St Patrick's Day brings the climax of the club championships in Gaelic games, which combine elements of the American sports of gridiron and baseball but are played with an intensity more associated with Mafia turf wars. The two main games are "football" and "hurling", the chief difference being that in football, the fights are unarmed. There is also "camogie" which is like hurling, except that in fights the hair may be pulled as well. Hurling, "the fastest game on earth", was best described by a Cork man to an American tourist when he said "its like a cross between ice hockey and murder"

attributed to unknown author