Object Description
A rare ash 18th century Irish hurling stick (hurley), which is used in an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland’s native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of players, and much terminology. There is a similar game for women called camogie. It is played with a sliotar, which is a hard solid sphere slightly larger than a tennis ball, consisting of a cork core covered by two pieces of leather stitched together. Sometimes called a hurling ball, it resembles a baseball with more pronounced stitching. Even though a sliotar can travel at over 150 kilometres (93 miles) per hour, hurling is generally considered one of the most dangerous sports in the world, the wearing of helmets during matches only became compulsory six years ago. The stick has a pleasing colour and retains a patination.