Ulster Hurling. Hurling event at Stormont.

Sceala Clann T.D. Location: Belfast and Donegal.

When I first heard news of - a Poc Fada event for Stormont. I thought it was a joke. Reminded me when Finn made us all laugh with his post about - the sound of laughter of our Irish children.
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Turns out - the idea was more prophecy than joke.
6 Years on, Sunday last.
Gerry Adams MP opens the 1st ever Poc Fada at Stormont.

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Edward Carson Trophy Awards

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People may think this is another joke.
See for yourself - Reported news on the great Hurling event of Stormont.
Hurling trophy named after famous unionist
A new Gaelic games challenge has taken its name from a rather unlikely source - the founding father of Ulster unionism.
Tags: Gaa Ulster Stormont Carson
Competitors in the first ever hurling event in the Stormont estate in Belfast - a place steeped in the historical trappings of British rule in the north of Ireland - will be playing for the Edward Carson trophy.
On face value, the Dublin-born barrister who led the campaign against Irish independence a century ago is an unusual choice for anyone looking to christen a prize for the quintessentially nationalist sport.
But Sinn Fein MP Gerry Adams, who has helped organise the inaugural "Poc ar an Cnoc" (puck on the hill) which will take place below Carson's famous statute in Stormont next month, thought otherwise.
"I discovered, much to my surprise, that Carson was a hurler in his days at Trinity College (Dublin)," he explained at the launch of the event in Parliament Buildings on Monday.

"So this man who is arguably the father of unionism was also a Gael and I thought that was an interesting concept."

He added: "When Carson was playing for this hurling club at Trinity he got an honourable mention in the Irish Sportsman (journal of the day) as having distinguished himself on the field so we thought it would be a great idea to have an Edward Carson trophy.

"This notion of Gaelic sports being in any way for one section of people here, I think once you just lift the lid of it (that's not the case) and hopefully one of the good things that may come out of all of this is that it will be received positively and favorably and people will embrace it."

The Poc Fada (long puck) will see hurlers young and old hitting sliotars (hurling balls) up the mile-long Prince of Wales Avenue that leads to Parliament Buildings.

While hurling is now played within the confines of a pitch, the origins of the Poc Fada reach back into Irish folklore to the legend of Ulster warrior Setanta, who whacked a sliotar ahead of him as he marched to war - and such was his speed he would catch it before it hit the ground.

The modern-day Poc ar an Cnoc is an addition to the ever-popular West Belfast Community Festival - Feile an Phobail - which runs through August.

Mr Adams said he had detected some recent thawing in the traditionally frosty attitude of unionists to Gaelic games and revealed that he would be inviting his colleagues on the opposing benches at Stormont to take part on Saturday August 7.

"Hopefully we will see somebody from the unionist community up here," said the West Belfast MP.
"I intend to invite as many of them as I can up during the summer break."
He added: "So I want to challenge Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Finance Minister) to compete here with us and hope that he will."
The event, which is sponsored by M Donnelly & Co Ltd Dublin, is in aid of The City of the Angels Foundation - a charity that works in the major shanty town of Favela in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo.
News/Hurling-trophy-...9-d6ccee97f7df
There was a time north of the Border and not so long ago when hurlers were afraid to be seen on the streets with their hurleys in their hands. There was always a danger somebody would claim to have mistaken the ash wand for a rifle of some sort and to have opened fire. We have come a long way.

Today hurling and camogie arrive at Stormont Castle. The children of west Belfast will play their games on the lawn in front of the building. Celebrities and hurlers will compete in Poc Fada competitions. The event is wonderfully titled the Poc ar an Chnoc. Edward Carson will gaze down on it all and if there are tears in his eyes they may just be from nostalgia.

Carson, having fathered modern unionism and ended the career of noted dual player Oscar Wilde, also played a little “hurley” during his time in Trinity College. One of the highlights of today’s Poc ar an Chnoc on the Stormont estate will be the celebrity Poc Fada, being played for the Edward Carson Trophy or An Corn Eamonn Mac Carsáin. The imposing and iconic statue of Carson which greets visitors to Stormont forms the basis of the trophy, which depicts Carson in his classic pose but with a hurley in one hand and a sliotar in the other. He looks like the sort of full back who knew how to say “No”.

The Poc Fada has been a part of Féile an Phobail for many years and has been run each year by Rossa Gaelic Athletic Club. Last November a tree was planted in the grounds of Stormont to mark 125 years of the GAA and subsequently Gerry Adams offered to host the Poc Fada in the grounds of Stormont with the proposal that a competition be named after Edward Carson.

The Poc Fada is the latest in a series of initiatives to bring hurling to a cross-community audience. Cú Chulainn, being the hero of the Ulster Cycles, seems to be a figure whom both communities find acceptable. A schools team drawn from either side of the divide trained together and competed in a tournament in America as the Belfast Cú Chulainns last year.

Cú Chulainn as a boy set out for the palace of the High King of Ireland at Emain Macha, hitting his sliotar high in the air and catching it before it hit the ground. As such he might have fathered the Poc Fada concept.

Former All-Ireland winning keeper with Kilkenny James McGarry; journalist, author and goalkeeper Christy O Connor; Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald; Terence Sambo McNaughton, the former Antrim great; Brian McGilligan dual player with Derry; Noel Sands of Down and several others will compete for the senior trophy.

An unlikely list of Northern politicians, including Martin Rogan and Bairbre de Brún MEP will be competing in the celebrity event. West Belfast MP Gerry Adams, whose son Gearóid was a noted inter-county hurler for many years, said the day at Stormont would see a full programme of events.

Any money raised will go to the City of Angels Foundation which, through the medium of the arts, tries to prevent children of the shanty towns of São Paulo in Brazil from falling victim to the drug culture, to violence and organised crime. The foundation is run by Fr Pat Clarke, originally from Co Clare.

A new Gaelic games challenge has taken its name from a rather unlikely source - the founding father of Ulster unionism.

Competitors in the first ever hurling event in the Stormont estate in Belfast - a place steeped in the historical trappings of British rule in the north of Ireland - will be playing for the Edward Carson trophy.

On face value, the Dublin-born barrister who led the campaign against Irish independence a century ago is an unusual choice for anyone looking to christen a prize for the quintessentially nationalist sport.

But Sinn Fein MP Gerry Adams, who has helped organise the inaugural "Poc ar an Cnoc" (puck on the hill), which will take place below Carson's famous statute in Stormont next month, thought otherwise.

"I discovered, much to my surprise, that Carson was a hurler in his days at Trinity College (Dublin)," he explained at the launch of the event in Parliament Buildings.

"So this man who is arguably the father of unionism was also a Gael and I thought that was an interesting concept."

He added: "When Carson was playing for this hurling club at Trinity he got an honourable mention in the Irish Sportsman (journal of the day) as having distinguished himself on the field so we thought it would be a great idea to have an Edward Carson trophy.

"This notion of Gaelic sports being in any way for one section of people here, I think once you just lift the lid of it (that's not the case) and hopefully one of the good things that may come out of all of this is that it will be received positively and favourably and people will embrace it."

The Poc Fada (long puck) will see hurlers young and old hitting sliotars (hurling balls) up the mile-long Prince of Wales Avenue that leads to Parliament Buildings
belfasttelegraph.co.uk/br...-14880667.html

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