Lacrosse

Lacrosse has had three main eras of activity in Ireland: (1) c. 1870s to c. 1914 when the Irish Lacrosse Union (Men’s) was in operation. (2) Irish Ladies Lacrosse Association c. 1930 to 1970 which was mainly played in schools and (3) Ireland Lacrosse 2001 to Present which has both a Men’s and Women’s League as well as Box (Indoor) and International teams which compete in the World and European Championships. The Final Table of the Irish Lacrosse League (Men’s) 2010-11 as well as the Irish Women’s Lacrosse League and National Indoor Lacrosse League are shown below to give the reader an idea of what they will find in each article. just click on the links below in blue to be brought to the relevant articles.

There are four main versions of Lacrosse:

1. Men’s Lacrosse (a 10 v 10 outdoor version of the game)
2. Women’s Lacrosse (a 12 v 12 outdoor version of the game)
3. Box Lacrosse (a 6 v indoor version of the game – mixed in Ireland)
4. Polocrosse (Lacrosse on horseback)

Below you will find the results and standings,as well as some match reports and line-ups for all four versions of Lacrosse in Ireland, as well as results of International fixtures featuring Ireland and Irish Clubs and representative teams, and some World Lacrosse – the National Lacrosse League (The Major Indoor Lacrosse League – Canada’s National Summer Sport), and Major League Lacrosse (the Major Outdoor Lacrosse League in North America).

The sport was invented by Native North Americans, particularly in the Eastern Woodlands culture areas of Canada and North East USA, and was codified by European settlers, although the sport is still very popular among Native Americans and Canada’s First Nations, and is the only sport where Native Americans can represent their own country (Haudenosaunee is the Nativa American Women’s National Team, and Iroquois Nationals is the Men’s Native American National Team). [See the links in the articles below for references about the sport and its history].

Featured Image Credit: An overhead view of a mens lacrosse playing field with white markings painted on grass. Copyright: Tonygers [Internet] Available from: https://www.123rf.com/photo_25082132_an-overhead-view-of-a-mens-lacrosse-playing-field-with-white-markings-painted-on-grass-.html?vti=mobg75t839i5v50w97-1-6 [Accessed 5 January 2022]

Ireland Lacrosse

After the Irish Lacrosse Union disappeared around the First World War, and the Irish Ladies Lacrosse Association from 1926-1970 had also disbanded, the third wave of Lacrosse in Ireland was the revival of Ireland Lacrosse in the early 21st Century, featuring Men’s Women’s and Box (Indoor Lacrosse).

Irish Lacrosse Union

The Irish Lacrosse Union was the Men’s Lacrosse Association in Ireland from the Late 19th to Early 20th Centuries. The Senior shield was the first level league competition.
Like the Gaelic Athletic Association, the Irish Lacrosse Union season was divided into an opening season (Shield – League Competition), and closing season (Flags – Knockout / Elimination Competition). The Irish Lacrosse Union had two Adult levels (Senior and Junior), and a representative competition (Shaftesbury Cup) between County Down and County Antrim. It was Men’s only. (see links to each competition and season for results, more information and references).

Women’s Lacrosse

Women’s Lacrosse was codified in Scotland, and is a 12-v-12 version of Lacrosse. There was an Irish Ladies Lacrosse Association in Ireland from the 1920s to 1970, that played in the Home Nations against England, Scotland and Wales, and also held a Schools Shield, with teams from Dublin & Belfast.It was resurrected in the early 2000s, with an International team, and the Irish women’s Lacrosse League.

Indoor (Box) Lacrosse

Indoor (also known as Box) Lacrosse is a 6-v-6 version of Lacrosse, played in an Indoor Arena. The National Indoor Lacrosse League matches were held in Loughlinstown, Co. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown.

Women’s Lacrosse (International)

Men’s Lacrosse (International)

Men’s Lacrosse is a 10-v-10 version of the game, originally played by Native Americans in the Eastern Woodlands cultural region of Native North America (Eastern Canada & Upstate New York, New England).

The first known team in Ireland was in Newtownards, Co. Down, and there was a Championship in Ireland from the late 19th Century to World War I, and it was then resurrected in the early 2000s, with an International team, and the Irish Lacrosse League. The Newtownards Cup is also now played, named after the town with the first club.

Men’s Lacrosse (International)

Men’s Lacrosse is a 10-v-10 version of the game, originally played by Native Americans in the Eastern Woodlands cultural region of Native North America (Eastern Canada & Upstate New York, New England).

The first known team in Ireland was in Newtownards, Co. Down, and there was a Championship in Ireland from the late 19th Century to World War I, and it was then resurrected in the early 2000s, with an International team, and the Irish Lacrosse League. The Newtownards Cup is also now played, named after the town with the first club.

Women’s Lacrosse (International)

Indoor Box Lacrosse (International)

World Lacrosse

The Victoria Shamrocks played in the Inter-City Lacrosse League (British Columbia) and in the British Columbia Junior Lacrosse League

Irish Men’s Lacrosse Teams

World Lacrosse

The Victoria Shamrocks played in the Inter-City Lacrosse League (British Columbia) and in the British Columbia Junior Lacrosse League

World Football

World Football on Eirball includes Football varieties played in East Asia, South East Asia, Aboriginal Australia, Africa, Native American lands and Old Europe.

This is the Eirball – World / Irish North American and World Sports Archive landing page for Calcio Storico Fiorentino, one of the earliest forms of organised football in the world, and which bears a striking resemblance in play to Gaelic Football, as well as a shared Atlantic heritage in a pre-Roman/pre-English, pre-Catholic Rennaisance or Revival. To view results of Calcio Fiorentino just click on the links in red/blue (purple) below the introduction.

This is the GAA World (Eirball) Landing page for the All-Time Results of Calcio Fiorentino.

Header Picture Credit: [1] MONACO – CIRCA 1963: A stamp printed by MONACO shows an illustration of the Calcio Fiorentino field and starting positions from a 1688 book by Pietro di Lorenzo Bini, Florence, circa 1963 By Sergey Goryachev / www.shutterstock.com

Renaissance European Football

First codified in Renaissance Florence (Tuscany, Italy), Calcio Storico Fiorentino is still played in Florence. Resembling a more brutal version of Gaelic Football, it is the oldest codified football game in the world. Other codified versions of European Football which bear a similarity to Gaelic Football include Lelo (also known as Lelo Burti) in Georgia, on the borders of Eastern Europe and Asia.

Calcio Storico Fiorentino

This is the Eirball – World / Irish North American and World Sports Archive landing page for Calcio Storico Fiorentino, one of the earliest forms of organised football in the world, and which bears a striking resemblance in play to Gaelic Football, as well as a shared Atlantic heritage in a pre-Roman/pre-English, pre-Catholic Rennaisance or Revival. To view results of Calcio Fiorentino just click on the links in red/blue (purple) below the introduction.

This is the GAA World (Eirball) Landing page for the All-Time Results of Calcio Fiorentino.

Header Picture Credit: [1] MONACO – CIRCA 1963: A stamp printed by MONACO shows an illustration of the Calcio Fiorentino field and starting positions from a 1688 book by Pietro di Lorenzo Bini, Florence, circa 1963 By Sergey Goryachev / www.shutterstock.com

Calcio Storico Fiorentino is a Renaissance Football game first played in Florence (Fiorentina), Tuscany in the 1400s by workers on breaks from work in the city, that was first played by workers between breaks in work, and then organised matches beginning in 1530. It was the first organised football in the world, rather than the Medieval mob football which preceeded it and where there were no rules or restrictions on numbers playing. It could be seen as part of the wider Renaissance whereby Tuscany’s ancient pre-Roman, pre-Catholic past was brought back.

The earliest orgainsed Football matches anywhere in the world, as far as Eirball has discovered, although earlier reports in Ancient Europe, Greece, Rome, Italy and China mention similar games, though of what nature is hard to discern – they may just have been children’s catching games. [See articles on Medieval Football at: Medieval Celtic Sports for more information and references on this]

*The Tuscan language (Etruscan) is one which predates the Latin arrival in the Italian peninsula, and even though the letters and sounds are known there is no knowledge of the word meanings as no document translating Etruscan to Latin or Greek has ever been found. It does, however, sound similar to Basque, and therefore could be included in the Celtic sports section as part of the “Atlantic” or “Black Atlantic” family along with the Celtic languages, Basque and Berber (Tamashek) – half the words in the Gaelic language are of an Indo-European origin (Greek, Latin, Germanic, Slavic etc)and half of a North African Afro-Asiatic origin (Berber, Tuareg, Maltese, Hebrew, Arab etc).

[References: [4] Calcio Storico Fiorentino Sito Ufficiale (2020) CALCIO STORICO FIORENTINO [Internet] Available from: http://calciostoricofiorentino.it/?q=calcio-storico-fiorentino [Accessed 4 August 2020] and [5] Calcio Storico Fiorentino Sito Ufficiale (2020) Studies & Documentation [Internet] Available from: http://www.calciostoricofiorentino.it/?q=studi_e_documentazione [Accessed 4 August 2020]

Lelo Burti (Georgia)

Lelo Burti is the traditional Georgian form of Rugby, Gaelic or Medieval Football

Asian and Australasian Footbag

Footbag (hacky sack) is a modern version of Ancient East Asian and Australian Aboriginal Football games which are based around the concept of keepie-uppies – kicking the ball to each other in an attempt to keep it in the air as long as possible without the ball touching the ground.

Kemari (Japan)

Cuju (China)

Marn Grook (Australian Aboriginal)

Asian Footvolley

Sepak Takraw is a version of Volleyball or Football played with every part of the body except the arms and is Native to Malaysia and Thailand, both of whom claim to have invented it and where the game is a National Sport. It is popular throughout South East and East Asia. Other versions of the sport are played in Myanmar and elsewhere.

Sepak Takraw

Sepak Takraw is a version of Volleyball played with every part of the body except the arms and is Native to Malaysia and Thailand, both of whom claim to have invented it and where the game is a National Sport. It is popular throughout South East and East Asia.

Chandimu (Tanzania)

Ulama – Pok ta Pok (Mesoamerica)

Ulama (as known to the Mexica (Aztecs) or Pok-ta-Pok (as known to the Maya) is a Native Mexican and Central American Sports using a rubber ball and the hips. It is played in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras.

Ulama is the ancient sport of the Native Aztec (Mexica) and Maya of Central America (Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras). It is played with the hips, with two teams trying to propel the ball past the opposing team and has been played since 1400 BC. It is known as “Pok Ta Pok” to the Maya and “Ulama” to the Mexica.

The Juego de Pelota Mesoamerican Ulamaztli Championship is an Annual Regional Competition in Teotihuacan, Mexico City, the seat of the ancient religious / ritual centre, and where the most impressive ancient Ball Court is to be seen.

The Ulama Mesoamerican Ball Game Tournament is the Annual World Cup basically, bringing together teams from Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras.

Choctaw Stickball

Stickball is a Native American Sport similar to Lacrosse.

World Racquet Sports

Racquet Sports originated in East, South and South East Asia where the ancestors of Badminton are to be found. There are variations on Racquet Sports unique to Europe (Italian Tamburello, French Tambourine) and the Rest of the World.

Tamburello (Italy)

Palla Tamburello is an Italian Team Racquet Sports (5-a-side) that utilizes a Tambourine to hit the ball rather than a racquet

Hatesuki (Japan)

Hanetsuki is a traditional Japanese form of Badminton.

Road Tennis (Barbados)