CHINA:Croke Park has never seen tropical temperatures like those at Singapore's Polo Club, but even with the 30-degree-plus heat, the southeast Asian city-state proved an excellent venue for this weekend's 12th celebration of Asian Gaelic Games.
The tournament is the largest gathering of Irish expatriates in Asia. Hong Kong underlined its status as the powerhouse of GAA in the region with a convincing 6-7 to 3-3 win over hosts Singapore in the men's final yesterday.
Hundreds of spectators gathered on the tropical island state to watch more than 600 participants from Dubai, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, as well as Malaysia and Vietnam for the first time, compete for honours.
The tournament produced some highly skilled and hard-won contests.
Spectators particularly enjoyed the hard-fought women's final, in which Dubai shaded Seoul 2-6 to 2-5.
"The A standard was very good, though obviously there was a gulf between the As and those below," said Dublin referee Thomas Quigley, who was one of two officials brought over from Ireland for the contest. "The A grades would be able to hold their place at county level."
Hong Kong's Fergal Power said the team's tough training regime had paid off.
"It's been a great event. We worked hard and the fact that we have a league with 180 players shows how things have been going well," he said.
Among their number was Wexford senior player Dermot Kinsella.
GAA is one of the fastest- growing amateur sports in the Far East and attracts people from all nationalities. This was the 12th Asian Gaelic Games tournament, and the Asian GAA board was established last year.
"It gets better every year," said Séamus Howlin, chairman of the GAA's overseas committee and Leinster council vice-chairman. "The standard, in my mind, was increased, and I suspect it will be the same next year."
A big draw this year was a competitive hurling event, which was won by Dubai 7-10 to Singapore's 0-8. This proved very popular with local spectators, many of whom had never heard of the sport.
England rugby international Phil Greening took his place on the Singapore B team to help boost the profile of his charity, the Sporting Chance Foundation.
Despite being sent off over what everyone agreed was a "misunderstanding of the rules", he said he enjoyed the day.
"It was a great experience and hopefully we'll be back next year knowing more about the rules," he said.