Day 7! Already! It's flying by!
Today I went to watching hurling at Croke Park! It was so so so cool! I was invited by a guy named Patrick to go to the games today and sit in the Adidas box with him and some of his friends. He picked me up at about 1 in the afternoon and we walked down to the park. The closer we got the louder and louder the stadium got. When I first heard the crowd cheering I thought it was a low flying airplane instead!
Hurling is a Gaelic sport only played in a few countries and every county (there are 22) in Ireland has a team. The players, while great at their sport, are unpaid and can only play for the team in the county they were born. Therefore, everyone in Ireland has a team they are born to cheer for, and it certainly seems like they cheer a lot!
The sport is kind of like lacrosse, but with elements of basketball, tennis, soccer and rugby. The field has 15 players and a goalie and everyone wears a helmet and carries a bat like thing called a hurley. The end of the bat is flat and in length is about 2 feet long (I think!). The players can carry the ball, but only for a few steps before they have to pass it with a toss, or they can kick it, hit it on the ground with their hurley or hit the ball like a tennis player. There are two ways to score, either hitting it between two poles, almost like the end zone in a football field (but the poles are closer together), to score 1 point or by making a goal by getting the ball (called a sliotar) by the goal keeper. Players wear no protective gear besides their helmets and were only mandated to do so within the past year.
The players are constantly hacking each other with their sticks and there is lots of physical contact. Fouls are called and cards are used to punish flagrant and dangerous fouls. The ball travels very quickly and the players get hit often. It's pretty high scoring, very quick and super exciting. Needless to say, I loved it!
I watched two games (about 70 minutes each), one between Dublin and Kilkenny and the other between Galway and Offaly. The Kilkenny and Dublin game was a blow out, the Kilkenny team being the best in the country. But the Galway and Offaly game was very, very good! The stadium, the third largest in Europe holding over 82,000 seats, wasn't very full but still loud and colorful. The game ended in a tie meaning they will have to play again next weekend! The stadium is also a significant site for Irish history, being that it is the site of Bloody Sunday in 1920 when British soldiers fired on a rugby match, killing 18 people.
Patrick and his friends play hurling and talked me through watching the game. They all play club hurling and have played for many years. I felt like it was a proper introduction to hurling and a wonderful way to spend my Sunday.
Afterwards I went to a restaurant close to Dublin City University for dinner and now I'm back at home!
Tomorrow is the first day of my internship and I need to review and prepare! Have a nice evening!
