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One of the country’s best-known hurley-makers has launched a new sustainable alternative to traditional ash hurl, made from bamboo.
Torpey Hurleys based at Belvoir near Sixmilebridge have produced Ireland’s first Bambú hurley and, as the name suggests, is produced from bamboo material.
Traditionally made from ash trees in Ireland, the supply of suitable ash from Irish and European forests has been hampered by Ash Dieback Disease. As a result, Torpey’s had to find a suitable alternative.
The new hurley will offer players a natural material with added performance benefits to that of the traditional ash hurley. Since the formation of the GAA in 1884 ash hurleys have been the favoured material of players up and down the country. Bambú seeks to change and enlighten players, mentors and coaches to new opportunities and possibilities. The Bambú hurley offers a genuine natural alternative to ash hurleys.
Torpey created a vision to produce a hurley of the highest quality from a performance and sustainability perspective. The process began in 2014 whereby Seán and John Torpey set out to explore the possibility of alternative materials to ash. They undertook vast material research and built up contacts across the world. One such place which proved a major contributor to the project was Loughborough University in the UK. The prestigious sports university was the scientific and material testing site for Bambú. The research team completed rounds of testing on the product and qualified the strength, strike, and consistent qualities of Bambú.
The company said: “Players that have undertaken product testing have agreed with the scientific testing and the consistent strike is a major pleasing factor. Players also enjoyed the natural feel and stated they could not tell the difference between Bambú and ash hurleys. Torpey® have tested Bambú with some of its top Inter-County customers across the 2020 Allianz league and over the lockdown period. Séadna Morey, John Conlon and Tony Kelly have all been extremely impressed, the Bambú hurley may now see championship inter-county hurling in 2020!”
Torpey’s tagline for Bambú is ‘’Engineered Hurling Performance’’. Bambú will see a new process for manufacturing the hurley. The hurley will be manufactured under modern CNC technology but can be tailored in the traditional way to suit the needs of the modern player. Hurlers are known to be extremely conscious of the overall balance and weight of a hurley. The consistency in material and production will ensure players can achieve their desired balance and weight requirements everytime. Torpey® understand the unique nature of hurley production and will deliver Bambú hurleys to allow players to take their performance to the next level.
Torpey are now welcoming pre-orders for Bambú through their brand store at Belvoir, Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare and online at torpeyhurleys.com/shop/bambu. More information on this new hurley click here.
History:
Torpey’s skills in the traditional craft of hurley-making were first shown as far back as the 1930’s by Patrick ‘Pop’ Torpey an avid hurler at the time in his locality and a member of the last O’Callaghan’s Mills team to lift the Clare Senior Club Championship trophy over 80 years ago. He supplied many of his teammates and other players from the locality with the first Torpey masterpieces. His original tools of manufacture are on show in the GAA Museum Croke Park along with a number of his favourite hurleys.
‘Pop’ Torpey always had one very interested spectator whenever he began the hard task of seeking out and making his hurley every year, that was none other than his nephew and today’s master craftsman John Torpey hurling areas drawn to the ease of use, strength and natural balance a Torpey provides.