Bingham Cup - Gay event in Ireland sign of tolerance

OUTPLAYING Sydney is no mean boast when it comes to hosting gay events.

But Dublin can claim that distinction after winning the hotly contested race to host next year’s Bingham Cup, an international gay rugby tournament and the largest biennial amateur 15s rugby tournament in the world.

With thousands of gay fans expected to descend on Ireland for the event, Dublin will become the gay capital of the world next June.

No doubt, this news will be greeted by a flood of puns and quips of the “crouch, touch, hold and engage” variety. Yet, on a more serious note, the fact the IRFU has backed next summer’s gay rugby spectacle at the DCU campus, is a positive sign of Ireland’s growing sense of tolerance, pluralism and maturity.