Hurling (Irish: Iománaíocht/Iomáint) is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and is thought to be the world's fastest field team game in terms of game play. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, number of players, and much terminology. There is a similar game for women called camogie (camógaíocht). It shares a common Gaelic root with the sport of shinty (camanachd) which is played predominantly in Scotland.

The object of the game is for players to use a wooden stick called a hurley (in Irish a camán, pronounced /ˈkæmən/) to hit a small ball called a sliotar ( /ˈʃlɪtər/) between the opponents' goalposts either over the crossbar for one point, or under the crossbar into a net guarded by a goalkeeper for one goal, which is equivalent to three points. The sliotar can be caught in the hand and carried for not more than four steps, struck in the air, or struck on the ground with the hurley. It can be kicked or slapped with an open hand (the hand pass) for short-range passing. A player who wants to carry the ball for more than four steps has to bounce or balance the sliotar on the end of the stick and the ball can only be handled twice while in his possession.

Joe Canning (born 11 October 1988 in Portumna, County Galway) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Portumna and has been a member of the Galway senior inter-county team since 2008.

Canning is generally considered as the brightest prospect of the modern game and is noted for his accuracy from dead balls and play-making ability. One of his most notable skills is his ability to score points from side line balls, considered one of the more difficult aspects of the game.

Joe Canning was born in Portumna in 1988. His uncle, Frankie Canning, played minor hurling with Galway for three years in their ill-fated Munster Championship campaign in the 1960s and was a non-playing substitute when the Galway senior team were defeated by Offaly in the All-Ireland final of 1981. Canning is the brother of Séamus, Frank, Davy, Ollie, Ivan and Deirdre. All but one of those siblings would go on to win an All-Ireland medal at either club or inter-county level in either hurling or camogie. Ollie played for the Galway senior hurlers, while Deirdre played for the county camogie team. Joe's family instilled a love of hurling in him, and he was a talented underage hurler and rugby player. He was educated locally and is currently a Business and Marketing student at Limerick Institute of Technology.