Summaries

Synopsis

Sport is one of the most important cultural sinews of a nation and hurling forms a vital part of life across Ireland. In this landmark series, legendary players, expert commentators, passionate fans, captivating archive and thrilling visuals bring hurling's remarkable story to life. Through 1000s of years of bitter rivalries, triumphs and upsets, The Game reveals the unique warmth, colour and camaraderie that hurling fosters both within and across communities throughout the island.

The ambition was to produce the definitive series on hurling over three cinematic episodes. State of the art cameras, techniques and technologies were used alongside rare and unseen archive to bring hurling to Irish viewers as they've never seen it before. Some of the earliest moving footage of hurling was rescued from the vaults to be seen onscreen for the first time. Film reels of games from the 1920s, 1930s and 40s were rescanned to full HD resolution which will allow viewers to see unique and priceless material in unprecedented new detail.

60 major interviews were carried out for the series and just about every living legend of the game contributed - from Henry Shefflin, Joe Canning, Lee Chin, DJ Carey, Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Austin Gleeson, Anna Geary to Eddie Keher, Jimmy Barry Murphy, Anthony Daly, Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Angela Downey, Ger Loughnane, Brian Cody and many more. These will all be housed in full with the GAA creating a remarkable resource on the game for decades to come.

4k high speed cameras more commonly used on projects like the BBC's Planet Earth were used to slow down the incredible skills of the game which are so often invisible in the blizzard of action. IFTA winning Director Gerry Nelson spent almost every day of the past 18 months combing for unseen archive and touching stories to bring the series to life. He and series editor Gretta Ohle spent over six months in the edit room weaving together a truly memorable piece of Irish documentary television. Gerry's guiding principle "At the end of the day, this is a series about people - people who play and love a remarkable game that is a genuine treasure of Irish life and culture."

Filmed in cinema quality 4K over two years, THE GAME celebrates hurling, exploring its origins from the mists of prehistory through to its tremendous growth over the last century and how it can justifiably claim to be the fastest/most exciting field sport in the world.

Made is association with RTÉ and with the support of GAA and BAI

Produced with the support of incentives for the Irish Film Industry provided by the Government of Ireland