It's All Gaelic to Me?

A day without rain gave us the opportunity to get out and really imerse ourselves in Irish culture. We did this by attending a traditional Irish sport called Football. No, I'm actually not talking about soccer, because football is of course what they call soccer in most of the world. For sake of ease, for the rest of this blog soccer will be referred to as futbol. But football can also refer to Gaelic football which is one of the four main traditional Irish sports. The other three are handball, hurling, and rounders.  Check out this link if you want additional information about these sports Gaelic Athletic Association

So on our very sunny Saturday after our bus tour and brief stop at the Guiness factory (more on that later) we made our way up to the pitch (aka field) to check out what this football match thing was all about. Dublin happened to be playing Cork, which if you've been following my blog you would know that is where we are going to be living. Without even knowing it I had put on my favorite red scarf before heading out, and when we arrived at the stadium I was thrilled to find out the Cork team color is red! Must have been fate. Dublin's color happens to be sky blue.  For those of you who know me you  will know there is a certain team back home with sky blue uniforms, or as they like to call them Carolina blue (as if they own the color of the sky!) who I detest! Again, I'm chalking it all up to fate. 

However luck was not on my side because my new home team couldn't pull out the win and lost by 6 points. Better luck next time I guess. Let's get back on track with what exactly Irish football is all about. Irish Football is best described as a cross between soccer and rugby. The ball, which resembles a slightly smaller volleyball can actually be moved up the field while being carried in the players hands or being kicked. 

Sounds easy enough right?  Not so fast.. there is a catch. The ball can only be carried up to four steps. If the player with the ball wishes to advance they have to bounce the ball off of the ground, or their foot every four steps. However one bounce on the ground is all they get, then it's only a bounce off the foot or a pass or kick to a teammate. (Adam comment-go ahead and try running full speed while kicking a volleyball back up into your hands every 4th step)

I already feel as if I might be confusing you! If you are still following let me try and explain the scoring system. Like soccer there is a net guarded by a goalie, and like American football there is a goal post. It basically looks like a soccer goal with goal posts attached to it.

A kick through the goal post equals one point, and a score in the net is equal to three points. Like soccer the clock does not stop which I think is nice because the game is much more fast-paced and exciting than American football. Don't get me wrong, I still very much enjoy American football, but it was refreshing, even if a little confusing watching the Irish football match.
This video I found on youtube may help to give you a taste and describes it better than I ever could.

Of course there is certainly plenty more to know but I think I've outlined the basic and most important points. There is a ball that can be kicked, passed by hand, or hit with a closed fist into a goal for two different ways to score, and in the end the team with the highest score is the winner. If you need more info Google it!

So that was my introduction and yours into Irish football.  After the match was over we stopped in a pub for a pint of Guinness. Can you believe how Irish we're becoming after only a week!? Ha ha!