All Stars all square on day of celebration

IT was honours even in this meeting of the touring All Star teams of 2008 and 2009 in Hurlingham on Saturday, a fitting result to what was an entertaining affair.

In atmosphere and setting, The Hurling Club – a sprawling complex founded in the 1940s by a group of Irish immigrants – resembled New York’s Gaelic Park.

All the elements were there, shirt-sleeved supporters under blue skies, a railway line in the background, 13-a-side teams, quip-filled live commentary (the indomitable Micheál O Muircheartaigh doing the honours, a Tony Browne point “From all of 109 yards, the longest point ever scored in a hurling match in Argentina!” typical of the offerings), along with a mix of native Irish socialising alongside those whose ancestry is part Irish.