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The origins of the game of hurling

In historical texts the earliest reference to hurling appears to have been made about 1272 BC at the battle of Moytura, near Cong in County Mayo. The Firbolgs were rulers of Ireland and were protecting their place in a battle against the Tuatha de Danaan. While preparing for battle, the Firbolgs challenged the invaders to a hurling contest in which teams of 27-a-side took part. The Firbolgs won the contest but lost the battle.

Even the legal system of the time, the Brehon Laws, took account of the existence and popularity of hurling. The Laws provided for compensation for injuries arising out of participation in the game of hurling. It was also a punishable crime under the Brehon Laws to deliberately strike another with a burley. There are many references to the game of hurling in the centuries before the birth of Christ.

There is evidence that hurling was an essential part of life for young men preparing to be warriors This gives rise to some of the legends of early Irish history which are still being caught to schoolchildren. The most famous warrior of all was Cuchulainn who, as the boy Setanta, engaged in great deeds of hurling. The legend is based around the period of the birth of Christ and is contained in early writings, including what is known as the Book of Leinster.

Tales of his exploits are taught to this day. When he was only eight years old, Setanta left his home in Cooley to join his uncle King Conor MacNessa at his palace in Enihain Macha, where boys were taught the skills of hurling and of war. On the long journey he amused himself by hurling his bronze ball long distances and then throwing his hurley after it so that it struck the ball in mid-air. On arrival in Emhain Macha he took part in a game of hurling in which he single-han dedly defeated 150 boys. He earned the name Cüchulainn when he killed the savage hound owned by the blacksmith Cülann by hurling his ball into the hound’s throat.

So popular Was the game that it spread to England and Scotland. In Ireland, while the natives continued to play, the invaders too became fascinated by the game. The authorities became concerned about it, considering it a threat to security. The Statute of Kilkenny of 1336 banned the playing of the game. The ban had little effect and 200 years later, in the Statute of Galway of 1537, the playing of hurling was again banned.

In later centuries the rulers and landowners adopted a more accommodating approach. The landowners actually organised games between teams comprising their tenants. Local rivalries grew and large sums of money were wagered on the outcome. Two forms of the game were noted; a summer game, from which today’s game evolved, and a winter game which resembled hockey This style seems to have lost popularity in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

Hurling was commonly played in Dublin, the rest of Leinster and Munster. There is some evidence of the game in the north of the country while there also are references to games between parishes in Galway including areas in the north of the county which would now be regarded traditionally as football strongholds. A number of newspaper reports in the middle of the eighteenth century mentioned games between the provinces of Leinster and Munster, as well, as games between counties. At the end of that century, however, a change was taking place which would have a major effect on hurling.

A growing sense of nationalism among the Irish people and the formation of the United Irishmen led to an increase in political tension. The landowners, generally English and Protestant began to fear large gatherings and withdrew support from the game. The Rising of 1798 deepened divisions and the Act of Union, which made Ireland part of the United Kingdom, also changed the way of life. Barony hurling, which was organised by landlords and comprised teams made up of their tenants, came to an end in the early part of the nineteenth century.

The Great Famine had an even more devastating effect on the people and the ancient game. Yet it survived, and there are accounts of games being played again in various counties by 1850.ThefbtRulesofHurling were drawn up by Pat Larkin of Killimor in Galway and were printed in 1885, although it is thought that they had been in use for at least a decade before that.

While the gentry and the landlords had abandoned hurling, the game was still played at Trinity College in Dublin. A set of rules, very different to Larkin’s, was drawn up by the Dublin University Hurling Club. When modified in the 1860s and 1870s, these rules made such fundamental changes to the game that the form of hurling played resembled hockey. The native game was struggling to survive. Though some clubs were formed, especially in Dublin, the changes in Irish society had a grave effect on the game. Significantly, it was in the 1870s and 1880s that Michael Cusack began to take an active interest in the game and would soon head the movement that led to the foundation of the Gaelic Athletic Association.