Behold the Throne of GAAmes

Who needs iron when you have nature's finest ash?

This is the Throne of GAAmes, constructed from more than 150 hurleys, assembled with the help of local volunteers at the Iniscealtra Festival of Arts last month.

The sculpture, modelled after the famous Iron Throne from HBO’s hit TV series Game of Thrones, substitutes the original’s 1,000 swords of vanquished enemies for the broken and splintered sticks of Ireland’s hurling players.

The recognisable chair is the work of Paul Berg, a local sculptor from Co Clare. Originally from Rotterdam, he's been in Ireland 26 years, and lives in Mountshannon.

The idea came about when Nard Slabbers, a member of the local men's sheds group, noticed an abundance of hurleys in people's homes when out making repairs and helping out.

"Every house he goes into, he sees a bundle of hurleys," Paul recalled. "And he said 'can we make something?'"

After mulling over a few ideas – making musical instruments was an early runner – Berg decided on the throne as something fun and iconic. "The kids all know what you're talking about," he explained.

Knowing that there was an abundance of discarded hurleys lurking in sheds and garages, they put out a call for material. The response was even better than expected: Berg found himself inundated with 200 hurleys - 150 of which came from the local GAA club.

[comment] Construction under way at the workshop.[/comment]

And for any die-hard hurling fans who cringe at the thought of destroying a good piece of ash - worry not. The donated hurleys were, by and large, unusable for the game.

“If you're a serious hurling player, you'd go through two sticks a year," Paul said. "A lot of them would be split or battered, some would be homemade."

In fact, many of the sticks had been used long past their first crack – Berg’s bandsaw had to compete with nails, staples and other shards of metal embedded in favourite hurleys to prolong their life.

And that kind of resilience is exactly what a wooden sculpture needs.

[comment] Nard Slabbers, left, and Paul Berg, standing, celebrate the finished project.[/comment]

"It's a permanent sculpture ... hurley ash is serious wood. It will keep for a long time ... [we're] making something you can keep for years," he said.

The throne is built on a basic box frame to give it shape and strength, painted in the colours of the local GAA club – which can just be seen peeking through here and there. But the rest is tried-and-tested ash.

Want one of your own?

Paul plans to do more sculpture workshops, both to make the end product and as an exercise in recycling – so you can have a throne of your own.

He had hoped to do more work like this with local festivals - but hasn't had the interest he hoped for yet.

"We've only done one, it was last month. I haven't had any takers since," he said.

If you're interested, Paul will build the box frame while you collect hurleys from the local community.

Then, after publicising the workshop – which lasts a day or two – and getting hold of some interested volunteers, Paul will arrive with tools and expertise.

And at the end of it all, your community will be left with a seat fit for a king.

If your local area or GAA club would like its own sculpture - built as part of a day event - you can contact Paul Berg at his Facebook page.

Via Reddit Ireland and 2FM on Facebook.

Paul Berg can be contacted at facebook.com/hurleysculpture.

You can read more about the Men’s Sheds movement here.