16/05/2003

British services defeated in historic GAA match

The Irish Army have defeated a combined British Combined Services team in the first ever GAA game between the two forces.

The match was held in Co. Kildare yesterday afternoon with the Irish team coming out on top 4-26 to 3-02.

The match, the first of its kind in Ireland, follows last year's decision by the GAA to scrap its controversial Rule 21, which banned members of the security forces from participating in Gaelic games.

It also follows last October's ground breaking game in which the PSNI played their Irish counterparts, An Guarda Siochana, in a match held in Dublin.

The captain of the British team, Captain George Campbell, described the game as a worthwhile exercise. He added: ''It was a little difficult to learn the rules, and taking up the ball was hardest part from our point of view.

''If you relate it to the FA Cup, they are the big boys and we are the minnows. But we never took our foot off the gas and it was enjoyable."

(MB)

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