Last week Dr. Eoin Ryan started his trilogy of blogs on Ice Hockey, outlining his childhood interest in the game and describing its current extent and importance, particularly in North America and northern and eastern Europe.
Here is a link to last week's opener:
https://sportyman2020.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-story-of-ice-hockey-and-its-irish.html
This week Eoin goes on to explore the historical background and development of Ice Hockey, reviewing in the process a whole range of stick and ball games from all over the world and from the farthest reaches of known history.
And for the final installment next week, Eoin asks the intriguing question:
'So is Ice Hockey Irish?'
Before going on with Ice Hockey, I would also like to take a brief pause to acknowledge that today is Pele's 80th birthday. It's wonderful to see the great man so healthy and happy as always and here's a link to a previous Sportyman blog that centred around the World Cup Final of 1970, one of the highlights of Pele's stellar footballing career:
https://sportyman2020.blogspot.com/2020/06/june-21st-1970-and-why-everyone-loves.html
But from the heat of the Aztec Stadium in Mexico City in 1970, it's off to the cooler climes of the Ice Hockey world and back to Eoin...
Ice Hockey - where did it come from?
There is considerable consensus that the first
game of modern ice hockey, using the ‘Canadian Rules’ was played in Montreal in
1875. Its origin story however is somewhat vague. Unlike basketball, which is
known to have been invented by one man, James Naismith, in 1891, ice hockey
appears to have evolved, and the aforementioned Montreal game is not so much
the first time it was played, rather the first recorded game of what could be
recognised as modern hockey.
There is much less consensus as to what it
evolved from. Simple ‘ball and stick’ games have been recorded in a plethora of
civilizations down through the millennia, being played on all inhabited
continents. The origins and histories of many such games have been lost to
time, and with scant evidence of rules or documentation of games, much
information is derived from drawings, paintings and oral tradition.
The ball and stick game we are most familiar
with is, of course, hurling. Hurling has been part of Irish folklore and culture
for hundreds of years. It is believed to have come to Ireland with the Celts
approximately 2,500 years ago. The first written record of the game is in the
5th century, documented in Brehon law. Its Celtic credentials are bolstered by
the fact that similar games are played in other Celtic areas of Europe - notably
Shinty in Scotland, Bando in Wales and Cammag on the Isle of Mann.
Yet another cousin is the game of Bandy, played
in the UK. The likelihood is that this was in its original form related to the
Celtic games described above. Etymologically, it shares its root with the Walsh
Bando, and in Scots Gaelic is referred to as ‘Shinty on Ice’. It would appear
that in its original form, it was played on solid ground much like its cousins. It made its transition to ice some time around 1600, with games recorded as being
played on Hocktide - an English Medieval festival held on the Monday and Tuesday
after Easter. Ice skating became popular in England in the 1600s, following a
royal vogue for the pastime, and Bandy on Ice became all the rage. To this
day, Bandy remains an on-ice game. Interestingly, the festival of Hocktide may
be where the term hockey comes from.
One ancient game where there is documented evidence,
is the Norse game of Knattleikr (translated as ‘ball game’) which features in
the Icelandic Sagas. These sagas were recorded in the 13th and 14th centuries,
and told tales from the 9-11th centuries, so hardly a first hand account. This
game, however, has been resurrected and is now played, mostly as reenactments
at historical events, rather than as a competitive sport. It has been said that
the similarity of Knatterlikr and hurling is uncanny - both involve two teams
using a small hard ball, hit with a stick but also with the hand.
Another ball and stick game, more local to Canada, and indeed another of its national sports is the game we now refer to as Lacrosse. This varies from the other games discussed above in a number of ways. Most strikingly, the stick used has a net at its end, in which players ‘catch’ the ball. This game remains sacred to may Native American people, whose ancestors have played variations of the game for hundreds of years. It seems to have been played first in the Eastern United States, the area around the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River Valley by a variety of indigenous people, including the Algonquin, Sioux, Chactaw and Cherokee nations. Various names have been used including ‘Baggataway’, which loosely translates as 'Little Brother of War’.
The game of Lacrosse held a sacred meaning for the indigenous people, and
was invariably seen as a dedication to the Gods of War. The game varied
considerably from what we would recognise as modern Lacrosse, often with teams
of well over 100 players per side, and using a ‘pitch’ which could extend for a mile. It was played by both male and female players and was often viewed as a
training exercise in preparation for war. Games could become deadly with
maximum force being used, and as a result deaths were commonplace. The name ‘Lacrosse’
was first used in 1634 when a French Jesuit priest, Fr Jean de Brebeuf
describes the game in a letter, calling it ‘jeu de la crosse’, named for the
resemblance of the stick to a Bishops Crozier.
In 1834, the Caughnawega nation demonstrated the game to the enraptured
people of Montreal, and Canada's love of the game was born. Shortly afterwards,
Dentist William Beers formed the first Lacrosse club in Canada and drew up the
modern rules, still largely in existence today.
The game has become international, but the USA and Canada remain as the dominant powers. The governing body is one of the few global sporting administrations that recognise indigenous, so called ‘First nations’ as members. This point came to a head recently, with an Irish connection. The International World Games, often seen as a pathway to gain admission to the Olympic games, are due to be held in Alabama in 2022. Lacrosse has featured previously in Olympics in 1904 and 1908 but not since.
The Irish international team qualified for one of the 8 places for the 2022 event, due to their rankings at the 2018 Lacrosse World Championships. Despite this Ireland will not be taking part. The Iroquois nation, which takes part in the Lacrosse World Championships were deemed ineligible for a tournament associated with the Olympics as, not being formally recognised as a sovereign nation, does not have an Olympic Committee. Ireland Lacrosse, our governing body, decided to forfeit its place in the championship in order to accommodate the Iroquois, with its CEO Michael Kennedy, in a show of real sportsmanship, announcing that there are more important things than just playing the sport they love, especially not at the expense of another, more deserving brother, adding that the Iroquois Nation are the ‘soul of the sport’. This gesture was widely praised internationally, with Darryl Seibel, spokesperson for World Lacrosse describing it as ‘emblematic of the best ideals of international sport’. The Iroquois National Board added:
‘Words do not do justice in expressing the depths of our appreciation for the tremendous sacrifice of Ireland Lacrosse. Their genuine concern, empathy and selflessness demonstrates a true understanding of the ideals of our Medicine Game'
This was followed with a Tweet reading ‘I
dteannta a cheile’ from the board.
Getting back to the topic at hand, while
Lacrosse was traditionally played on the plains of North America, and the
modern game played in fields, there are some connections to Ice Hockey. Most
notably, Box Lacrosse, the version of the game most popular in Canada today is
played in an ice rink. This was devised as a way to use the infrastructure already
in place when ice hockey is in its off season, with the ice being removed
and astro turf covering the rink. Also, more relevant to our story, there is
speculation that in its original form, lacrosse was occasionally played on ice.
This is demonstrated in the painting 'Indians playing Lacrosse on the Ice’ by
Edward Coates (1859). Given the geographical region, the similarities of both
games and the idea that it was occasionally played on ice, it is not unreasonable
to suggest, in my opinion, that ice hockey may have originated from Lacrosse or
at the very least, influenced its development.
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