THE summer season of polo at the AIPC came to a dramatic conclusion when a yellow alert storm passed through the inaugural Pink Polo in the Park, a fundraising tournament held last weekend at the Phoenix Park between Ireland and Canada for Breast Cancer Ireland, kindly sponsored by Nissan.

The going was tough for Ireland’s team captain Caroline Keeling, Dan Laverty, Colm Kelleher and Michael Connolly and for Andrew Rivkin, team captain for Canada along with Evan White Jnr, Mitch Ward and Kingsley Ward Jnr - the portion of the Nine Acres where polo is played each summer already requiring a dose of care and attention even before the storm hit.

Colm Kelleher

Organising the fundraiser was Ireland’s Colm Kelleher, who went on to score the goals that would win the international tournament for Ireland after first scoring an own goal that put Canada in the running for the trophy, sponsored by Galway Crystal for Breast Cancer Ireland.

The Canadians’ involvement in the tournament was a foregone conclusion considering that the country’s rugby team is hosting Ireland this weekend.

The team was there to support the charity fundraiser attracting 200 spectators who watched the match from the comfort of a purpose-built marquee and on the pavilion at the AIPC.

Kelleher said that in spite of the own goal, the match that brought Canada to Ireland had gone well.

“They run a fundraiser every year for charity and they were very empathetic to the tournament,” he said. “They see polo as a means to raise funds for charity.”

Ireland was in the lead by the end of the first of four chukkas with two goals to nil, but a failed penalty goal was compounded with that own goal when a bad bounce of the ball with Ireland’s Colm Kelleher in possession scored the first goal for Canada.

With the storm seemingly centred over the AIPC, it was understandable to see Ireland lose heart until Michael Connolly rallied late in the second chukka with consecutive earned goals, the second with a long drive of around 80 yards from the off-side of the field.

Canada crept back through the driving rain with a rally in the third chukka that began with Andrew Rivkin and ended when Mitch Ward tied the score at five-all, but Kelleher’s earlier own goal was redeemed when he scored the first of two tie-breaking goals, the second following in the fourth chukka to win the international tournament with a score of seven goals to Ireland and five to Canada.

Fundraising for Breast Cancer Ireland was on behalf of vital research in ending a disease that affects 2,400 women each year.

“Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women in Ireland with 2,400 cases diagnosed every year,” said Deirdre Fahy, RCSI, on behalf of Breast Cancer Ireland. “Breast cancer research plays a vital role in transforming what is often a fatal disease into a treatable, long-term illness.”

Team captain Will Clarke, Julie Kavanagh, David Stone Jnr and Jamie McCarthy for Breast Cancer Ireland won their tournament with six goals to five against Nissan’s captain Eamonn Laverty, Paul Ronan, Denis Connolly and Facundo Matilla.