. As you might say yourself, it's duly noted, okay?

I will admit that the amusement can be transformed into mild annoyance when, as will often happen in pubs in, say Lismore, where I'd often find myself, the eulogising of hurling needs to be supplemented by the disparagement of football and us poor fools who love the game. We don't tend to do that to you.

Reading your posts, I think the annoyance routinely overrides the amusement. Never the twain shall meet.

I didn't think so, but maybe you're right. Either way, it's always interesting to see ourselves as others see us.

[johnneycool]

You ain't seen nothing yet, if you continue to reward my bad behaviour.

Seriously, though, since you brought it up I'll assume I'm not boring you by explaining. I love hurling. It vies with NH racing as my second-favourite sport. I just get great amusement from the tendency of hurling people (as I see it, anyway) towards self-congratulation for being discerning enough to choose "the fastest field game in the world" as their favourite sport. Over and over. As you might say yourself, it's duly noted, okay?

I will admit that the amusement can be transformed into mild annoyance when, as will often happen in pubs in, say Lismore, where I'd often find myself, the eulogising of hurling needs to be supplemented by the disparagement of football and us poor fools who love the game. We don't tend to do that to you.

I agree with that last point. I love hurling, and I do think it's a great game, but I also love football and have given a fair bit of my life to both, and hope to have a lot more to give However, I have rarely, if ever, heard a football man make disparaging comments about hurling, except in a retaliatory sense. I have, unfortunately, quite often heard statements about penknifes and footballs, or about football being shite compared to hurling.

I'm from a hurling pocket in a football dominated county and it does seem ingrained into you to fight your corner in terms of hurling vrs football as there's a preconception that the county board doesn't give a flying f**k for hurling. Now as you grow wiser, you'll find certain aspects of that to be well wide of the mark and other times it looks a bit glaringly obviously true, but its a big brush to be tarring everyone with and IMO one of the best hurling board chairman I've dealings with in Down was from Burren, a club where you wouldn't see a hurl.

Hurling snobs from the traditional counties not only do they look down their noses at football people, but also from the lesser hurling counties as can be seen how Nicky Brennan and Christy Cooney marginalised the Christy Ring, Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher competitions by moving the finals away from the curtain raisers of the AI semi-finals to allow their minors another day in Croke Park. Ironically again it was a President from Kerry who had the audacity to get the games played then, but his was wasn't long being reversed by the Presidents from Kilkenny and Cork.

[deiseach]

I didn't think so, but maybe you're right. Either way, it's always interesting to see ourselves as others see us.

Aye, we can agree to disagree.

[Croí na hÉireann]

You ain't seen nothing yet, if you continue to reward my bad behaviour.

Seriously, though, since you brought it up I'll assume I'm not boring you by explaining. I love hurling. It vies with NH racing as my second-favourite sport. I just get great amusement from the tendency of hurling people (as I see it, anyway) towards self-congratulation for being discerning enough to choose "the fastest field game in the world" as their favourite sport. Over and over. As you might say yourself, it's duly noted, okay?

I will admit that the amusement can be transformed into mild annoyance when, as will often happen in pubs in, say Lismore, where I'd often find myself, the eulogising of hurling needs to be supplemented by the disparagement of football and us poor fools who love the game. We don't tend to do that to you.

I agree with that last point. I love hurling, and I do think it's a great game, but I also love football and have given a fair bit of my life to both, and hope to have a lot more to give However, I have rarely, if ever, heard a football man make disparaging comments about hurling, except in a retaliatory sense. I have, unfortunately, quite often heard statements about penknifes and footballs, or about football being shite compared to hurling.

Ah I've heard a few "I'd burn all the hurls in (insert place name) if I could" from football only men. Val Andrews is the most prominent one that springs to mind. I use prominent in a very loose sense. Also heard a few comments about hurling still being tactically naive, catch and puck as opposed to catch and kick. Still well in the minority compared to the hurling snobs.

[Absent]

Hurling is always having a hurl in the boot of the car, you never know when you might have a few pucks.
It is always taking a look at a team mates new hurls.
It is spending a half an hour trying to find a hurl with the right balance and weight in some lads workshop.
It is enjoying a junior b game as much as king Henry an AIF.
It is awe inspiring to first time viewers from foreign lands.
It is getting your knuckles  bursted and not caring.
It is looking in the buy and sell for a second hand Cooper
It is hooks, flicks, roll lifts and 127 other skills.
It is ..... the greatest game on earth

Even before I played my first u/12 game of hurling at the age of ten wearing a pair of wellingtons with the cowdung still slinging off them back in 1954,the team were short and I didn't have to be asked twice,hurling is a magical game to me.Out in the Canaries for parts of the winter I still have a couple of hurls with me even at this age and regularly go for a few pucks with anyone who will accompany me,the foreigners find the game most interesting.The young lad out there next door aged 6 kicks football all day but I have him doing a little bit of hurling and he is mad for it,I have a small hurl already packed for my next visit and I will be looking out for him shouting down from the balcony "play" and making a striking movemment with his hands.Hurling is a fantastic game to play,so many many skills and is an enthralling game to watch.

[joe bloggs]

Hurling is always having a hurl in the boot of the car, you never know when you might have a few pucks.
It is always taking a look at a team mates new hurls.
It is spending a half an hour trying to find a hurl with the right balance and weight in some lads workshop.
It is enjoying a junior b game as much as king Henry an AIF.
It is awe inspiring to first time viewers from foreign lands.
It is getting your knuckles  bursted and not caring.
It is looking in the buy and sell for a second hand Cooper
It is hooks, flicks, roll lifts and 127 other skills.
It is ..... the greatest game on earth

Even before I played my first u/12 game of hurling at the age of ten wearing a pair of wellingtons with the cowdung still slinging off them back in 1954,the team were short and I didn't have to be asked twice,hurling is a magical game to me.Out in the Canaries for parts of the winter I still have a couple of hurls with me even at this age and regularly go for a few pucks with anyone who will accompany me,the foreigners find the game most interesting.The young lad out there next door aged 6 kicks football all day but I have him doing a little bit of hurling and he is mad for it,I have a small hurl already packed for my next visit and I will be looking out for him shouting down from the balcony "play" and making a striking movemment with his hands.Hurling is a fantastic game to play,so many many skills and is an enthralling game to watch.

When I was 12 I went on holidays to the canaries and my cousin of the same age was going. We packed in the sloithars and cheked in our hurls, but to our horror they never appeared when we landed. Needles to say we weren't too impressed

[Milltown Row2]

Hurling is always having a hurl in the boot of the car, you never know when you might have a few pucks.
It is always taking a look at a team mates new hurls.
It is spending a half an hour trying to find a hurl with the right balance and weight in some lads workshop.
It is enjoying a junior b game as much as king Henry an AIF.
It is awe inspiring to first time viewers from foreign lands.
It is getting your knuckles  bursted and not caring.
It is looking in the buy and sell for a second hand Cooper
It is hooks, flicks, roll lifts and 127 other skills.
It is ..... the greatest game on earth

Even before I played my first u/12 game of hurling at the age of ten wearing a pair of wellingtons with the cowdung still slinging off them back in 1954,the team were short and I didn't have to be asked twice,hurling is a magical game to me.Out in the Canaries for parts of the winter I still have a couple of hurls with me even at this age and regularly go for a few pucks with anyone who will accompany me,the foreigners find the game most interesting.The young lad out there next door aged 6 kicks football all day but I have him doing a little bit of hurling and he is mad for it,I have a small hurl already packed for my next visit and I will be looking out for him shouting down from the balcony "play" and making a striking movemment with his hands.Hurling is a fantastic game to play,so many many skills and is an enthralling game to watch.

When I was 12 I went on holidays to the canaries and my cousin of the same age was going. We packed in the sloithars and cheked in our hurls, but to our horror they never appeared when we landed. Needles to say we weren't too impressed

Good stories, I remember going away most summers with Euro Children, it was a scheme for us trouble torn kids from Derry, Belfast to head of to Germany, Belgium and Holland, one trip away I packed my hurls and sloithars. The family I stayed with had a large driveway with lamps along the driveway. Before we left I had managed to break everyone of the lamps and the back window of the house!!

[joe bloggs]

Hurls for sale at the ploughing - you couldn't get anything more Irish than that

[Premier Emperor]

Hurls for sale at the ploughing - you couldn't get anything more Irish than that

Handy for bringing in the cows.

[AZOffaly]

Hurls for sale at the ploughing - you couldn't get anything more Irish than that

I see Conor O'Mahoney's bobble head dolls are down there as well.

[seafoid]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFnL_o8QS0

Jimmy Smyth is in it

You could never confine Ring to a county
Hurling is Ireland
Ring was Hurling
Ring was Ireland