Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
March 12, 2009, Washington Post

This Weekend, Play Like You're Irish

Saint Patrick's Day is Tuesday, and that means it's time to celebrate all things Irish, such as step dancing, leprechauns, Irish music and . . . Irish sports.

Two sports that are popular in Ireland but not played much in America are Gaelic (pronounced GAY-lick) football and hurling. But kids can try these Irish games this weekend. The Washington D.C. Gaels, a club that promotes Irish sports and culture, will host a demonstration of Gaelic football and hurling and will teach game skills Sunday at Freedom Plaza, 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, from 9:45 to 11 a.m.

Everyone is welcome. Rosemary Reilly, the youth coordinator of the Gaels, says the club will supply the needed equipment and instruction. Boys and girls can play both games. And you don't have to be Irish to join the free fun.

The games are really cool. Gaelic football is sort of a combination of soccer and American football. It's played on a big field with a round leather ball that is about the size of a soccer ball but heavier.

At each end of the field is a goal that looks like a football goal post, except that under the crossbar is a net similar to a soccer net. Two teams try to score points by getting the ball into the net or over the crossbar. A ball that goes into the net is worth three points, while one that goes over the crossbar is worth one.

To get the ball to the goal, players can kick it or bat it with a clenched fist. They can also run with the ball, as a football halfback does, but for only four steps.

Hurling is played on the same kind of field and uses the same scoring system and similar goals.

But the equipment is very different. The ball, called a sliotar, is small and hard, like a baseball. Each player has a wooden bat, called a hurley, that has a wide, flat end. Players can use the hurley to smack the ball along the ground, as in field hockey, or to whack it through the air, as in baseball.

The best hurling players can smash a sliotar through the air about 100 yards. Maybe that's why hurling is considered the fastest field sport around.

Folks in Ireland have been playing these games for a long time. Gaelic football is hundreds of years old, and it is thought that hurling matches have been played for more than 2,000 years.

So if you are looking for a new game to play, maybe this weekend you should try some really old ones.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.

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