Suzanne Rambach, public relations director
The PebbleCreek Irish American Club members had a real treat at the September monthly meeting. Edmond Davern from County Limerick, Ireland was our guest speaker. He recently graduated with his Master’s degree in International Management from National University of Ireland in Galway. He came to Arizona last October to complete a 12-month internship as the managing director of the Irish Cultural Center and McClelland Library in Phoenix.
With his charming Irish brogue, his narrative, and PowerPoint presentation on the ancient Gaelic team game of hurling, he was very interesting! Did you know women play an identical game in Ireland?
Hurling is an outdoor game played by men using a curved stick called a cama’n. Women play camogie on a grass field as well, using a shorter cama’n or stick. The stick is traditionally made of ash and is flattened with a curved base at the end. The small leather ball is called sliotar, which is slightly larger than a tennis ball but looks more like a baseball because of its stitching. There are 15 players per side who hit the sliotar between the opponents’ goal posts. If they hit it over the crossbar, they get one point, and if they hit it under the crossbar and into the net without the goalkeeper stopping it, they get three (or as Edmond pronounces it, tree) points. Edmond demonstrated the different techniques the players use to move the sliotar down the field. It definitely requires talent!
When the county hurling teams play their final games, the game is moved to a neutral county between the two competing teams. County Kilkenny has won the most championships, followed by County Cork, and County Tipperary.
Edmond also talked about another traditional Irish sport, football. Both hurling and football attract record crowds, and both sports have amateur status. In Gaelic football, the ball is kicked, caught, and passed to other team members. A player can’t take more than three steps while holding the ball, but he can run and kick the ball to his team members.
At the end of the meeting, a donation check of $1,000 was presented from the PebbleCreek Irish American Club to the Irish Cultural Center. Club president, Steve Kunkle, presented the check to Paul Ahern, the vice president and former president of the Irish Cultural Center in Phoenix.