Hurling (Cornish: Hurlian) is an outdoor team game played only in Cornwall, England, played with a small silver ball. While the sport shares its name with the Irish game of hurling, the two sports are completely different.

Once played widely in Cornwall, the game has similarities to other traditional football or inter parish 'mob' games played in various parts of Britain, but certain attributes make hurling unique to Cornwall. It is considered by many to be Cornwall's national game along with Cornish wrestling. An old saying in the Cornish language goes "hyrlîan yw gen gwaré nyi", which means "hurling is our sport".

Today the sport survives only in two communities: St Columb Major, where the traditional hurling matches are played on Shrove Tuesday and the second Saturday following, between the Townsmen and the Countrymen of the parish; and in St Ives, where a hurling game is played by children on Feast Monday. In addition, a version of hurling features in the beating of the bounds festivities at Bodmin roughly every five years. Although the custom attracts fewer spectators, the annual hurling matches at St Columb Major have similar status in the Cornish calendar to the 'Obby 'Oss festival at Padstow and the Furry Dance at Helston in that all three are unique customs that have survived unchanged and have taken place annually since before records began.

Typically, the outer shell of a hurling ball is sterling silver which is hammered into two hemispheres and then bound around a core of applewood, held together with screws or nails through a band of silver. The balls used in the St Columb games were crafted for a few years by John Turver, but since the 1990s new balls have been made by local craftsman Colin Rescorla. At St Columb the winner of the ball has the right to keep it, but must have a new one made in its place for the next game. The price of a new ball is said to be around £1,000, depending on the price of silver at the time. The current inscription on the St Columb ball is "Town and Country, do your best", which derives from the motto: "Town and Country do your best, for in this parish I must rest".

There is no definitive size or weight for St Columb hurling balls, which are handmade; the weight is typically 19 to 21 ounces (~ 570 grams), and they are about 9 inches or 23 cm in circumference, similar to a cricket ball. Given its weight and hardness, hurlers and spectators maintain intense vigilance to avoid serious injury from a long or poorly aimed throw.

There are examples of hurling balls on public display at Truro Museum, Lanhydrock House, St Ives Museum, St Agnes Museum and St Columb Major Town Hall. Many are also held in private hands. One held at Penzance Museum is thought to be very old and bears the following inscription in the Cornish language: "Paul Tuz whek Gwaro Tek heb ate buz Henwis. 1704". The first two words signify "Men of Paul", i.e., the owners of the ball. The last seven words may be translated literally (retaining the word order of the engraving) into English as "sweet play fair without hate to be called", which may be roughly translated as "fair play is good play".

A 1990s St Columb hurling ball is on display at the National Football Museum in Manchester, as part of a collection of exhibits relating to the development of modern football codes from medieval football and other traditional games such as hurling.

Little is recorded of the sport until about the 16th century when contests were generally between groups of men from two parishes. At this point there were two forms of the game, according to Carew's Survey of Cornwall (1602). "Hurling to goals" was played on a pitch similar to that of modern-day association football, and had many strict rules, similar to those of football and rugby; this was common in the east of the county. "Hurling to country", however, was often played over large areas of countryside and despite its name also involved goals; this was common in the west of the county. This had few rules and was more similar to the St Columb game of modern times (see below). Inter-parish matches died out towards the end of the 18th century but matches between different sections of the same township continued. At St Ives those named Tom, Will and John formed a team to play against those with other names on the Monday after Quadragesima. At Truro a team of married men played against a team of bachelors, and at Helston the men of two particular streets played against the men of the others. The field of the St Ives game has been changed twice, first to the beach, and in 1939 to the public park.