Nepedia
Back to Discover
Independent Reader
📖

Hurling

sports Maturity 7-9 Next article →

Hurling is a very fast game from Ireland.

Killyon vrs Longwood - Meath Senior Hurling Championship 2011 (5849114092)
Killyon vrs Longwood - Meath Senior Hurling Championship 2011 (5849114092)

It is one of the oldest games in the world. Some records of the game go back to the seventh century. Players use a wooden stick called a hurley. They use it to hit a small ball called a sliotar.

Gallowglass gravestone
Gallowglass gravestone

The sliotar has a cork center and a leather cover.

Teams have fifteen players on the field. They try to score by hitting the ball through H-shaped posts.

Scoring in Gaelic games - H shaped posts
Scoring in Gaelic games - H shaped posts

If the ball goes over the bar, it is one point. If it goes under the bar into the net, it is a goal. A goal is worth three points. A goalkeeper stays in front of the net to guard it.

Players must be very careful. Since 2010, everyone must wear a hard helmet.

Hurling helmet 000 0200
Hurling helmet 000 0200

The helmet has a plastic shell and a wire faceguard. This keeps players safe while they play. Hurling is a big part of Irish culture. It is even on a special list of world heritage by UNESCO.

168 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (8)
File:Killyon vrs Longwood - Meath Senior Hurling Championship 2011 (5849114092).jpg
Killyon vrs Longwood - Meath Senior...
File:Hurling helmet 000 0200.jpg
Hurling helmet 000 0200.jpg
File:Scoring in Gaelic games - H shaped posts.png
Scoring in Gaelic games - H shaped posts.png
File:Penalty puck, hurling game.jpg
Penalty puck, hurling game.jpg
File:Gallowglass gravestone.png
Gallowglass gravestone.png
File:Hurling players in argentina.jpg
Hurling players in argentina.jpg
File:Enda Kenny presents Barack Obama with a hurley.jpg
Enda Kenny presents Barack Obama with a hurley.jpg
File:Gaelic Games County Map.svg
Gaelic Games County Map.svg
More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.