This Sunday, 22nd August marks the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final at Croke Park, Dublin which has been marked by a new single that celebrates “The Hurling Man”.
The Hurling Man, the song showcases the vocals of Ireland’s Don Stiffe, Irish folk royalty Sharon Shannon on accordion alongside Scotland’s accordion virtuoso Gary Innes who also wrote the single, Cork’s Ryan Murphy on Uilleann Pipes, Kilkenny’s Steve Byrnes on kit – alongside Ali Hutton on guitar, Duncan Lyall on bass and Hamish Napier on keys. Watch the accompanying video below.
An anthem for supporters and players alike, the single is a celebration of the deep-rooted love felt for the sport across Ireland.
The song talks of the sport being ‘an education of sorts’ that plays its part in helping villages and counties to connect. It positions Hurling as an opportunity to escape life’s challenges, cast differences aside and talks of the feeling of mutual respect between the wood swinging brothers of the sport.
Don Stiffe, who has been a lifelong fan of the sport, said: “I’m delighted and honoured to be asked to sing this great song called The Hurling Man was written by Gary Innes from Scotland (one of the founding members of award-winning Scottish super-group Mànran) who is indeed a legendary shinty player himself.
“I’ve been going to hurling games since I was 8 years old with my father and after seeing Galway win the All Ireland and the Liam McCarthy Cup at Croke Park, I was hooked for life. Hurling grasps its communities and our own family would get season tickets most years. It’s a family day out to see your club or county playing – as the lyrics say, ‘it’s the game of the Gales, the language of our clans’.
“I hope all the Hurling communities around Ireland will get behind this brilliant song as we promote the great game of hurling – the best and fastest grass sport in the world.”
Written by Scotland shinty player Gary Innes, who captained the Scotland National Shinty team on many occasions and met Irish Hurling legends at Croke Park for the annual Shinty-Hurling International Series throughout his career, said: “I know how deep-rooted my love for Scotland’s ancient sport shinty is and so I wanted to write something that reflected this love for Ireland’s sport of Hurling.
“I am a huge fan of Hurling, especially as we have such strong ties with our native sport of Shinty here in Scotland, and so I was delighted when Don and Sharon agreed to be part of this single. I hope it captures the hearts of Hurling fans and players across Ireland and it can bring a bit of camaraderie and fun during these difficult times for all of us.”
The Hurling Man is available to download and stream on all digital platforms now.