Hurling is a unique Irish game and is one of the oldest and fastest field games in the world. Most of the old Irish heroes from legend are said to have played hurling. Cúchulainn “The Hound of Cullen” got his name after he killed a fierce dog by driving a sliotar down its throat.
Fionn MacCumhaill also played hurling and Diarmaid O’Duibhne, from the story “Diarmaid agus Gráinne”, won the heart of Gráinne by scoring three times in a hurling match.
By the Middle Ages, it was being played between different parishes with teams of up to 30 players taking part. But it wasn’t until the GAA had formed in 1884 that neighbouring counties had the chance to play each other under set rules.
The first All-Ireland hurling final was played in Birr, Co Offaly in 1887 between Tipperary and Galway with Tipp coming out on top by a score of 1-1 to 0-0.
The most famous hurling counties are Cork, Kilkenny and Tipperary. Cork have 28 All-Ireland titles but Kilkenny are catching up fast with 27. Tipperary are not far behind with 25. You might not know this but Dublin have 6 hurling titles.
There have been many great teams down through the ages and one of the most reknowned was the Cork team of the 1940’s. They won a four-in-a-row between 1941 and 1944 and included many great players such as the legendry Christy Ring, who people say is the greatest hurling player ever.
The 40’s and the 50’s were a golden era for hurling with many of the sports all-time-greats testing their skills against each other. They included John Doyle of Tipperary, Mick Mackey of Limerick and Bobby and Nicky Rackard of Wexford.
The 90’s was a also a great period for hurling with Offaly, Clare and Wexford all winning the Liam McCarthy Cup. Clare, who are known as the “banner” county were a brilliant side and their fans brought great colour to the world
of hurling.
Since 1999 Kilkenny and Cork have been the top two teams in the game, with the Cats winning 4 titles and the Rebels winning 3 titles in this period. Tipperary have been the only other winners when they beat Galway in the 2001 All-Ireland final.
Cork and Kilkenny have played each other in the last 4 finals producing some great contests between two of the greatest teams ever. DJ Carey, Henry Shefflin, Tommy Walsh, Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Joe Deane and Brian Corcoran are just some of the great players who took part in these encounters.
In 2006 Kilkenny stopped Cork from winning their first three-in-a-row since the 70’s. It saw the emergence of new black and amber heroes like John Tennyson, James “Cha” Fitzpatrick and Richie Power, players sure to be around for a long time to come.
