Hurlers from Tipperary to New York to Germany to North Carolina explain “what hurling means to” them in this new video made by a GAA fan from Dublin now living in Toronto.

David Wogan has been living in Toronto, Canada since 2012. As he discloses in the video, having hurling, or even just his hurl and sliotar in hand, makes him feel somewhat connected to home despite being thousands of miles away. Over a year ago Wogan started making videos about hurling and set up a dedicated YouTube channel and web site, playhurling.com. His aim, he told IrishCentral, is to “demonstrate the positive impact that hurling has on people's lives and to promote the voices of hurlers abroad.”

Wogan's background is in marketing, he specializates in content and video, so making videos seemed like a natural move for him. He is driven by his love of the game to spread the word of this great sport which has experienced significant international growth in recent years.

Wogan said the goal for the video was “to grow awareness and interest in hurling internationally…for people to see this video, feel the players' passion, and think 'I NEED to try that sport!' I want to demonstrate the level of impact that hurling has on people's lives and show that there most likely is a club nearby that they never knew existed.”

The video shows passionate Irish fans of the sport both at home and in New York but also Americans in North Carolina who have discovered the fast-paced GAA game.

“The amazing thing about hurling is that it already possesses many elements of the major North American sports, so once people try it, they feel a sense of familiarity with it,” said Wogan.

“Hurling is fast-paced like lacrosse, requires the same level of hand-eye coordination as baseball, and has the toughness of hockey, all in one sport. If you love hockey, lacrosse, or baseball, you'll love hurling.”

Wogan says that Americans and Canadians have a huge interesting in learning more about the sport and Wogan intends on making the hurling community a global entity.

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He told IrishCentral, “My aim is to make the hurling community more accessible and connect people who are interested in playing hurling with coaches or clubs in their local area through playhurling.com.”

What’s next for Wogan?

He plans on finding a GAA club in Los Angeles and continuing to spread the good word about the hurling community.

“I played hurling for Whitehall Colmcille in Dublin from the age of 8 until I emigrated from Ireland in 2011. I'm not a member of a team right now since I'm relocating to the US, but once I move to LA, I plan to find a team there.”

 

Visit Play Hurling YouTube channel or playhurling.com for more.