To the uninitiated both games look like crossovers from several different sports. Gaelic Football resembles Soccer yet they can use their hands and Hurling resembles Lacrosse yet is played with flat wooden sticks. The stick, or "hurley" (called camán in Irish) is curved outwards at the end, to provide the striking surface. The ball or "sliothar" is similar in size to a hockey ball but has raised ridges. Both games are steeped in tradition having been played competitively for thousands of years.
   
 History and a reminder of home, although good reasons to bring any sporting fan out at times as early as 7:00 am, it does little to tell the whole story. Like all major sports both Hurling and Gaelic Football have rivalries decades old, players that train year round and Championship set ups that make the most of every game. Yet even these reasons fall short to explain why  these games are so loved by not only those in Ireland, but those that have emigrated throughout the years and their children. What is it you ask about these sports, played at full speed with skill levels that have been mastered through years of practice that make them so special? Simply put these sports are still pure, because of the fact that at even the highest levels of the game the players are not paid. That's right, both sports are played throughout the ranks by amateurs.
  
 These amateurs train throughout the year to reach levels of fitness that have proven to be as high as any in the professional sporting world.  Players who train before and after work for the glory of the County team. Players whose dedication to their sports which are played with no real equipment in comparison to their physical nature, and are rewarded with respect and legendary status rather than monetary value. These players take part in these games for the love of the game and their fans respond in turn. To win your way to Gaelic Football's Sam Maguire Cup or Hurling's Liam McCarthy Cup imparts a piece of Historic status on not just the team or on the player, but the entire County from which they came, giving to all that follow the matches something in the process.
  
 So to become a part of the action you have the easy part, just turn up at Tommy Fox's on any given Sunday from April to September, because if you do you will get the chance to watch great games of skill and passion played by people like yourself who work for a living yet play for the love of the game.