On your next trip to Dublin, do something uniquely Irish and get involved with the nation’s warrior sports.
An original and fun-filled insight into Irish culture awaits at Trinity College Dublin with a newly launched experience that explores 3,000 years of Ireland’s sporting heritage. Suitable for all ages, Warrior Ways from Experience Gaelic Games is the ultimate way to understand what it is to be Irish.
Located at the Pavilion Bar in the verdant grounds of Trinity College, the Gaelic adventure will take you to the heart of authentic Ireland. And with all equipment supplied, it will be a high-spirited highlight of your Dublin stay.
The 90-minute experience includes a whistle-stop audio-visual tour of 3,000 years of Irish cultural expression and an explanation of the central importance of Gaelic games in modern Irish life. Then you’ll get the chance to have a ball learning the basic skills of Gaelic football and hurling, which is the oldest and fastest game on grass in the world.
You will learn why Gaelic games grip the Irish nation every summer, why every town and almost every village in Ireland has its own Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club, and why Gaelic games, more than anything else, explains the Irish nation.
Ireland’s indigenous sports are a direct link to the island’s pre-Christian past yet remain the obsession of the modern nation. The first written reference to warrior games appears in an ancient Celtic manuscript referencing a game played on the rugged west coast of Ireland in 1170 BC.
Full of pace, power and with no quarter given, Ireland’s warrior games have been shaped by myth, history and geography and are deeply engrained in the national identity. The games also feature strongly throughout Irish folklore and to this day attract live attendances that surpass Superbowl and World Cup final attendances.
Across the island, fiercely competitive matches are played regularly between clubs in every town, city, county and parish. Spectating at a hurling, camogie or Gaelic football match is one of the best ways to look into the soul of the Irish nation and be at one with the locals.
But for those who want to get hands on, Warrior Ways sessions are available at 11.30am and 1.00pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, with discounts for under 18s and student card holders.
The sessions provide a memorable experience and super photo opportunities in the historic grounds of the world-renowned university and museum, Trinity College.
Trinity is well known as the home of the Book of Kells, a beautifully illuminated Gospel manuscript and one of Ireland’s greatest cultural treasures. It’s also worth seeing the college’s barrel-vaulted Long Room library, which houses over 200,000 ancient books and is one of the most photographed places in Dublin.
The huge campus, filled with leafy squares, wildflower areas, cobblestone walkways and historic buildings, has featured strongly in the TV adaptations of Sally Rooney’s acclaimed novels, Normal People and Conversations with Friends, and is perfect for strolls and guided tours.
