Argentine hurling team prepare to visit Ireland

• published: 31 Jul 2015
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A bagpiper calls the players to begin and the men run onto the field, hurley sticks in hand. And they are off, a player bouncing a hard leather ball, known by its gaelic name sliotar, on the end of his bat (hurley) as he runs onto the pitch. The ancient Irish sport of hurling is believed to be the oldest field game in the world, according to the Gaelic Athletics Association. It's a game of great skill. Protected only by a helmet the players may strike the ball on the ground, or in the air. But this is Buenos Aires not Dublin or Cork. These players are not training to compete in the All-Ireland Hurling Final on September 8 2013, but they will play in an international hurling festival that will take place between the 18th and 21st of September in Galway, on Ireland's west coast. The Buenos Aires hurling club are the only Spanish speaking team from among 16 from all over the world that are set to play Ireland's first international hurling festival. With names like Quinn, Wade, Scally and Dolan, most of the 20 man team have never set foot in the Emerald Isle but are descendants of the founders of the club which was started by Irish expats generations ago. Many arrived in Argentina as economic migrants during the Irish famine in 1845 - 1852, when blight destroyed virtually all of Ireland's potato crops. More than 1 million died and about 2 million emigrated to the United States and other countries. Coach Eduardo Punter says playing hurling on Irish soil would be like a homecoming in honour of his great grandfather. "My great-grandfather, Miguel Punter, an Argentine was one of the pioneers of this sport and of this Hurling club. He was part of a national team that was put together in 1922 to compete against the Irish, which was played here. He was a goalkeeper and well Argentina won, so now we have the situation that a rematch will take place. Really for me it is personally something that really touches me because after so much time to return and be connected to the sport that my grandfather played really it moves me very much." Since the announcement of their participation in the tournament the South American hurling team have been quickly and adeptly coached into shape. Twice weekly hard knock sessions have seen the former rugby and hockey players master the skills of the hurl (stick) and sliotar (ball). They have their own Irish man at the helm, helping to guide their progress. Michael Connery, from the hurling heartland of County Kilkenny, in the South East of Ireland moved to Argentina just over four years ago. Having become a regular visitor to the shamrock adorned Hurling club, an outpost of Irish-ness among the Latin hubbub, he decided to tap into the clubs tradition and re-establish hurling training. Connery says the Argentines' passion for sport and particularly many players with a foundation in hockey has made for paved the way for the teams rapid progress in just under 10 months. "Everything was very basic for them, but they picked it up very quickly. I think it was due to the hockey skills which helped out a good bit, but like they have improved so quickly from when we started, like ten months ago" he says. Argentina is home to South America's largest Irish community and the world's fifth largest among the Irish diaspora according to The Society for Irish Latin American Studies. When they first arrived to the far flung South American country they retained a strong cultural identity and a big part of that was hurling. Dan Scally's great grandfather Luis Scally was a keen hurler. Now Dan is in training for the trip to Ireland. He says the event is all about giving people like him, from all over the world a chance to experience the land of his forefathers. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/6e38472d6b6cdae049f6df02c6d81d91 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork