Student Bloggers
Hurling Game- Kilkenny vs. Galway
Date
July 9, 2015
By Colleen H., University College Dublin Internship, Ireland
Since arriving in Dublin I've been told that I have to go to a hurling game. Hurling is a native Irish sport which is one of two Gaelic games, the other being Gaelic football. The athletes that play in the Gaelic Games are not paid like athletes in the U.S., but they sell out arenas just as professional players in America would. I did not really know what to expect when I went to the game but I knew that the players use wooden clubs and the ball looks like a baseball.
I quickly realized how fast the game goes. The players run up and down the field the entire game with no time outs and half time. Unlike baseball where the players have mitts to catch the ball, these players just grab the ball straight out of the air.
The goals that players score on are a combination between a soccer goal and a field goal post in football. In order for a player to score a goal they have to either score the ball in the goal past the goalie and the other players, or hit the ball over the goal between the uprights. The way that the score is kept also looks different than how professional teams in America keep sore. The score board shows how many times the team scores in the goal (each time being worth three points) and how many times the team scores between the uprights (each time being 1 point).
The game we watched was the Leinster County final between Kilkenny and Galway. Each county has their own team colors that are through out the towns. This game was at Croke Park in Dublin so both teams colors were around the city. Kilkenny's colors are black and gold/yellow stripped and Galway was maroon and white.
The final score was Kilkenny 1-25 and Galway 2-15.
Colleen Hess is a student atWashington State University and is blogging from her summer abroad with the University College Dublin Internship program in Dublin, Ireland.