The game of hurling has been a sport or pastime for thousands of years, according to Irish legend prior to battle of Moytura (2000 BC approx.) a fierce hurling match took place between teams of opposing sides of the conflict, the causalities were buried before the battle commenced. Hurling features prominently in Irish folklore interwoven between kings, fairy folk and warlords.

The sport has survived countless invasions and incursions and remains one of the finest most skilled sports on the earth today. The GAA set up in 1884 formalised the organisation and the rules of Gaelic Sports in Ireland.

The rules are as follows: The stick, or "hurley" (called camán in Irish) is curved outwards at the end, to provide the striking surface. The ball or "sliothar" is similar in size to a hockey ball but has raised ridges.

Hurling is played on a pitch approximately 137m long and 82m wide. The goalposts are the same shape as on a rugby pitch, with the crossbar lower than a rugby one and slightly higher than a soccer one.

You may strike the ball on the ground, or in the air. Unlike hockey, you may pick up the ball with your hurley and carry it for not more than four steps in the hand. After those steps you may bounce the ball on the hurley and back to the hand, but you are forbidden to catch the ball more than twice. To get around this, one of the skills is running with the ball balanced on the hurley To score, you put the ball over the crossbar with the hurley or under the crossbar and into the net by the hurley for a goal, the latter being the equivalent of three points.

Each team consists of fifteen players, lining out as follows: 1 x goalkeeper;3 x full-backs; 3 x half-backs; 2 x midfielders; 3 x half-forwards; 3 full-forwards.

What is Hurling part 1?                                                                                                    What is Hurling part 2?