The Irish have a long and rich history in Canada dating back centuries. The first recorded Irish presence in the area of present day Canada dates from 1536, when Irish fishermen from Cork travelled to Newfoundland.
Hurling has been played in North America ever since Irish immigrants began landing on North American shores. Many argue, with some conviction & no small amount of fact to support their case, that Canada's current favorite sport, ice hockey, has its origins in Hurling. The word puck may be derived from the Irish word 'poc' which is the action of striking the ball with a hurley.
Famous quotes containing the words games, western and/or canada:
“As long as lightly all their livelong sessions,
Like a yardful of schoolboys out at recess
Before their plays and games were organized,
They yelling mix tag, hide-and-seek, hopscotch,
And leapfrog in each other’s way all’s well.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“It is said that some Western steamers can run on a heavy dew, whence we can imagine what a canoe may do.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Canadians look down on the United States and consider it Hell. They are right to do so. Canada is to the United States what, in Dante’s scheme, Limbo is to Hell.”
—Irving Layton (b. 1912)