HELENA — The goal looks a lot like a soccer net. The ball appears something like a softball. And the stick could pass for a lacrosse stick — if it had netting.
But it’s none of those sports. It’s hurling, Ireland’s national sport that’s now catching on in Montana.
“Hurling would be like a combination of baseball on the run, soccer and lacrosse,” said Myles Maloney, president of Thomas Meagher Hurling Club. “I’ve heard it called like a cross between hockey and murder. It’s called the fastest field sport, fastest sport on grass.”
Maloney’s club is based out of Missoula, but last Friday Maloney was at Centennial Park in Helena putting on a free open-to-the-public skills clinic and exhibition.
“The goal is just spreading that Irish culture,” said Maloney. “It’s definitely a community. We have players from 18 to the mid-50s playing all the time. It’s an amazing group of — the sportsmanship. But yeah, it’s still very competitive.”
That sense of community is what keeps Montana natives like Maloney coming back to hurling. And it’s also what helps Montana’s Irish transplants feel more at home in the Treasure State.
“I think it’s lovely for people to see the sport is so strong here,” said Aine Humphreys, originally from Limerick, Ireland. “There’s so many people doing so much for hurling over here, which is incredible. And we’re so proud of our sport as well. It’s so lovely to see so many people enjoying it. And it’s such a social thing as well. You get to meet so many people and just have good fun. That’s what it’s all about.”
And as Montana’s hurling community continues to grow, new hurling clubs should continue to pop up — including one in Billings that’s already in the works.
“The motivation is that young man right there, my son Ronan,” Ireland native and current Billings resident Padraig Keane said of his plans to start the club. “And hurling is Ireland’s American football. It’s in every village, every town, every school. I grew up with it since I was a young man, young boy. And I would like my children to have the same experience. That’s predominantly my motivation.”
