10th April 2011: Ireland Day Twenty-Four.

The local Church is a short drive into the countryside, its part of a small country community and has a very relaxed feel about it. In the car on the way there, I saw a sign that said, “Tipperary 15 Km” and thought to myself “that war song is a complete exaggeration, it’s not that far at all…”

I haven’t been to a Sunday Mass for about twenty years and I surprised even myself that I can recall all of the prayers and various segments of the service. I guess it must be like riding a bike or was it all those Presentation Nuns (Primary School) and Christian Brothers (Secondary School) who very diligently “taught” me all I needed to know about the Mass service.

I think the later probably true because at one point, about three quarters of the way through the service, I jumped at a certain part of the Mass. In grade six, Sister Rita and I were hardly the best of friends and she would invariably catch me daydreaming or fooling around during Friday Mass. She had a very effective way of getting your attention, a fist in the back, which was delivered with such force it, could knock the wind out of you if you weren’t expecting it. Anyway, that’s when I jumped during the service, totally involuntary and caused me to look around to see if Sister Rita was in actual fact behind me……thankfully she wasn’t. Anyway, I digress…..

The church grounds were something else, you could take a short stroll along a bush path alongside a small creek that lead to a resting area near a waterfall. People sat around with their families and took in the lovely countryside and quietly watched the waterfall and generally connected with nature. Never been to a Church like that before, quite an experience and very calming.

The afternoon was very, very special…..I got to go to my very first hurling game. I’ve never seen anything like it before and let me tell you, this is no sport for the feint at heart.

For the uninitiated, this game is a cross between lacrosse and hockey with a touch of physical contact. There are 15 players a side on a ground that is approximately the size of a soccer field. Each player carries a “stick” which closely resembles a hockey stick but is flat at the end. The flatness of the stick is required to hit a ball (about the weight and hardness of a cricket ball) from one end of the ground to the other. The object of the game is to put the ball into the goal area either by hitting it into the net (something like a soccer goal area – 3 points) or hitting it over the goal area between 2 extended posts (like football goal posts – 1 point).

In general play, it appears that the rules are, there are no rules. The ball can be hit down the ground and packs form (very similar to Aussie rules) where the ball can be caught (yeah right) or a player with their stick can belt it. I was witness to several players who attempted to “catch” the ball in these circumstances and I’m sure given their time again, they would have opted for the much safer option of swinging their stick at it mid air. Players generally pick the ball up off the ground by using the stick to flip it into the air and then either run with it on the flat part of the stick, hit it between their hand and the stick, wait until the opposition are really, really close and then belt it as hard as they can down the field (too bad if it hits the oncoming player) or throw it to a team mate.

In a situation where the ball is in dispute, bodies do clash, sticks do smash together, desperate efforts are made to clear the ball either by picking it up (yeah right), kicking it clear of the pack or hitting it with the stick. It’s two 30-minute halves of fast paced physical contest and excitement.

It very much reminded me of Aussie rules during the 60’s and 70’s when it was suburb against suburb and very tribal. If you are born in Kilkenny, then you can only ever play for Kilkenny…..no transfers to other teams or moving to another County, you play for Kilkenny or not at all. And it remains completely amateur, the players aren’t paid.

I’m hooked!!! I have plans to catch another game before I leave, it’s a beauty!