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Hurling goes Global

Recognised by UNESCO as Irish Living Heritage

Culture Minister Josepha Madigan is delighted to announce that Hurling has been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

At a meeting of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Mauritius today, Ireland’s nomination of Hurling was approved, thereby achieving international recognition of hurling as a key element of Ireland’s living heritage to be safeguarded for future generations.

Minister Madigan said:

I am delighted that Hurling has achieved international recognition by UNESCO. Hurling is a key element of Irish culture. For centuries, hurling has been an important part of the Irish identity, with men and women passing on this living tradition to each rising generation. I am grateful to the Camogie Association and the GAA for their work with my Department to achieve this UNESCO recognition.

Ireland ratified the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2015. The Convention was established to safeguard, appreciate, and raise awareness of cultural heritage locally, nationally, and internationally. Intangible cultural heritage, or living heritage, refers to customs, traditions, crafts, games, and practices that are part of people's lives and identities both individually and as part of wider communities, and that are passed on from generation to generation

Hurling, which is used to denote the entire game, including camogie, as played by men, women and children, is Ireland's second inscription on the Representative List. Ireland's first nomination, Uilleann Piping, was officially inscribed last year.

The submission for this inscription was led by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in partnership with the GAA and the Camogie Association.