I would like to catch a Gaelic Football or Hurling game while I am in Ireland (late june-early july). I am completely unfamiliar with the sports, so I do not know if the season is even right.
Does anyone know how to get tickets/find schedules for teams?
The Gaelic Athletic Association administers "non foreign" sports in Ireland; their website is: http://www.gaa.ie
The site is quite comprehensive and has fixture lists and ticket purchase details.
Last night on the Travel Channel, "Dhani Tackles The Globe" showed him learning how to play and actually playing in a hurling match with this group in Dublin. http://www.lucansarsfields.ie/ I'd contact them.
When in London a few years ago I wanted to watch a local rugby match. I contacted a local team via the internet and was invited to join them at the pub before match to get a ride to the game. Great fun, made wonderful friends and enjoyed learning more about rugby. I see them every year when in London.
Lindsay,
There are also Gaelic Athletic Associations around the US. I played Gaelic Football one summer/fall with a team in Baltimore. It would be good to attend a game and get acquainted with the rules and goal of the games.
It looks like Pittsburg has or had a team called the Pittsburg Celtics (and a women's team called the Banshies) but I didn't find a good link.
Hurling is a blast to watch. We were in Kilkenny the day before the championship in 06' which Kilkenny won.
Your timing is right and you can get tickets to all sorts of games in various levels from junior to the big boys.
In Hurling on a huge field, the participants - I think it's 15 per side - hit a ball very similar to a baseball at a goal with flat oak bats. There's a soccer type goal with uprights similar to football. If you hit it into the net of the soccer type goal you get 3 points. If you hit it between the uprights, which is much easier, you get one point. You can only advance the ball by balancing it on your flat bat, or you have to tap the ball and catch it like dribbling every 3 steps.
All of this sound easy until you see a match. While you're trying to hit it or travel with it, you have big strong Irish guys body checking you or otherwise knocking you around. Fooball is an odd version of soccer and I don't know what
Gealic football reminds me of ultimate frisbee.
You can kick the ball or punch it to a teammate.
You get three steps before you have to kick, punch or dribble the ball.
Dribbling the ball is either off your foot or on the ground but you can't use the ground more than every other dribble.
We would usually catch the ball and pass within three steps. We would use our steps to get clear of our opponent to punch or kick the ball to a teammate.
You can't pick the ball up off the ground. You have to kick it to yourself which takes some practice to do on the run.
Legal contact has to be shoulder to shoulder.
We fooled around with hurling at our practices but I thought it was much harder to learn.
