After 11 years of supplying hurleys to muintir na Gaillimhe and further afield, Joe Canning’s family hurley-making business has sadly had to close its doors.

The lack of quality ash planks due to ash dieback is the reason behind the closure.

Hurley-makers have been warning about the impact of the disease for years now.

The talk is that there could be a run on bamboo hurleys now as ash dieback persists.

When Joe McDonagh sang The West’s Awake in 1980 after Galway beat Limerick in the final, little did he think that the clash of the ash would be replaced with the belt of the bamboo.