Bata Neart

Now things will get a little more Irish 😀 The following scenes will heavily feature Camogie, a varient of the ‘GAA’ sport ‘Hurling’ which female players practice.

There is very little difference between Hurling and Camogie, beyond the gender separation, they are essentially the same sport. Camogie however retains it’s original Irish name, where as Hurling is the name that was adapted for English.

Camogie is a field sport, played on the same type of field as Gaelic Football (which is also similar to a Rugby field). Two teams face off, and aim to use long flat bats known as Hurls (pictured) to hit a small ball between the opposing team’s goal-posts. Like all GAA Gaelic sports, Camogie uses a ‘H’ shaped goal-post. Balls sent over the central bar (and between the posts) count as a ‘point’. Balls scored below the central bar count as a ‘Goal’, which is worth 3 Points.

Both Camogie and Hurling have a reputation for inflicting injuries on it’s players. This is mostly down to the Hurl, which is essentially based on a ancient celtic training weapon. As a result, Camogie regulations often demand the wearing of helmets. Although this rule isn’t always observed.

Many Irish schools will have a Camogie / Hurling team. In Bata Neart, Ashling and Aoife’s year will form the bulk of Colasite Muire’s team.

Coming next week, more Camogie and another snippet from the original Bata Neart!