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THE GAME The Story of Hurling ***FINAL***

14. The Game_Wexford Fans_196514 Image Name: 14. The Game_Wexford Fans_196514
13. The Game_Hurling Fans 1960s_FI13 Image Name: 13. The Game_Hurling Fans 1960s_FI13 Copyright: Failte Ireland
17. The Game_Young Tipp Fan 1967_FI17 Image Name: 17. The Game_Young Tipp Fan 1967_FI17 Copyright: Failte Ireland
15. The Game_Galway Fans 1966_FI15 Image Name: 15. The Game_Galway Fans 1966_FI15 Copyright URL
19. The Game_Michael Cusack 2_NUIG19 Image Name: 19. The Game_Michael Cusack 2_NUIG19 Copyright: James Hardiman Library, NUIG
10. The Game_Action Gets Close to the Press 1953_FI10 Image Name: 10. The Game_Action Gets Close to the Press 1953_FI10 Copyright: Failte Ireland
7. The Game_Jim Walsh & Lory Meagher_GAA7 Image Name: 7. The Game_Jim Walsh & Lory Meagher_GAA7
12. The Game_1956 All Ireland Final_FI12 Image Name: 12. The Game_1956 All Ireland Final_FI12 Description: Failte Ireland
11. The Game_Hurling Fans 1950s_FI. Image Name: 11. The Game_Hurling Fans 1950s_FI. Copyright: Failte Ireland
16. The Game_ 1967 All Ireland Final_FI. Image Name: 16. The Game_ 1967 All Ireland Final_FI. Copyright: Failte Ireland
28. The Game_1971_FI Image Name: 28. The Game_1971_FI Copyright: Failte Ireland
The Game Tipperary 1961 30 Image Name: The Game Tipperary 1961 30
18. The Game_Michael Cusack 1_NUIG Image Name: 18. The Game_Michael Cusack 1_NUIG Copyright: James Hardiman Library, NUIG
9. The Game_Match Action_GAA Image Name: 9. The Game_Match Action_GAA
8. The Game_Winners 1st All Ireland 1887_PD Image Name: 8. The Game_Winners 1st All Ireland 1887_PD
3. The Game_Broken Hurl_CTL Image Name: 3. The Game_Broken Hurl_CTL
2. The Game_Posts_CTL_Ian Benjamin Kenny Image Name: 2. The Game_Posts_CTL_Ian Benjamin Kenny
1. The Game_Main Image_Mark Waldron_Ian Benjamin Kenny Image Name: 1. The Game_Main Image_Mark Waldron_Ian Benjamin Kenny

Episode 3       The Quest for Perfection

Episode 3 of THE GAME explores the chase for perfection. We see teams learning to win as Galway’s breakthrough in the 1980s gave way to Ger Loughnane’s winning Clare side in the 1990s and Kilkenny’s fine tuning of the pressure game in the 200’s – a team that seemed impossible to beat. Tactics and fitness took on entirely new dimensions and the rise of sports science elevated the standards expected of hurlers even further. Episode 3 also looks at the women’s game and the battles camogie has had to fight to be recognised in its own right. And as hurling has made its way through the Celtic Tiger era and the dawn of social media, what has that meant for the sport and the men and women who play it. For all the modern advancements in science and training perhaps what lies at the heart of the game hasn’t changed at all – it’s still the magic of pure skill and the aura surrounding the heroes of this stick and ball game that is uniquely ours.

Series Overview: 

Sport is one of the most important cultural sinews of a nation and hurling forms a vital part of life across Ireland. In this landmark series, legendary players, expert commentators, passionate fans, captivating archive and thrilling visuals bring hurling’s remarkable story to life. Through 1000s of years of bitter rivalries, triumphs and upsets, The Game reveals the unique warmth, colour and camaraderie that hurling fosters both within and across communities throughout the island.

The ambition was to produce the definitive series on hurling over three cinematic episodes. State of the art cameras, techniques and technologies were used alongside rare and unseen archive to bring hurling to Irish viewers as they’ve never seen it before. Some of the earliest moving footage of hurling was rescued from the vaults to be seen onscreen for the first time. Film reels of games from the 1920s, 1930s and 40s were rescanned to full HD resolution which will allow viewers to see unique and priceless material in unprecedented new detail.

60 major interviews were carried out for the series and just about every living legend of the game contributed – from Henry Shefflin, Joe Canning, Lee Chin, DJ Carey, Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Austin Gleeson, Anna Geary to Eddie Keher, Jimmy Barry Murphy, Anthony DalyMicheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Angela Downey, Ger Loughnane, Brian Cody and many more. These will all be housed in full with the GAA creating a remarkable resource on the game for decades to come.

4k high speed cameras more commonly used on projects like the BBC’s Planet Earth were used to slow down the incredible skills of the game which are so often invisible in the blizzard of action. IFTA winning Director Gerry Nelson spent almost every day of the past 18 months combing for unseen archive and touching stories to bring the series to life. He and series editor Gretta Ohle spent over six months in the edit room weaving together a truly memorable piece of Irish documentary television. Gerry’s guiding principle “At the end of the day, this is a series about people – people who play and love a remarkable game that is a genuine treasure of Irish life and culture.”

Filmed in cinema quality 4K over two years, THE GAME celebrates hurling, exploring its origins from the mists of prehistory through to its tremendous growth over the last century and how it can justifiably claim to be the fastest/most exciting field sport in the world.

 

Made is association with RTÉ and with the support of GAA and BAI

Produced with the support of incentives for the Irish Film Industry provided by the Government of Ireland