The Games

About the Game High Quality Clip (7.1mb) Low Quality Clip (3.1mb)

The Skills High Quality Clip (16.1mb) Low Quality Clip (7.0mb)

The Rules High Quality Clip (7.4mb) Low Quality Clip (3.2mb)

The Gaelic sports of hurling and Gaelic football are authentic Ireland - a heartfelt Irish passion, and a physical celebration of ancient traditions and culture.

Gaelic sports are no longer confined to the Emerald Isle. The waves of Irish emigrants who left their home shores took their important games with them. The clubs thrive in heavily Irish settled communities in Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia, but have also expanded across the country, from Florida to California and even to Colorado. The first match in America was held in Boston in 1886, between Kerry and Galway. The players were recent immigrants, and they chose sides according to their home counties.

The tradition of county-based teams endures in North America, and many of the athletes are still originally from Ireland. That is changing, however, as increasing numbers of American-born players take up the games. Youth leagues are creating new generations of players born outside of Ireland, and some have no Irish connections at all. The North American Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association hold their Annual Finals each September in Gaelic Football, Hurling and Camogie.

Gaelic Football and Hurling have been arousing Irish passions for a long, long time. Football became popular as early as the 16th century, when teams might have consisted of all the able-bodied men of a town or parish. In those earliest days, the rather unorganized game would begin between the two towns and end when one side had managed to force the ball across a line into the other's territory. The modern game plays like a mix of soccer and rugby. Fifteen-player teams battle across a pitch using a round ball slightly smaller than its soccer counterpart. The ball is carried for short distances, and passing is done with a kick or a "hand-pass," the ball struck with a hand or fist. The action is fast and furious, and play is rough. Protective equipment is nonexistent.

Hurling is similar to lacrosse or hockey. It's played on a large pitch with a curved wooden stick (or "hurley") and a small ball (or "sliothar"). It is the fastest field game in the world, and it's not for the faint of heart. Bodies bang, the ball is as hard as a baseball, and the sticks are made of solid ash.While Gaelic Football is an old sport, Hurling is ancient. Irish mythology is replete with tales of heroes, such as the legendary warrior Cú Chulainn, who were expert hurlers. Such myths point to a hurling history some 2,000 years old and the sport's prominent place in Irish tradition.