I spent my free time this afternoon quite wisely: I watched the Dublin v. Limerick in the County Leinster All-Ireland Over 21 Senior Final. And it was thrilling! Dublin and Limerick swapped leads at least five times over course of the game and Paul Ryan (no, not that Paul Ryan; I meant Dublin’s Left Center Forward) scored 12 points! 12! The final score ended up being 1-17 to 1-16 (goals-points) in favor of Dublin, a lead that was tenuous down to the final seconds of stoppage time. Their win will see them representing County Leinster in the All-Ireland Senior Championship.

If you’re interested in hurling, and you should be, check out the County Leinster GAA’s official hurling rulebook and hurling’s Wikipedia page. It’s kind of like lacrosse + field hockey on a grass pitch that’s a little longer than a standard FIFA soccer pitch, but with 30 players on the field. Hurling, as well as the other Gaelic sports coordinated by the Gaelic Athletic Association, are an essential part of the cultural fabric in both the Republic and Northern Ireland, especially outside of the major cities. And the history of this league is inextricably tied to the Irish political and social tensions that erupted in the 20th century. Look forward to exploring that more in my play in the not-too-distant future.

~~BONUS~~: Here’s a lovely detail photograph of a beautiful statue that represents the legend of the Children of Lir located in a park just outside the Irish Writers’ Centre. If you would like to find out more about the legend, I suggest searching the bloggy halls of the incomparable Allison Epstein, whose novel from Armagh Project 2013 was partially inspired by that myth.