Mayo - the real home of hurling?

[Navan Junction]

This one for you Thomas..

New hurling club plays down any repetition of local pitched battle
Liam Horan, Irish Times, 22 March 2007

The officers of a new hurling club in Co Mayo have promised there will be no repetition of the violence that left 27 hurlers dead during a previous match in the locality. Another 4,000 lost their lives in unprecedented fighting after the final whistle.

"We will play the game tough but fair," said Dermot Keane of Moytura Hurling Club, which will be launched later this month by Kilkenny's 2006 All-Ireland captain Jackie Tyrell.

GAA authorities are certain to keep a close eye on developments given the violent scenes that erupted when the Tuatha deDanann and the Fir Bolg clashed in a hurling match on the eve of the Battle of Moytura in 3303 BC. It was the first game of hurling ever played and is featured in the Croke Park museum.

"The Fir Bolg weren't just happy to beat the Tuatha deDannan, but they killed them afterwards as well," said Mr Keane, a local teacher.

"And if that wasn't enough, they chopped their heads off too and brought them back to their king as souvenirs. Accounts from the time say the refereeing was a bit loose. Everything was hit - except the ball.

"Thankfully, the game is much cleaner nowadays. The day after that match, the Tuatha deDanann and the Fir Bolg went into full military battle and over 4,000 people were killed in four days."

Tyrell will tell the members of the Moytura club to play the ball, not the man, when he launches the club. His grandmother hails from The Neale, just a few miles from the battlefield which is still known locally as The Field of the Hurlers.

A registration night for young hurlers takes place in the CBS parish centre, Ballinrobe, next Wednesday.