It's "hurl" (ie, hurling stick, for playing the game of hurling).

Paddy McGuigan was a member of the Barleycorn, and wrote "The Men Behind the Wire" and "The Boys of the old Brigade", among other songs. He came from Belfast but now lives near Dublin, I believe.

Hurling goes back a long way in the district--I have a song (originally in Irish) describing a hurling match in nearby Omeath in 1750, here.

Don