Distinctly Montana Magazine

70 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • FA L L 2 0 2 4 T HE COMMUNITY OF BUTTE HAS LONG BEEN HAILED as the epicenter of Irish heritage in Montana. Ask any Montanan which Treasure State city has the highest population of Irish res- idents, and they'll surely name Butte every time. As of the 2010 census, nearly one-quarter of the Mining City's population was of Irish descent. With that statistic under its belt, Butte elbowed out other cities with strong Irish heritage—in- cluding Boston—to gain national recognition as the most Irish city in America. It's a title Butte displays proudly year-round, but perhaps nev- er so prominently as during its annual St. Patrick's Day festivi- ties. Crowds flock to Butte by the thousands for the legendary March 17 celebration, which is capped off by the iconic St. Pat- rick's Day parade. Celebrants clad in green and glitter packed the city's uptown parade route during the especially warm and sunny jamboree this spring. Spirited music filled the air and Irish flags waved enthusiastically in the breeze. Revelers lined the streets for the entire distance of the route, standing as many as thirty people deep on some stretches. Others sat atop buildings with their feet dangling off the edge, while more still situated themselves on stairways in tiered rows outside of- fice buildings and storefronts, packing into every bit of sidewalk space available. The entire scene exuded cheer, joy, and a re- sounding pride for the city's Irish heritage—but the best was yet to come. MONTANA'S HURLING TEAMS Among the convoy of businesses, organizations, musicians, public servants, education personnel, and political hopefuls who participated in the march through uptown Butte that day was a particularly fired-up group of rowdy, fun-loving men and women waving long wooden sticks in the air. The sticks (known as hurleys) closely resembled those used in hockey, but instead of hitting a puck, this crew was using them to hit a small tennis-type ball back and forth as they worked their way down the parade route. The group, a conglomeration of athletes primarily hailing from Butte and Missoula, were members of local hurling teams—and they were clearly a crowd favorite. "Come to the Coliseum after the parade! Two p.m.," members of the hurling group would yell out as they interacted with the cheering onlookers. "Come watch us play! It's going to be crazy!" I didn't know much about hurling, but my curiosity was piqued. After all, when in Butte, America, on St. Patrick's Day, you do as the Butte folks do! AN ANCIENT SPORT ON DISPLAY Hurling is an ancient traditional Irish sport deeply rooted within and tightly woven throughout Irish history and culture. It is a physically demanding, fast-paced game that combines ele- ments of lacrosse, hockey, tennis, baseball, and soccer—though its origins predate them all. The sport's first literary reference dates as far back as 1272 BC, according to the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The game evolved from a regimen used to train ancient Celtic warriors, and was once far more violent and dangerous than the version played today. Back then, if a warrior survived and was proficient on the hurling field, he would likely be skilled, fierce, and trium- phant on the battlefield. "Hurling can be traced back through thousands of years of Irish culture and folklore," says Conn Butler, a lifelong hurler Emerald Isle to Big Sky Country The Ancient Irish Sport of takes root in montana HURLING by HOLLY MATKIN ROGER PAFFORD

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