A local fireworks factory came to the rescue at the weekend of the organisers of the third All-China Gaelic Games Finals held in the Chinese capital, Beijing.
The organisers of the tournament were finding it difficult to find regulation GAA goalposts. But one of the cities many fireworks factories manufactured the distinctive H-shaped posts, which were delivered to the Chaoyang stadium on Friday, hours before the games began.
More than 130 men and women took part in the Gaelic football action with teams from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing battling it out for the All-China Cup in seven-a-side tournaments.
The Beijing men's team saw off a strong Hong Kong side to win the title 2:2 to 0:3, dashing Hong Kong's hopes of making it three in a row.
However, the Beijing women's team were overwhelmed by a strong contingent from Hong Kong, who won their third title in a row 3:3 to 1:1.
"As you can see, we're gearing up to take the traditional Chinese sports like table tennis and badminton head on," said a jubilant Peter Goff, captain of the winning Beijing side.
Although the founding members of most clubs in Asia are Irish, the game has a huge international appeal. Apart from Irish and Chinese, players from more than 20 countries including Tanzania, Thailand, Mauritius and Malaysia displayed their skills on Saturday.
One of the Beijing GAA team's players, Li Pengtao (27), a marketing executive from northeastern Liaoning province, particularly enjoys the pace and physicality of the game.
"Sometimes the tackles are very strong. It can be extremely tough. But it is also skilful because you use both your hands and your feet."
GAA referee Peter O'Reilly was brought from Ireland for the event. He thought the Referee Council was joking when they asked him to officiate.
"I was absolutely flabbergasted. There was a very good standard of football there. You have to work hard to get a standard like that," said O'Reilly.
Fergal Power, captain of the Hong Kong side - unbeaten in China until this weekend - said the standard is improving all the time. "If you compare the level of playing today to something like the Asian Games three years ago, it's amazing."
The Hong Kong GAA recently launched a weekly Gaelic football league, Asia's first. Irish Ambassador to China Declan Kelleher, guest of honour at the game, was impressed by the commitment of the players and the standard of play. "It was very enjoyable and keenly contested," he added.