Irish dairymen hope hurling catches on

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This article was published 28/07/2022 (1063 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Southeast Hurlers are sporting a perfect two wins-no losses record, after a rematch against Winnipeg opponents at the A.D. Penner Park, showcasing a game never before seen by sports fans in the Southeast.

When talk turns to “hurling”, the names of great baseball pitchers like Nolan Ryan or Randy Johnson usually come to mind, but a pair of Irish dairy farmers, who have settled in the Southeast, are hoping they can change that.

Pat Donnelly and Tom Dooley brought their hurling skills along from “the old country” and are trying to get their Canadian friends interested in what they say is one of the world’s oldest sports.

To the casual observer, the sport of hurling would appear to be a cross between field hockey and lacrosse, with soccer net and football goal posts thrown in to make it more interesting.

A hand-stitched leather ball is carried, batted or thrown towards the opponents’ end of a soccer-sized field, using a stick fashioned from an ash root, which resembles a field hockey stick and is about the length of an axe handle.

Donnelly, a Grunthal area dairy producer and Dooley, who has a dairy farm at La Broquerie, organized a “team”, garnered sponsors for equipment and sweaters, and arranged an initial match against Winnipeg opponents in July. The match was played in Winnipeg and won by a narrow margin by the rural team, bolstered by a few young “imports” holidaying in Canada at the time. Ronan Middleton, T.J. Dooley and Derek Middleton, were happy to show their Canadian hosts just how the game could be played.

The Southeast hurling team brought the game closer to home Sept. 22, when they hosted the Winnipeg team for a return match at the A.D. Penner Park in Steinbach. The rural team won again.

The Southeast Hurlers have welcomed players of all ages to field the necessary 15-man squad and players are signed up more on their desire to play rather than individual skills at the game. As more players become involved, additional teams could be made up of more adults or youngsters approximately all the same age, just like soccer, according to Donnelly.

The sport is great exercise, and at a high skill level can prove to be as fast as hockey, as physical as football, but played with a minimum of equipment. Helmets are optional and some players like to wear the short soccer-style shin pads, Donnelly says.

By way of further explanation, Donnelly will be happy to share an eight-page description of the history of the game.

The ball-and-stick game itself is more than 1,000 years old, but all but disappeared over the centuries, until it was revived by the Gaelic Athletic Association, which was founded in 1884, Donnelly explains.

Today, due to the efforts of enthusiasts like Donnelly and Dooley, hurling with the broad stick is being re-introduced and fostered, and played over a wider area than ever.

To play the game in Canada, the ash-root sticks must be imported, but any soccer pitch or football field with proper goal posts serves adequately as a playing field.

An uncomplicated point system grants three points for an “under” or a ball into the opponent’s net and a single point for an “over”, which involves an easier hurl through football uprights atop the net.

Donnelly hopes their match in Steinbach goes a long way to launching the sport in this area. Once people see how much fun the game is, it will only be a matter of time before the Southeast Hurlers will have lots of locals joining their team, or providing the opposition.