TheTailteann Games games date back over 4,000 years to 1829BC, and pre-date the ancient Greek Olympic Games. Upon Tailtiu's death, her foster son Lúgh (father of Cúchulainn) established a festival and games in her honour which took place around her burial place in what is now called County Meath.
Irish games and sports were the main attractions of the Tailteann games, an ancient Celtic sporting festival, which began in 1829 BC. The games occurred annually during the feast of Lunagsha (August 1) for almost 4000 years until 1169 AD. In the 17th and 18th centuries the gentry landowners and noblemen organized the games of hurling, and gambling was very common. Hundreds of people would gather to watch the matches and sometimes the players would be paid for their efforts. The games became a major religious and sporting festival on the Irish calendar. At that time, many trade fairs were held where livestock and goods were bought and sold. However, this fair was more like the Olympic games. Gaelic football games were cross-country marathons involving hundreds of players, and violent exchanges were the norm. This cross-country football was called ‘caid in County Kerry, taking its name from the ball of horsehide or oxhide which had an inflated natural bladder inside it (Healy, 1998). As recently as the mid-1800’s, a typical game of football in Ireland involved hundreds of people playing across miles of open countryside, with the obligatory frequent pauses for bouts of wrestling and fist fighting. The object of the game seems to have been to spend the day crossing fields while eluding flying fists and sprawling legs. The ball was more of an accessory, and the game was a social event as much as a sporting one.
It sounds like great craic! The cache only contains a log. Please try to jam the log back in to the lid.