First time you picked up a hurley

Born and bred here in Yorkshire, I didn't really become aquainted with hurling until the grand old age of about 5. Whilst on holiday in Tipperary, I found two hurleys in my Grandad's garage. One of them was made in Kilkenny and had black grip with black tape (it has since snapped after years of use by myself and my cousins) and the other, the smaller of the two, was made by Jimmy Ryan of Killenaule and had no grip or tape of any kind. True to my roots I took a shine to the latter and presented it to Grandad to find out what this wonderful 'stick' was. The rest of the holiday was spent learning the basics outside the front door of the house, picking up the ball and the like. I think we made a 'goal' out of half a drainpipe and two plastic chairs at one point. That was the first hurley I ever held and it was always in my hands whenever I was in Ireland for the best part of the next decade. It has since been sadly lost, I have no idea where it is but would love to find it again.

The first hurley I owned came to me when I was 7 years old after my Grandad took me to see Jimmy Ryan in his workshop next to the Texaco garage (owned by my great aunt and uncle until very recently) in Killenaule. I remember being in awe of the room full of hurleys and pictures and newspaper cuttings all over the walls. I watched Jimmy make my hurley, and he signed it too, leaving me with the advice "to become a great hurler you need to smash a window first". I haven't yet smashed a window (accuracy is just too good!) but I am proud that the letter of thanks the family got me to write to Mr Ryan is stuck up on the wall along with all the pictures of legendary hurling players and teams that amazed me so much. It was with that hurley that I taught myself to hit a sliotar well, and it is proudly placed above my bedroom door - a real prized possession.

The quote I read somewhere is most definately true:
"there is no piece of sporting equipment available anywhere that is as lovely as a well- crafted hurley".

I have a trophy somewhere for some U14 hurling competition as runner up. My hazy memory is that we were beaten 24-3 to no score in the final!! I earned us a penalty - and still have a lump on the back of my hand in the earning - which we missed ........

I think I was 3-4 when I got my first hurl. It was probably with the school when I started playing hurling. My earliest memory of Gaa would be scoring a goal for the school in football from the half-way line, earned us a draw.

I was about 5 or 6, he never hit my sister again!!!

bumpernut wrote:I was about 5 or 6, he never hit my sister again!!!

Mercifully that "rural-stick" malaise never darkened our borders 'till the 80's.
If we'd known that 'twas part of the GAA we'd have abandonded the camogie..... Football is the way forward..

I must have picked mine up age about 6 or 7 on my holidays in Galway staying at my Dad's uncles farm in Turloughmore. Hurling only territory out there, but for games on the TV at the time I wouldn't have known there was a thing called Gaelic Football. Anyway as a big hurling man my Dad's uncle had about seven or eight hurleys in one of the sheds. Myself and my brother would hammer the hell out of a tennis ball around the yard, apparently we weren't trusted to be left alone with a real sliotar! I wouldn't say we were any good but we managed to hit it at least. We later graduated to a few games with some of the younger relations and their friends in the yard. I was in Donegal a few years back and someone produced a hurley on the beach and I couldn't hit the sliotar for love nor money! However I did the Croke Park tour a couple of weeks back and they have an area where you can have a go with a hurley and memories of those farmyard games came flooding back to me and I got a bit of a feel for it again . . . well every third attempt! It made me think I could have been a great had I been raised back West

Boxtyeater wrote:

bumpernut wrote:I was about 5 or 6, he never hit my sister again!!!

Mercifully that "rural-stick" malaise never darkened our borders 'till the 80's.
If we'd known that 'twas part of the GAA we'd have abandonded the camogie..... Football is the way forward..

Thinly veiled, 'Yes Leitrim is every bit as backward as y'all think it is!'

First lifted a hurley around 4/5 years of age. Picked up first split head around 7 years of age.

I have been seriously addicted to the game ever since but im now after injuries and travelling etc over weight and slowing down more than i was already i though that wasnt possible. So im spending the next 5 months in the gym to give it one last crack.

Im also playing with the belfastmet and st marys teaching college, this was always a dream to play higher education hurling. So my dream for playing for Antrim may be dead however im getting one last craic at the wip with higher education.

live, dream, eat and sleep hurling. That has been my life, just a shame ive never seen my county lift the Liam McCarthy but after the footballers last year ive plenty of time to see that.

Good man NSG!! I think we might see the Saffrons lift either Sam or Liam before we see Leeds lift the Premiership!

true true JC however i wont hold my breath on either LOL

We didn't hurl until secondary school first available team was U-14.
some change have a 5 year old on the U-8 team now.
Only in the last 8/10 years that we have had underage hurling in U10/U12 in our club.
Always in a sat morn Seamus Keevans had everyone in this parish up kicking a football I did my saturday morning with him as did my brothers and so do did our kids up until his untimely passing a few years ago.

i'd say the first time i picked up a hurley was when i was about 5 or 6.. There was a particular family in our area who were into their hurling in a big way. The father would have been managing the hurling club and he would have had 3 sons playing. Anyway a few of the sons happened to be in the park I once lived in one day and were pucking a few balls about with other guys. I was standing watching when one of them handed me his hurl to try it out. Needless to say it was much too big for me and i was getting nowhere with it.

I tortured my father after that to get me one, i thought it was all falling on deaf ears until one summer evening when i was playing in the front garden when his car pulled up, i never passed much remarks until i saw him get out of the car with this hurley in his hand which he proceeded to hand to me. I couldnt believe it was mine, off i went in search of a tennis ball to see if i could hit eventually i got the hang of it, i think i even took the hurley to bed with me that night!!!!!!

Every spare minute after that was spent with hurl in hand practising. One day whilst in the garden again practising the roll lift one of the guys mentioned earlier happened to walk past and saw what i was at, suitably impressed with my progress he lobbed a sliothar that he had in his hand into the garden and told me it was mine. I thought i was the dogs bollox after that.

The years passed and many sticks were broken along the way but sure enough my father would always ensure there was a replacement one not far away, during the summer months we would spend hours either pucking the ball about the top of the park or playing ground hurling amongst ourselves using jumpers and tracksuit tops as goals.

Ah them were the days.................

seriously, am now carrying a hurling stick on the pitch anyway over 30 years!! Now thats dedication eh!! Or stupidity you decide!!

Dont think off the top of my head ive taken a break bar injuries,no suspensions either in hurling anyway!

Must say though at 38 now im finding it harder and harder to motivate myself, as well as the fact im walking like john wayne for a few days after every match.
Dunno when retirement beckons, would play til im 50 if my body would let me, would really miss the craic and camraderie, not too mention the not so sober post mortems.

As my da, says to me 'You're a long time retired', so i 'll probably still be playing when some of you youngsters have called it a day!!

Wer you playing bumpernut? I mite finish your career for you LOL only joking, i noticed your team had got old this year, is ther no under age structure?

NSG,

Same position ive played for about 30 yrs, full back!!

Nah no kids teams whatsoever, tho we're making a big effort in the next yr to get them up and running, particularly as father time is catchin up on us!!

I stopped playing around 32-33 after a knee injury. Mostly soccer and I still miss it and often dream I am playing a match even now!!! I reckon I wouldn't last 5 minutes in Junior 9 now - and thats not an exaggeration!

i played a bit at primary school and for the local club in my area which was just being setup. unfortunately i started grammer school shortly after and as i was a big football fan i was given the BIG descision football or d'hurling by my ma and da - chose the big ball at the time. regretted not standing my ground like the youngest did a few years ago and played both even represents the county in u16 and minors.

made my secondary school team, tyrones hurling development officer came in and picked a squad but then never organised any matches.

a few fellas who i am friendly with tried to get me to play a few years ago but now that im tied down and coming back from a serious injury i am sticking to the big ball - even has retired from association football and only 25!

when i go down home me and the youngest still hit the garden with two camans and a handful of sliotars - great craic.

I played my first competitive game aged about 9, for Beechmount when we had the street league. I suppose I played for Beechmount as they were connected to Eire Og club, and people in the street belonged to them. I lived in the leafy suburbs of Andersonstown.

I retired aged 44, my last game was in the Junior championship, and I was supposed to be the brains at centre half forward, marked by one Marty Rogan who has graduated to bigger things in a different sport.