Six friends and skilled hurlers from the University of Limerick have found the time to squeeze a bit of training during a recent trip – and have just released a photo of them knocking a sliotar around atop an Alpine glacier.
Ryan O'Hanlon, Tim Quinlin, Tony O'Connor, Cormac Kelly, Conor McNelis and Donal Ó Gallchóbhair, all members of UL’s Outdoor Pursuits Club, have taken the Irish sport to new heights, while mountain climbing in the French Alps.
Set to compete in the Junior B Championship next week, O’Hanlon says carrying the hurling equipment around did garner a few side glances from other climbers.
“To deal with the barrage of looks and queries as to what the hell we were doing or what those sticks attached to our bags were,” he says, “All we would say in reply is that it's Junior B championship next week and we didn’t want to be ill trained and get dropped off the panel for the life or death championship starting when we came home!
But, as O’Hanlon adds, there is an upside to playing hurling when mountaineering: “Taking out the hurleys for a quick puck around to kill time after climbs or to warm up before a pumpy overhanging ice ascent, or even to keep warm as we waited for the cable car to arrive seemed a good plan.”
Check out the video below:
(H/T: Joe.ie)
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