The Island's two police forces clashed yesterday in a sometimes bruising encounter.

A team from the Police Service of Northern Ireland travelled to Dublin for the first Gaelic football fixture with the Garda Siochana.

The match - staged on the Garda sports grounds in Westmanstown, north Dublin - was watched by a crowd of around 200.

Garda won by 1-18 to 2-8.

Minister for Justice Michael McDowell and Northern Ireland security minister Jane Kennedy and stood on the sidelines with the PSNI chief constable Hugh Orde and Garda commissioner Pat Byrne to witness history being made on an occasion that would not have been possible just a year ago.

The match was enabled only last November when a special convention in Dublin of the GAA finally scrapped the rule which banned members of the Northern Ireland security forces from playing in games under their control.

The controversial regulation - known as Rule 21 - was dropped after years of campaigning by reformers inside and outside the GAA, and pressure intensified after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Ahead of the game, Mr Orde went on record to predict victory for his side.

But he qualified that comment by adding: "The importance of the game will not be winning - it will be the fact that we have taken part."

Afterwards he said: "My team are deeply proud to have been involved."

Mr Orde added: "The match continued a long sporting tradition of friendly rivalry between our two police services.

"I believe that in time this game will have a significance far beyond its sporting context."

Commissioner Byrne admitted to some anxious moments on the part of his team during the second half, when they looked like possibly surrendering their first-period superiority.

But he added: "The key point is that it was a very good and enjoyable game - and an historic one."

For security reasons, the names of the Northern Ireland team were not provided.

Mr Orde said: "The reality is it will take time to get fully integrated.

"The most important thing is that the team was here, and they played. It is yet another move forward in the peace process."

For the record, four yellow cards were shown during the game when two players on each side were booked for rough play.

At the end of the game, the Garda were presented with the McCarthy Cup, named after a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary, who was one of the founders of the GAA.

Ahead of going to the match, Kennedy and McDowell reviewed the current security position in Northern Ireland during an hour-long meeting.