As a member of the Irish Guild of Ash Hurley Makers, P O’Kane Hurleys, based in Swatragh, is among an elite of 50-odd members who produce hurls for the top hurlers around the country.
P. O’Kane Hurls was established in 2003 by Pat O’Kane. Having retired, Pat’s passion for camogie steered him to begin and craft a few hurls by hand to cater for the local Swatragh Camogie Club.
Never did he imagine that, five years on, demand would ask him to supply countless hurling and camogie clubs as well as numerous schools and colleges throughout Ireland.

In 2004, Pat’s son Gabriel who runs a driving school watched his father under constant pressure to meet demand and began spending more evenings and weekends helping out and learning the craft.  With hurls still being made by hand and the orders flooding in, it was decided to move into bigger premises and purchase more up to date equipment.  A copying lathe used by most hurley makers was bought in Italy and aluminium templates of each size had to be designed first and then ordered from Beijing.  A new band saw and belt sander were added to their existing equipment and work could begin. The volume of work allowed them to employ two more  full time staff to start and soon P O’Kane Hurls were providing top quality hurls on time and at a competitive price.