Know the Game: Hurling
What is the Irish Sport of Hurling? Everything You Need to Know
It’s tough, rough and extremely cool to watch, but what is hurling and how does it work?
We’re here to help fill in the blanks about this quintessentially Irish sport. Read on for everything you need to know…
Players must hit the ball with their hurley or boot - a classic Irish game of aggression and perseverance
The History of Hurling
Hurling is a native game of Ireland - and 14 teams participate in the All-Ireland Hurling Championship every year.
Alongside the Championships are other tournaments like the Christy Ring Cup, Nicky Rackard Cup and Lory Meagher Cup, which the remaining 18 counties participate in, as well as London.
The game itself has been played for over 3,000 years - and it’s still one of Ireland’s most popular traditional sports. It’s similar to Gaelic Football, with the same number of players, officials, goalposts and pitch format.
The Game and the Team
The game of hurling is played with a ball called a sliothar, similar to the size of a tennis ball.
The main objective of the game is for players to hit the ball between the opponent’s goalposts with a wooden stick called a hurley.
Just like Gaelic Football, the team layout consists of one goalkeeper, six defenders, two midfielders and six forwards.
However, in terms of substitutes, you’re only allowed to make five subs in hurling, rather than six.
Hurling Pitch Layout
The layout of the pitch is the same as a Gaelic Football pitch. The matches are played on a pitch of 145m in length by 90m in width.
Croke Park, the location of the All-Ireland Final
Parallel lines are marked at 13m, 20m, 45m and 60m - and the middle of the pitch is also marked with a parallel line.
Rules of Hurling
Hurling games consist of two halves of 35 minutes, totalling 70 minutes at the inter-county level. At the Club level, the games are two halves of 30 minutes - 60 minutes in total.
The ball can be struck in the air or on the ground, with the hurley or the boot. However, it must be lifted from the ground with the hurley. You can’t pick the ball up off the ground.
A player can carry the ball in their hand for a maximum of four steps. After that, the player can either bounce the ball on the hurley or back into their hand.
You don’t want to get hit in the head by either of these!
In hurling, the key rule is that the player can’t catch the ball any more than twice. Otherwise, a free hit will be awarded to the other team.
Players can block their opponents with their hurley. They can also hook an opposing player’s hurley when they’re about to strike the ball.
Similar to Gaelic Football, players are allowed shoulder-to-shoulder contact. There are no rules regarding the number of players that can tackle an opposing player, but there are rules against pulling off a player’s helmet, tripping someone with the hurley, pulling a player’s jersey or a full frontal charge.
Just like any contact sport, similar to rugby and soccer, players are penalised for foul play. A yellow card is given to a player as a warning, while a red card is given to a player consistently involved in foul play.
Scoring in Hurling
Scoring is similar to Gaelic Football. A goal is scored if the ball crosses the line underneath the crossbar, while a point is scored if it is over the crossbar.
In hurling, a goal is worth three points, while a point is worth one point. For example, 1-10 refers to one goal scored and 10 points scored.
In total, this would be 13 points. A goal is signalled by a green flag by the umpire, while a point is signalled by a white flag.
Officials
There are a few different hurling officials, including:
a referee
two linesmen
four umpires
a fourth official
Hawk Eye can determine whether a point is successful or not. If the point is successful, ‘Yes’ pops up on the big screen in the stadium. If not, ‘No’ comes onto the screen. Simple as that!
Format of Hurling
Unlike the Gaelic Football All-Ireland Championship, there are only two provinces in hurling: Munster and Leinster.
The winners of the Munster Championship and Leinster Championship both go forward to the All-Ireland Semi-Finals.
The teams that lose in their respective province games go into the All-Ireland qualifiers, where they play several games to try to get back into the semi-finals of the All-Ireland Championship.
Discipline in Hurling
Yellow and red cards are only used in hurling, there’s no black card. Yellow cards are given as a warning for a player, while a red card is issued for serious and dangerous foul play.
All-Ireland Final Day
The All-Ireland Final is the showpiece of the Gaelic Games in Ireland. Both teams play to win the Liam McCarthy Cup.
The game is played at Ireland’s biggest stadium, Croke Park, which is situated in Dublin.
The capacity of the stadium is approximately 82,500 - and fans can watch the games live online. They always get a huge turnout!
