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GAA shorts Puck further with Poc Fada
The Poc Fada is a hurling skills competition which takes place in the
Cooley Mountains in Co. Louth. The winner is the one who hits the sliotar
with the hurley in the least amount of strikes around the 5km course.
The course is cross-county in rough, hilly land. A team of score-keepers
walks with each competitor to lead the way to mark where the sliotar falls
and to keep score. The winner receives the Corn Cualigne trophy. The GAA
record is 50 hits. That makes an average of 100 metres for each strike
— almost two-thirds the length of a full-size GAA field. The Poc
Fada generally suits goalkeepers as they can usually hit the sliotar way
down the field in a game. The Poc Fada competition began in 1961. Former
GAA president Sean Kelly said: “The Poc Fada is a truly unique event
within the GAA and its roots can be traced back to the great Cuchulainn
himself.” The idea comes from ancient stories and is based on a
journey Setanta (the young name of Cuchulainn) took from Dundalk to Armagh.
It is said he hit the sliotar all the way striking it very hard ahead,
then running to catch up with it before it fell to the ground.
Top-ten hurling tips
With The Féile Na Gael fast approaching and thousands of young
hurlers and camogie players competing in this year’s event, Young
Gaels gives you its top-10 hurling tips to improve your game:
1. Pick a hurley that is the right length for your height — no higher
than your waist line.
2. Place the hand you use when writing at the top of the handle.
3. Leave the other hand free to move up and down the handle.
4. Buy yourself a tennis ball or sliotar and balance the ball on your
hurley as you walk and run.
5. Using your hurley and ball, play against a tall wall as often as you
can.
6. Keep your eye on the ball at all times when playing.
7. Ask a friend to get a hurley and enjoy striking the ball to each other.
8. With your friend invite others at school to play hurling.
9. Why don’t all of you join the local GAA club where you will get
more advice from a coach.
10. ‘Shake hand’ (a well known coaching technique) with the
hurley every day.
Roscommon steal show in Warwickshire
The Roscommon under-15 county side took revenge for a heavy defeat by
Warwickshire recently when they arrived in Birmingham for the second-leg
of an ambitious Anglo-Irish Gaelic football league run by the Warwickshire
Schools GAA. The Rossies, winners of the All-Ireland minor title in 2006,
took to the field in Pairc Na hEireann and took command of the game from
the first whistle. The Warwickshire team missing six key players found
a lot of difficulty dealing with the skillful Roscommon forwards who scored
4-14 to Warwickshire’s 3-8. The Roscommon team packed with future
GAA stars will have found the clash with Warwickshire a useful outing
as they look to reduce their four development squads down to one panel
for the forthcoming Connacht Championship. The Warwickshire side will
be playing their next game at Pairc Na hEireann on May 27. |
