# Irish Dopers: What's this sport? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 29, 2001, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804 "2001-08-29T20:57:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/1 "2001-08-29T20:57:48Z")
Last night on cable tv I caught a sporting match from Eire. The sport was weird, like a mix between lacross and Aussie Rules Football, with players running up a field with long lacrosse-like poles, except that there was no net on the end of the poles, just a paddle (?). The goal was to score into a football-sized goal, earning six points. If, however, the players shot the ball over the goal, between two goalposts (reminiscent of American football’s field goals), they were awarded one points. One team was beating the other 2-12 (24) to 0-11 (11). It seemed very exciting, and I’d never seen or heard of it before. What was it? ---
**Author:** ![Monkeypants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Monkeypants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkeypants)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/2 "2001-08-29T21:03:22Z")
[http://www.ul.ie/~hurling/pics/alloverhandshake.htm](http://www.ul.ie/~hurling/pics/alloverhandshake.htm) ---
**Author:** ![psychomonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dec6dc/32.png) [@psychomonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychomonkey)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/3 "2001-08-29T21:07:16Z")
Shinty ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/4 "2001-08-29T21:49:48Z")
So, which is it? ---
**Author:** ![TomH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@TomH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomH)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/5 "2001-08-29T21:59:12Z")
Sounds more like hurling than shinty to me, but there is a hybrid shinty-hurling compromise as well so it could have been that. For the avoidance of doubt, you could check out the website of [Setanta Sport](http://www.setanta.com/) (the premier Irish sports channel in North London pubs) which has plenty of pictures of hurling. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/6 "2001-08-29T22:07:36Z")
Broad faced paddle, rather than a crooked hockey like stick, and play like lacross, where the players carry the ball on the end of the stick, indicates that the OP was watching hurling. Also, hurling is more associated with Ireland, and shinty with Scotland. However, the games are similar enough that a hybrid game is sometimes played between shinty and hurling teams: [http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Track/2049/English/shinty.html](http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Track/2049/English/shinty.html) [http://www.gaa.ie/html/hurling/index.html](http://www.gaa.ie/html/hurling/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![xicanorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a88e57/32.png) [@xicanorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xicanorex)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/7 "2001-08-29T22:17:01Z")
or you can get more information at: [http://www.hurleyshop.com/More%20on%20hurling.htm](http://www.hurleyshop.com/More%20on%20hurling.htm) or at [http://dir.yahoo.com/Recreation/Sports/Hurling/](http://dir.yahoo.com/Recreation/Sports/Hurling/) XicanoreX ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/8 "2001-08-29T23:32:05Z")
If it was from Ireland, it was definitely hurling. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/9 "2001-08-29T23:42:52Z")
It doesn’t matter what the rules are, as long as there’s Guiness afterwards! ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/10 "2001-08-30T00:19:41Z")
did it look very violent? were some people in helmets and other’s not? did they look as if they really need full body armour instead? hurling. also, just for the education of americans. in the UK lacrosse is a sport played by schoolgirls in private boarding schools. NEVER by men. soccer is a sport played by every male over 3, but the upper crust plays rugby. in ireland the same rules apply, but the boys play hurling and gaelic football. girls play hurling but it’s called camogie. in england nice girls play field hockey and netball. does that sort some things out? ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/11 "2001-08-30T00:53:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by irishgirl \* > \*\*did it look very violent? > were some people in helmets and other’s not? > did they look as if they really need full body armour instead? > > hurling.\*\* They were dressed as if for rugby, no helmets, some wore (I think) elbow/knee pads, and there was a lot of running. I did notice that some players ran down the field with the ball in their hand, rather than being balanced on their stick. And yes, it was definitely in Ireland. Unless there’s a “Kilkenny” and “Galloway” in Scotland. 🙂 Thanks everyone. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/12 "2001-08-30T05:58:41Z")
Galloway is indeed in Scotland - in the southwest and bordered by the Irish Sea. Are you sure you didn’t mean Galway? ---
**Author:** ![bryanmaguire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bryanmaguire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bryanmaguire)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/13 "2001-08-30T08:18:41Z")
I just did a quick check on the rules of shinty and it definitely wasnt shinty. Hitting the ball over the bar doesnt score in shinty. SO it must have been hurling. The only thing that didnt ring true was the scoring of 6 points for hitting the ball into the goal. In hurling (and in the combined hurling/shinty rules) it is 3 points. ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/14 "2001-08-30T14:24:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > \*\*Are you sure you didn’t mean Galway? \*\* D’oh. It was Galway. I was sure about Kilkenny, though. Hurling, then. Cool, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2001, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-dopers-whats-this-sport/78804/15 "2001-09-01T11:33:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by irishgirl \* > **…in the UK lacrosse is a sport played by schoolgirls in private boarding schools. NEVER by men…** Fellas at my university (Sheffield) played lacrosse, and my first thought was “Where the hell did they learn that, then? Has St Trinian’s gone co-ed?”. Seems they must play it somewhere. The sport discussed here certainly seems to be hurling, although I wasn’t aware they’d changed the scoring system. Any British dopers know what channel shows the All Ireland final these days? Used to be regularly on C4 but I haven’t seen it for a while.