Gaelic Games

Gaelic football, hurling, camogie and handball are the traditional sports of Ireland. Today we watched the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship on tv. The game was broadcast live from Croke Park, here in Dublin. Over 80,000 people filled the stadium to watch 70 minutes of incredibly fast play. Kilkenny beat Cork (1-16/1-13). Hurling is the fastest field game in the world. Players use a stick called a hurley and a ball called a sliotar (pron. shli-ther). The game is played on a rectangular field and the ball may be struck with the hurley when it is on the ground, in the air, tossed from the hand, or lifted with the hurley. A goal is scored when the ball is played over the goal-line between the posts and under the crossbar. A point is scored when the ball is played over the crossbar. Kilkenny beat Cork 1-16/1-13, which means Kilkenny scored one goal and 16 points and Cork scored one goal and 13 points. Goals are worth 3 points, so Kilkenny scored 19 and Cork scored 16. For more information on hurling and other Gaelic sports go to www.gaa.ie.