Hurling in Ireland 

1. Decide which of these statements about the programme are right or wrong. Correct the wrong ones.  

1 Hurling is one of the oldest and fastest games in the world.
2 The Gaelic Athletic Association has more than 100,000 members.
3 Hurling became a symbol of the wish of the Irish for freedom from the British.
4 The Easter Rising started in Dublin’s biggest hospital in 1916.
5 The Irish Rebellion was suppressed by the British.
6 In 1849 the Republic of Ireland became independent.	
7 Bishop Croke supported the British army in Ireland as well as the game of hurling. 
8 Croke Park was named after Bishop Croke. 
9 Ever since the beginning Irish hurlers have been under the patronage of the Catholic Church.
10 It was forbidden to play soccer in Croke Park because you need different goals for this match.

2 The rules

Hurling is played on a pitch about 137m long and 82m wide. The goalposts are the same shape as on a rugby pitch.

You may strike the ball on the ground, or in the air. Unlike hockey, you may pick up the ball with your hurley and carry it for not more than four steps in the hand. After those steps you may bounce the ball on the hurley and back to the hand, but you are forbidden to catch the ball more than twice. To get around this, one of the skills is running with the ball balanced on the hurley To score, you put the ball over the crossbar with the hurley or under the crossbar and into the net by the hurley for a goal, the latter being the equivalent of three points.

Each team consists of fifteen players, lining out as follows: 1 goalkeeper, three full-backs, three half-backs, two midfielders, three half-forwards and three full-forwards. The actual line out on the playing field is as follows:

		Goalkeeper			
Left corner-back 		Full-back		Right corner-back	
Left half-back 		Centre half-back		Right half-back	
	Midfielder		Midfielder		
Left half-forward		Centre half-forward		Right half-forward	
Left corner-forward 		Full-forward 		Right corner-forward	

Read the rules of a hurling match. Compare these rules to those of football or basketball. Write down the rules and draw a line out like the above one.

3 Make groups of four to six. Each group has to do a different task on Irish history. 

•	Key events in Irish history
•	Irish Home Rule
•	Easter Rising 
•	Civil War Impact on Gaelic Athletic Association
•	Ban on Gaelic games like hurling by the British government
•	‘Bloody Sunday’
•	History of Croke Park

You may find topical news and information at these websites:
http://www.irish-times.com                              
http://news.bbc.co.uk
http://www.nidex.com/history/htm
http://wwwvms.utexas.edu/~jdana/irehist.html
http://www.gaa.ie/history/general/index.html  

Put the results of your various projects together. Think of how you can best present your results.

Check your English by asking your partners, your teacher, by using dictionaries and grammar books.

4 Brian Whelaham

Answer these questions on Brian Whelaham.

1 How old was Brian when he won the All – Ireland Final in 1994?
2 Describe the difference between amateur and professional players.
3 What is Brian’s job?
4 What part of Ireland is Brian from?
5 How many counties compete for a place in the final?
6 Explain the difference between the 26 counties from the Republic of Ireland and the six from Northern Ireland.
7 Write a short report about the Cup Final. What role did Brian play in that match?
8 What does it mean that a victory gives the players a piece of immortality? 

5 Croke Park

Complete this mind map on Croke Park

	dream
 	Dublin

All – Irish final

Bishop Croke

Croke Park

	What hurley players say

	… spectators

	tickets for the final

All – Ireland Sunday 

stadium was named after him