Hurling is a game mentioned in ancient Irish legends about the great heros like Fionn Mc Cool and Cuchulainn. The earliest written mention of the game is in the 5th century AD in the Brehon Laws. With dozens of stick-swinging men from rival

clans or villages, a hurling game could and did often break down into a small battle. Hurling was another of the many sports which were banned at one time or another. An attempt was made to wipe out the game in 1527, when the Galway Statutes included 'hokie'--the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves--in a list of prohibited games. But hurling survived.

Hurling is a team sport similar to lacrosse or "aerial" hockey. A stick, called a hurley, with a slightly curved and flattened end is used to bat or hurl a small ball. The ball is traditionally made from pig skin stuffed with moss, but the modern version is made from leather. The ball may be carried in the hand for up to four steps, or for any length of time on the stick, may be kicked, palmed (struck with a flat hand) or hurled (batted by or thrown from the the stick). The ball may not be thrown or picked up from the ground by hand.

Rules for the modern game, like many sports today, were developed about 100 to 150 years ago, with the first standardized set of rules made up in 1884. A women's version of the sport exists, called camogie. There is also a version of the game called Gaelic football. The basic rules are the same, using a larger round ball, but instead of a stick, the ball can be kicked with the foot or thrown by hand.