Composite rules shinty–hurling

Composite rules shinty–hurling
Highest governing body Camanachd Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
First played 19th century
Clubs none
Characteristics
Contact Yes
Team members 14
Mixed gender Yes, though women's form known as shinty/camogie
Type Hybrid sport, team sport
Equipment Hurley
Caman
Sliotar/Shinty ball
Venue Anywhere
Presence
Country or region Worldwide

Composite rules shinty–hurling (Irish: Rialacha chomhréiteach sinteag-iomáint)—sometimes known simply as shinty–hurling—is a hybrid sport which was developed to facilitate international matches between shinty players and hurling players.

Shinty–hurling is one of few team sports in the world without any dedicated clubs or leagues. It is currently played by both men's and women's teams only in tournaments or once-off internationals. The women's form of the game is called shinty/camogie.

Ireland are the leading team in the sport, having won the past six international series titles against Scotland.

Rules

The rules of the composite sport are designed to allow for neither side to gain an advantage, eliminating or imposing certain restrictions. The goals are those used in hurling, with 3 points for a goal (in the net under the crossbar) and 1 point for a shot over the crossbar. A stationary ball taken straight from the ground and shot over the crossbar scores 2 points. For the 2012 International Series, a goal became worth 5 points in an effort to increase the number of goals. This was rule was abandoned for the 2013 series, in favour of the traditional model of 3 points for a goal.

Players may not catch the ball unless they are the goalkeeper (or a defender on the line for a penalty) and this must be released within three steps. Players may not kick the ball, but can drag the ball with their foot.

Although there is a statutory size for the ball to be used in the games, there is often a custom of using a sliotar in one half and a shinty ball in the other. Each half lasts 35 minutes.

History

The first ever games played were challenge matches between London Camanachd and London GAA in 1896 and Glasgow Cowal and Dublin Celtic in 1897 and 1898, with the first game played at Celtic Park.[1] However, there was then a hiatus until Scottish representative teams and Irish sides took place in the 1920s. Following intermittent international games between Scotland and an all-Ireland team before the Second World War, controversy arose as the British Government put pressure upon the Camanachd Association to cease from co-operating with the Gaelic Athletic Association, disapproving of their perceived anti-British viewpoint[2][3]

However, universities in both countries kept the link going after the war and this led to a resumption of international fixtures between the two codes in the 1970s.

After a long run of Irish successes, Scotland won four fixtures in a row from 2005 until Ireland reclaimed the title in 2009. Scotland's successes have been marred by a lack of interest from an Irish perspective. Unlike the international rules football tests between Australia and Ireland, few players from the top flight counties participate in the event—though in recent times this trend has bucked and more higher ranked Irish players have represented their nation.

2007 also saw the use of compromise rules as a way of developing the Gaelic languages in Ireland and Scotland by the Columba Initiative. A team called Alba, made up of Scottish Gaelic speakers, played Míchael Breathnach CLG, from Inverin, Galway. The project was repeated in 2008.[4] The Gaelic speakers international was played for a 3rd time in 2010 in Portree in the Isle of Skye on 13 February 2010.

There are also Scottish/Irish women's and under-21s sides which have competed against one another.

In 2009, the first full shinty/hurling match in the United States took place between Skye Camanachd and the San Francisco Rovers.

In 2010, the fixture was played at Croke Park before the international rules football game and then a return leg was played at the Bught Park two weeks later.

28 April 2012 sees the inaugural match between the teams of Irish Defence Forces and the British Army at Bught Park, played in aid of PoppyScotland.[5]

International series

Shinty/Hurling International Series
Sport Shinty-hurling
Founded 1896
Inaugural season 2003
No. of teams 2 (Scotland & Ireland)
Country Scotland
Ireland
Continent Europe
Most recent champion(s) Ireland
Most titles Ireland (6 titles)
TV partner(s) BBC Two (Scotland)
TG4 (Ireland)

The first known international fixture between a Scottish shinty team and Irish hurling team occurred in 1896, when the London Camanchd and London GAA local clubs met in a friendly. The following year, the first official series featuring an amalgamation of rules from both sports, occurred at Celtic Park in Scotland between Glasgow Cowal and Dublin Celtic. International tests between all-Scotland and all-Ireland teams were played intermittently prior the World War 2, though the anti-British sentiment of the GAA prevented a formalised series from occurring until the 1970s.[6] It was not until 2003 that the Camanachd Association and the Gaelic Athletic Association committed to a yearly series, though in recent years the series has been changed from a single test series to a two test aggregate points series.[7]

In 2013, a sport, known as Iomain, which incorporates a stick that is created specifically for the hybrid game, was trialled at Croke Park, with a view to it being introduced as a replacement for the current series.[8] Currently, the scoring system operates as follows:[9]

TournamentDate Host nation Result
(Bold indicates yearly winner) 		Venue Attendance
2003 25 October Scotland Ireland 5–9
Scotland Scotland 1–13		 Inverness 3,000
2004 16 October Ireland Draw:
Republic of Ireland Ireland 3–10
Scotland Scotland 4–7[10] 		Ratoath, County Meath
2005 8 October 2005 Scotland Scotland 4–8
Republic of Ireland Ireland 2–11 		Bught Park, Inverness
2006 5 November 2006 Ireland Scotland 2–13
Republic of Ireland Ireland 2–5 		Croke Park, Dublin
2007 13 October Scotland Scotland 4–10
Republic of Ireland Ireland 0–11		 An Aird, Fort William
200818 October Ireland Scotland 1–10
Republic of Ireland Ireland 1–9 		Nowlan Park, Kilkenny 1,000
2009 31 October Scotland Ireland 2–8
Scotland Scotland 1–8 		Bught Park, Inverness 1,500
201030 October Ireland Ireland 2–15
Scotland Scotland 2–16		 Croke Park, Dublin[11]
13 November Scotland Ireland 5–6
Scotland Scotland 3–7[12]
Ireland win 7–21 to 5–23 on aggregate 		Bught Park, Inverness
2011 22 October Ireland Ireland 1–16
Scotland Scotland 2–8 		Geraldine Park, Athy
29 October Scotland Scotland 1–11
Republic of Ireland Ireland 2–9[13]
Ireland win 3–25 to 3–19 on aggregate 		Bught Park, Inverness
2012 20 October Scotland Scotland 2–9 (19)
Republic of Ireland Ireland 3–10 (25)		Bught Park, Inverness
27 October Ireland Ireland 8–11 (51)
Scotland Scotland 4–3 (23)[14]
Ireland win 11–21 (76) to 6–12 (42) on aggregate		 Cusack Park, Ennis
2013 26 October Ireland Ireland 4-12 (24)
Scotland Scotland 2-12 (18)[15] 		Croke Park, Dublin
2 November Scotland Scotland 0-14 (14)
Scotland Ireland 1-15 (18)[16]
Ireland win 5–27 (42) to 2–26(32) on aggregate		Bught Park, Inverness2,000 (approx.)
2014 18 October Scotland Scotland Scotland 3-14 (23)
Republic of Ireland Ireland 2-8 (14) [17] 		Bught Park, Inverness
25 October Ireland Republic of Ireland Ireland 2-18 (24)
Scotland Scotland 0-8 (8) [18]
Ireland win 4-26 (38) to 3-22 (31) on aggregate 		Pairc Esler, Newry

Records

Country Series won Matches won Total scores
Ireland 69 (of 16)142–168 (316)2
Scotland 46 (of 16)1 38–156 (282)2

Updated post 2014 series
1 One draw has occurred; in 2004
2 Goals in 2012 series worth 5 points

Camogie Shinty International

Camogie-Shinty is the women's version of the game.

  • 2003 Oct 25 Ireland 5–9 Scotland 1–13 Inverness
  • 2004 Oct 16 Ireland 3–10 Scotland 4–7 Ratoath
  • 2005 Oct 8 Scotland 4–8 Ireland 2–11 Bught Park, Inverness
  • 2006 Nov 9 Scotland 2–13 Ireland 2–5 Croke Park,
  • 2007 Oct 13 Scotland 4–10 Ireland 0–11 An Aird, Fort William
  • 2008 Oct 18 Scotland 1–10 Ireland 1–9 Nowlan Park,
  • 2009 Oct 31 Ireland 2–2 Scotland 0–0 Bught Park, Inverness[19]
  • 2010 Oct 30 Ireland 6–9 Scotland 2–2 Ratoath[20]
  • 2014 Oct 28 Scotland 4-2 (12) def. Ireland 1-6 (9)[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The first combined shinty/hurling match 1897". BBC.
  2. ↑ MacKenzie, Fraser (8 October 2000). "Celtic festival sees codes come together". The Sunday Herald.
  3. ↑ "Hurling himself into the battle". Scotland on Sunday.
  4. ↑ "Gaelic team to represent Scotland in Galway". Camanachd Association. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
  5. ↑ "Irish and British forces in historic sports meeting". The Scotsman.
  6. ↑ A beginners guide to shinty-hurling
  7. ↑ International shinty-hurling test 2014: Preview (GAA.ie)
  8. ↑ See here
  9. ↑ Shinty: Scots confident ahead of Irish showdown (BBC Scotland)
  10. ↑ Dooley's late brace earns share of spoils
  11. ↑ Stephen, Kenneth (31 October 2010). "Ireland 21 – 22 Scotland: Hurling's home defeat". The Scotsman.
  12. ↑ "In brief: Friend's focus for McDowell". Irish Independent. 14 November 2010.
  13. ↑
  14. ↑ Hurling/Shinty 2
  15. ↑ Ireland in Hurling/Shinty First Test
  16. ↑ "Scotland 0-14 Ireland 1-15". RTÉ News. 2 November 2013.
  17. ↑ Shinty/Hurling: Bartlett the hero as Scotland claim first test
  18. ↑ Ireland retain Shinty series after second-leg win over Scotland
  19. ↑ 2009 Ireland 2–2 Scotland 0–0 report on camogie.ie and fromargull.com
  20. ↑ 2010 Ireland 6–9 Scotland 2–2 report on Camogie.ie
  21. ↑ Shinty/Camogie 2014 match report

External links