Hurling should think big – in Ireland

GIVEN the game’s current state of giddiness, it is only a question of when someone proposes hurling becoming an Olympic sport.

This preposterous idea was given undeserved oxygen some years ago, during the presidency of Liam O’Neill.

It was around the time O’Neill claimed the Queen had told him during her visit to Ireland that she happened upon a hurling match on Sky and thought it was ‘wonderful.’

The royal imprimatur came during Sky’s first season of Championship coverage when criticism of the agreement with the subscription service was heightened.

Alas, the Queen’s support didn’t inspire her citizens – nor indeed GAA fans in the former colony, either, as Sky’s viewing figures remain tiny.

There are hurling enthusiasts feeling expansionary once again, though, after a thrilling Championship and a three-part TV series celebrating the game.

They are convinced there is a world just waiting to fall in love with a passion that has certainly held this island in its grip all through this summer.

Perhaps their evangelical zeal should be directed towards their countrypeople, though.

An issue only lightly touched upon in The Game was the failure of hurling to take hold in most of Ireland.

Surely getting more Irish people to play the sport would be a more useful employment of resources and energy than trying to teach Americans how to take sideline cuts.

Hurling has enjoyed a glorious year, but its platform remains notably small.