Whenever I get back down home, Iāll ask him 
Iām presuming theyāre all just cack-handed as you proposed tbh. I was very young when they were playing intercounty
Sound. Itās long been a crux Iād like solved.
Back in the 1940s and 1950s for Tipp, the two great Kenny brothers were both lhot on top. From what I can work out, Paddy was a natural ciotĆ³g and SeĆ”n a cack hander ā and highly effective with it.
1 Like
Iāll ask my father about the Kennys. Heāll know . Thereās not a thing Iād say he doesnāt know about a Tipp hurler from that period onwards.
Do. Would be very interested to hear. Paddy seemingly took deadly frees off his left side; SeƔn seemingly had a great sideline cut off his right side.
Skip to 1m 34sec.
And then to 3m 08secs.
Paul Galvin was a lovely wristy hurler going by Buffās story
Thatās really interesting. Thanks very muchā¦ Much appreciated. Had never seen that material.
I spoke to Willie Hyland once. Lovely man. He is righthanded but hurls lhot. He takes a free off both left side and right side, depending on context.
2 Likes
Tony Kelly the same isnāt he? as regards comfortable hitting frees left and right
He wont be assuming free taking duties with Tullogher anytime soon. He manages to align his body to the far side(right) and then shoot wayward to the near side(left). Thats actually difficult to execute.
Thatās an excellent point. TK is now gone back entirely to left side freetaking but he had a spell a few years ago where he went to right side freetaking. Would love to interview him about that stuff.
Conor McDonald has taken frees off both left and right in the past but seems, as of 2019, near 100% left side.
The only two rhot hurlers whom I have seen take frees off both right and left are Richie Hogan and Jason Forde. RH gave up left side around 17. JF ditched left side only a few years ago.
Textbook non textbookā¦
Joe Deane wasnāt cack handed. He hurled orthodox left handed. He was just more noted for hitting on his right side and took his frees off his right.
If youāre cack handed you have to throw the ball from behind the hurley to strike it as opposed to from out in front of yourself, at least thatās my interpretation
The arc is the same no matter what way you hold it, the wrists determine the arc
Well surely thatās just everybody when they hit the ball off the opposite side to whatever hand they have on top? For example, I am a right hander and when I hit the ball off my left side the ball goes underneath the hurley
True but lads who predominantly strike off the opposite side to their hand on top are cack handed.
Cack handed means a hockey/golf grip. For a right handed player, orthodox means you catch and release the ball with your left hand and then have the left below the right on the stick as you strike.
Deane carried the stick in his left and caught and released the ball with his right, with the right hand below when striking. Thatās orthodox left handed.
It just looked like a hockey grip because he favoured taking frees off his right side. As somebody with an orthodox right hand grip, if I took a free off my left, it would be a mirror image of what Deane did. Iād have the toe of the boss pointing towards the goal. Then Iād have to āturnā the point of the boss as I brought it up after lifting the ball, before the swing.
I always favoured taking a sideline cut off my left side however. I think itās something to do with backspin. A good sideline cut should always have backspin. If you compare it to tennis, itās easier to hit a backhand slice than a backhand topspin drive. When you pull right hand orthodox on a slightly bouncing ball in open play, itās often more like a forehand topsin drive. A sideline cut requires a different dynamic, you have to get under it and get backspin. Compare that to tennis. Itās very difficult to hit a forehand backspin drive. If youāre orthodox right handed, Thereās a lot more that can go wrong with taking a sideline cut off your right than if you take it off your left. I actually agree with the point about using your arse. Taking a sideline with your left, your right buttock is a key centre of gravity.
I would have always said joe had the hurley caught wrong. Reading through this thread im confused.
I think it comes down to which hand is strongest. If youāre lhot and left handed itās not as awkward as being lhot and right handed