Hats, flags, and jerseys to identify the different supporters, it’s a family day out, no segregation within the grounds just justified rivalry between each group of followers.

The historical connection dates back to the 1840s when the failure of the potato crop led to the Great Famine in Ireland between 1845 to 1852. The population of 8.2 million people in the census of 1841 had declined to just over 5 million. About 1 million died of hunger and disease, 1.3 million emigrated, mainly to the USA, Canada, Australia, Europe, Argentina and South America, but the biggest number went to the United Kingdom, Ireland’s nearest neighbour. Following the famine the population continued to decline, due to infant mortality, low immunity in children and adults and continued emigration. The 1961 census in the Republic of Ireland was 2.8 million. The census of 2022 was above 5 million, for the first time in 171 years. That includes a figure of 112,000 refugees. 

People who emigrated to Canada at this time, particularly to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland introduced the sport of hurling to their work colleagues. Some of these were 2nd and 3rd generation Irish that had left the southern counties of Ireland working on the fishing boats across the Atlantic. 

Hurling in Ireland is played on a grass surface, but the guys playing it through the Canadian winters had to change tact. Gone was the Hurley stick and the round ball (sliotar), as for the grass, this was buried underneath a blanket of snow. The supporters they decided to wait for warmer weather. The game was taken indoors, and played on an ice rink, the ball was replaced by a flat ‘puck’ which was fine for the hurlers, playing on a flat surface. 

The first Ice hockey game played indoors was recorded in 1885, the rules were similar to field hockey. The actual game of ice hockey dates back to the Indigenous First Nations, in the 1600s the Mi’kmaq people who played with sticks and a puck carved from cherrywood. The modern hockey sticks are made from wood, fibreglass, or carbon fibre. 

Hurling is the fastest game on grass, with continuous play at high speed, Ice hockey is fast-paced with physical style on ice. The rules are very different, hurlers can carry the ball for four steps, catching the ball and balancing it on the hurling stick is an art that has to be learned and admired. An opposing player can contest for the ball by playing it with the hurley stick or by shoulder charging an opponent side-to-side. Scoring in between the goal posts, underneath the crossbar for a goal or the value of three points while over it earns one point. The goalposts measures 6.5 metres apart and 2.5 meters high. 

Ice hockey is played for 60 minutes consisting of three 20-minute periods with intermissions, the net is 4 feet high and 6 feet wide. Extra time is played if needed. The team consists of 20 players all togged out, the number of team players on the ice at any time are 6, 1 goalkeeper and 5 players, the players on the bench can be changed as often as the coach chooses.

In hurling there are 15 players on a team, a goalkeeper and 14 others with particular positions throughout the pitch, the game is played over 70 minutes, 35 minutes each half, with a 15 minutes interval. There are 5 substitutions allowed in normal time and if extra time is needed a further 3 substitutions can be made. Children start playing Gaelic football and hurling in the primary schools at the age of about 7 years. From there they continue to play with the local club in their area, if they show signs of skill and ability they may be chosen to play for their county, this will be the pinnacle of their career. The GAA, the Gaelic Athletic Association was founded in 1884, it’s completely an amateur sport, under the umbrella of the association are Gaelic football, hurling, camogie (women’s hurling), rounders, Gaelic handball, and Ladies’ Gaelic football. 

Gaelic hurling started to be played in Canada in the 19th century, in King’s College School, Nova Scotia. ‘It’s a cold winter’s morning and the boys were having difficulty balancing the ball on their hurling sticks, the priest that was coaching them told them to play ground hurling. A simple instruction as it may sound but this was the birth of “hurling on ice”. Soldiers at Fort Edward in Nova Scotia started playing, soldiers are transferred to other barracks from time to time and as a result the game became popular throughout this network. The name of the game changed to ice hockey and eventually became Canada’s national sport.

The Montreal Canadian Hockey team have Irish historical links. In 1899, and 1900 they won the Stanley Cup both years, under the name ‘The Montreal Shamrocks’, from 1886 to 1924. Toronto’s beloved Maple Leafs came into existence as the ‘The Toronto St Patrick’s’ from 1919 to 1927, this fact is not forgotten when on the 17th March St Patrick’s Day, the Maple Leafs wear a St Patrick’s jersey to join in the celebrations.

Hurling and camogie, the ladies’ equivalent of the sport, were recognized as an Irish identity by UNESCO in 2018 in sport, and in music the Celtic harp and the Uilleann pipes (bagpipes) got the recognition.

A saying in Ireland for hurling that goes, “There’s no such thing as a bad game of hurling, it’s just that some are better than others”.