Guests in this country know the rules by now.
No prominent visitor to these shores will be allowed return to their homeland without saying a few words in praise of the greatest game on grass.
It is quite possible that had Prince Charles attempted to board his flight home without having said how great hurling was, he would have been stopped by the airport officials and detained until he had come up with a suitable encomium.
Cognisant of this, Charlie spoke with Galway boss Anthony Cunningham in NUIG last week. Cunningham informed journalist John Fallon of the contents of that conversation.
Charles, no doubt put onto the game by his mother, said that hurling reminded him 'of the Scottish game, shinty'.
Cunningham gave him the lowdown on the differences between the two sports.
I told him how we lift the ball and catch it in the air and try to strike it faster but he was surprised that there were not a lot more injuries. But I said to him that when you are brought up with it you are able to control it.
Like most foreign visitors, Charles is alarmed by the joyous physicality of the thing. What a pity that he doesn't have a (non-parodic) twitter account, he could have offered these opinions last year.
H-T: The42.ie
