Corvallis, Eugene can join in this growing Irish sport

An ancient Irish sport came to life on a field at Avery Park on Sunday morning.

"Hurling is older even than the written history of Ireland," said Jeremiah O'Sullivan, a high school history teacher and instructor at the hurling workshop.

The sport is a cross between lacrosse, rugby, soccer and field hockey. It's been huge in Ireland for centuries. The Gaelic Athletic Association formally organized the sport in 1883, and its popular appeal among the Irish has eclipsed even soccer, O'Sullivan said.

O'Sullivan plays for Columbia Red Branch Hurling of Portland. The name of the club refers to an ancient order of Irish warrior knights. Hurling also can be found in Boston, San Francisco, New York and other major U.S. cities.

Ryan Reynolds, who plays goal keeper for the Portland team, is among its Oregon converts. He enjoys hurling as a great way to connect with his heritage.

"I'm very Irish; I know exactly where my family came from in Ireland," he said. "I'd never heard of hurling until last February, when I started playing, and I just fell in love with it."

The Columbia Red Branch team in Portland has 20 regular players. Which is enough for them to play the 15-a-side game, with a few substitutes to spare. Seattle has three full teams.

Dustin Herron, a member of local Irish band Poitín and Stout, organized Sunday's workshop and hopes to start up a hurling club in Corvallis to compete with other West Coast teams.

In the U.S., teams are all-ages, and both men and women play on the same team. Columbia Red Branch Hurling has players ranging in age from 10 to 45 years old.

"A lot of the focus is on the social aspects," said O'Sullivan. Teams regularly treat their opponents to drinks at their home pub and trade or sell team shirts between teams.

At Sunday's workshop, interested players were given the opportunity to try their hand wielding the hurley - a stick made of ash wood - to hit a ball called the sliotar, which is a little smaller and softer than a baseball.

Hurling is considered the world's fastest field team sport in terms of game play, but the instructors took it easy on their new students on Sunday focusing on teaching the basic moves.

In hurling, a player is allowed to catch the ball in the hand, and to carry it for up to four steps. The ball can also be struck in the air, or struck on the ground with the stick, and players can kick or slap the ball with an open hand for short-range passes.

A player who wants to carry the ball for more than three steps has to bounce or balance the ball on the end of their stick, and the ball can only be handled twice per player per carry. This is called "soloing."

On Sunday, O'Sullivan demonstrated this tricky skill, balancing the ball on the end his hurley with the ease of much practice as he ran down the field, then he stopped and hit the ball back toward the group.

"The most important thing in hurling is just to get control of the ball," said Reynolds.

The mixture of players running fast while swinging clubs and trying to the be the first to reach a small ball can result in some very rough play. Players often wear lacrosse or hockey helmets. Players also can wear shin guards.

"As long as you're making a play at the ball almost anything is legal," O'Sullivan said.

A typical hit on the ball is more similar to a golf swing than a baseball swing. Players that don't want their "hurley" to be caught in mid-air by another player's stick, keep their swing low and compact, said O'Sullivan.

To score a player hits the ball toward a goal that is similar to a soccer goal, but slightly taller and narrower. A goal earns a team three points, while a ball through the uprights above the goal earns one point.

Goals are relatively rare in hurling matches. Most games end with a high score composed mostly of field goal points, said Reynolds.

Participants at Sunday's workshop, included Philomath High School soccer player Lena Cottam and older sister Sara, who seemed happy just to practice getting a ball in the general direction of an imagined goal.

"I thought it would be a fun way to spend an afternoon," Sara Cottam said. She was familiar with hurling from trips to Ireland, where she studied archeology. "Most sports in the world probably came out of hurley or Gaelic football," she said.

Get involved

Another hurling workshop in Corvallis is planned for later this summer. Interested persons can contact:

• Corvallis - Contact the Benton County Hurling Club, 207-6183 or bentoncountyhurlingclub@gmail.com or www.myspace.com/corvallishurling.

• Eugene - Contact the Upper Willamette Hurling Club, 937-4338 or upperwillamettehurling@yahoo.com.

• Portland - Contact Columbia Red Branch Hurling, www.myspace.com/columbiaredbranch.

Hurling links

American Hurling:

www.americanhurling.com

Gaelic Athletic Association:

www.gaa.ie

"What is Hurling" video clip: