An entry · Work · Life
Hurley Maker
The camán is still cut from ash and shaped by hand, one stick at a time, to fit one player.
Why the human is the point
A hurley is less a manufactured object than a negotiation between a plank and a player. The wood comes from the butt of an ash tree, where the root flares out into the trunk, because that curve is already the shape of the bas. The maker reads the grain, then works it down with hand planes and spokeshaves, adjusting the weight, the thickness of the heel, the thickness of the handle, until it suits the hands that ordered it. Families have done this for generations. The Dowlings in Kilkenny trace their line back to Tom Neary, who was making hurls in 1908, and Ramie Dowling made the first Star Hurley in 1963. The Falconers have been at it since 1960. Ash dieback has put real pressure on the timber and the trade is thinking hard about its future, but the workshops are open and the shavings are still on the floor.
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