Guinness, an official sponsor of the 2008 GAA All-Ireland Hurling Championship, is bringing hurling off the pitch and into specially built 3D perspex cubes this summer with a new 3-a-side hurling game, Guinness Hurling Cubed. And from today until Saturday, Kilkenny Castle will host Guinness Hurling Cubed for three nights. Endorsed by Kilkenny legend and last year’s All-Ireland winning captain, Henry Shefflin, he’s urging the Kilkenny people to enter a team into the event and to check out the new innovative 3-a-side hurling game. Kilkenny hurlers Tommy Walsh and JJ Delaney have also backed the game and will attend the city final on Saturday, August 2. Played with 21” hurleys and a soft touch sliotar, the game is a fast paced and exciting derivative of the real thing, which was developed by Guinness, with expert guidance from former Cork Manager, Donal O’Grady. Teams of three players compete for either three minutes, or until three goals are scored – in a blitz format – over the course of the night. The nightly winners will battle it out in the Kilkenny City Final on Saturday, with the four semi-finalists winning a trip to Dublin on the eve of the GAA All-Ireland Hurling final for the grand finale of Guinness Hurling Cubed.
Guinness Hurling Cubed™ has already visited Galway, Cork and Limerick where it was a huge success. The game has attracted many people who have never played the game before.
Shefflin, who played the game at the official launch at the Guinness Hopstore in May, is expecting Kilkenny fans to embrace the game and believes the Kilkenny Castle event will be the most successful of the Guinness Hurling Cubed events in the country.
“It’s a really good game and a great new initiative that should bring hurling to an even wider audience,” said Shefflin. “I don’t think the people of Kilkenny need reminding of how important hurling is in this county, so I expect the upcoming event to be the most successful tournament in the country. We live and breathe hurling down here, so a new game like this should be seen as a real positive for hurling and I think it’s a great opportunity for a group of friends or team-mates to get a team together and to have a go. They say we’re born with a hurl in our hands down here, so here’s an opportunity to prove that and have a bit of fun at the same time.”
The Kilkenny star is also very impressed by the prize on offer at the Guinness Hurling Cubed final in Dublin Castle on the eve of the All-Ireland final. “The Guinness Hurling Cubed final is on in Dublin the night before the All-Ireland final in September, and the winners will get a VIP trip to the All-Ireland and €1,000 each, which is a super prize,” Shefflin said.
Kilkenny hurlers Tommy Walsh and JJ Delaney will also be at Kilkenny Castle on Saturday night to practice a few of their well honed hurling skills in a very different setting than they are accustomed to.
Anyone who wants to take part can register for free in advance on www.guinness.com or on the night. All playing equipment is supplied by Guinness and people simply need to bring along their own sports gear. Registration on the night is from 7pm on Thursday and Friday, and from 4pm on Saturday. The venue is open from each evening for people to practice in the cubes or the skills’ zone.
