Cúl in Pretoria as Michael D Higgins attends GAA final

It was a GAA final like no other. The winning team was of mixed gender, nearly all were black, but, most extraordinarily, all wore Mayo’s red and green, and they won. Is this a record?

They beat a Tyrone team of similar composition, each carrying the legend “Lámh Dearg CLG” on his/her back. As one such Tyrone player said, it was a case of “the red hand with black skin”.

Yes, indeed, it was a GAA football final like no other.

The ball was thrown in by President Michael D Higgins, who made a restrained retreat as sound and fury followed in his wake.

An eventual low score belied the skills of either side, but winning five points to four probably means the curse that has plagued Mayo since 1951 has been lifted. Free at last.

South Africa Gaels have existed since 2010. Chairman David Devine is an engineer from The Curragh in Co Kildare and has been in South Africa for 11 years. "All these children are from the townships of Alexandra and Tembisa," he said. "They love the game." Up to 80 are involved in their junior leagues, with 60 at senior level.

Song and dance

Victory theirs, the Mayo players celebrated in a style rarely seen in Bohola. Indeed such was the effect of their intoxicating song and dance routine that defeated Tyrone players joined in. It wouldn’t happen in Croke Park.

President Higgins said: "It's been a fantastic year for the GAA in Ireland, everyone agrees that." Since he became President three years ago he'd attended GAA games at "Ruislip in London, here, and I've also seen Gaelic games being played in Buenos Aires in Argentina".

He wanted “as President of Ireland, to recognise all those who are doing this wonderful extension of the GAA around the world and to be here in Pretoria and to see what pleasure and fun it is providing for everybody. ”

At a Business Ireland networking event in Johannesburg on Friday night, the President pointed out that “trade between Africa and Ireland is expected to reach €24 billion by the year 2020”.