Sir, – I was surprised to see in The Irish Times that the Waterford hurling manager Derek McGrath described the stick used by his successful team as a "hurl" ("Roots of Waterford's revival running deeper than many realise", June 9th). In my much younger days I played hurling with De La Salle College, where Derek now teaches, the stick we used was always called a hurley. Following the game over the years, the only place I remember the word "hurl" being used was in Wexford, where they have an ancient language of their own. I am reliably informed that the modern hurley is much shorter now than in the past. However, there is no need for the name to follow suit. – Yours, etc,
EAMONN MANSFIELD,
Helvick,
Ring,
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Co Waterford.