hurling

hurling has a long history in Ireland. Brehon law is thought to have recognized the sport, and 12th‐century manuscripts mention comparable ball and stick games. The Statute of Kilkenny legislated against English colonists playing the game. Nevertheless the sport persisted, and is mentioned in a law of 1527 and in the Sunday Observance Act of 1695. During the 18th century hurling remained popular. In 1755 the lord lieutenant attended an intercounty match. By the early 19th century, however, social and sectarian tension and changing gentry lifestyles had eroded upper‐class patronage, while popular participation declined as part of the general contraction of traditional amusements (see sport), especially following the Famine. The game was still played only in isolated pockets when, in 1870, the first laws of hurling were drawn up by the Dublin University Hurley Club. The Irish Hurley Union was founded by six Dublin clubs in 1879, and contact was made with hockey clubs in England. The establishment of the Gaelic Athletic Association offered an alternative for would‐be hurlers. The Hurley Union, seen as elitist and pro‐Union, dissolved prior to 1892. Under the auspices of the GAA, all‐Ireland championships were instituted in 1887. By 1913 the rules of the game had been rewritten, reducing teams to fifteen a side, and restructuring the scoring system. The sport spread rapidly from Dublin, becoming most popular in Munster. In Northern Ireland, where hurling has continued to be perceived as a nationalist and Catholic sport, clubs came to enjoy significant success only after 1960.

Neal Garnham