A HI-TECH fibreglass hurley could spell the end of the "clash of the ash" after getting the thumbs up from GAA boss Joe McDonagh.

University academics have developed the new hurl which is being tipped to replace the ash camn, and could see All-Ireland action in Croke Park within a few years.

The "Ashmore" hurley is being dubbed "Ash No More" amid predictions that it will result in the phasing out of the traditional wooden hurl.

The carbon-fibre stick is the end product of two years' intensive research at the National University in Galway, and is based on state-of-the-art Formula One racing and aerospace technology.

Last night it was heralded as a sporting breakthrough after the GAA President and former All-Ireland hurler gave it a test drive.

"It feels good to hold," Mr McDonagh said. "The playing will be the real test but I have a sneaky feeling that using this hurley I would have a distinct advantage over an opponent.

"I could get a longer puck out of it. I could see a time when they will be used in Senior All-Ireland finals."

The Ashmore hurley will be officially launched next Saturday at the GAA Special Congress on hurling in Wexford.

It is the brainchild of former Galway All-Ireland footballer Gary Fahey and Dr Conchur O Bradaigh, head of the Composite Research Unit at NUI in the city.

The revolutionary hurley looks and feels like ash but is much lighter. It was developed with the aid of Killarney Plastics Ltd and the support of Enterprise Ireland and the GAA's Development Committee.

It will be mass produced from next year and will first target the juvenile hurling market.

The Galway academics are at the heart of a hi-tech revolution that is sweeping Gaelic games.

They have also been to the forefront in developing a draft standard for sliothars after a major study .

And they are even developing "eye in the sky" technology which could end rows over disputed points scored in football and hurling.

But the fibreglass hurley looks set to be their most far-reaching invention.

"Prototype hurleys are at an advanced stage of testing here at the university and they are also being field-trialed throughout the country at present," Dr O Bradaigh said.

Fellow inventor Gary Fahey added: "It's great to be working on a materials breakthrough which mirrors the overall growth of Gaelic games.

"Nothing is unbreakable but they are very durable and if they do break they will not splinter into sharp edges.

"They have no metal strip either as in most ash hurleys, so they are safer in this respect."

The research group believe their creation has the same feel and spring as a traditional ash hurl.

They say it is an attractive alternative to the wood camn, particularly for juvenile players.

And they are not worried about the failure of the only previous attempt to make plastic hurls back in the 1970s.

"The materials in that hurley did not have the same density of ash or the same dimensions," said Dr O Bradaigh.

"It also had a sting off it but our invention is far more flexible and the density can be varied to make it have more or less of a spring as desired by the hurler."

Anyone who wants an early glimpse of the "superhurl" can catch it at a hi-tech exhibit in Dublin's RDS.