Ireland is one of Europe's premier destinations, and it's crown jewels have been well-flagged by its over-active tourist board, and by TV and Film. Here are 5 things that are essential to do when travelling to the Emerald Isle, to get a real flavour of this unique country.
5. Go To A Hurling Or Gaelic Football Match
Hurling is an outdoor field sport of ancient Gaelic origin. It is one of the oldest sports on Earth, having been played for over 3,000 years, and is billed as the fastest field sport in the world. It is an extremely skilful sport played with sticks resembling hockey sticks, and on a pitch that resembles (but is much larger than) a rugby pitch. It is immensely popular in Ireland, and is almost a way of life in certain parts of the country. Almost a million people tune in annually for the senior semi-finals and finals, usually held in August and early September, and tickets for the 82,500 seater stadium that hosts the final are about as difficult to come by as Super Bowl tickets in the USA, or FA Cup Final tickets in England. In 2007, Forbes magazine described the media attention and population increase in Thurles town before one of the annual provincial hurling finals as being "the rough equivalent of 30 million Americans watching a regional lacrosse game". Gaelic Football is another major sport in Ireland administered by the GAA, the same organisation that runs the hurling. Gaelic Football is just as popular as hurling, but more widely played, due to it being easier to master. It's derived from a number of traditional Irish ball games, and is played on the same pitch as hurling matches, and uses the same goalposts. Like hurling, a goal is worth 3 points, and if the ball is hit over the bar, 1 point results. Ideally, see both, but prioritise hurling if time is tight. The major stadium is Croke Park in Dublin, which hosts the biggest games each year. Alternatively, there are thousands of local matches all around the country which are both cheaper and more widespread than the major matches. Ask around, and someone will point you in a direction of a local club or pitch.