Chinese officials were relieved to see David Andrews safely out of the country yesterday. His only previous visit, in September 1976, as president of the UCD touring football team, was marked by a cataclysmic event, the death of Mao Zedong, which plunged China into a state of mourning.
The programme had to be abandoned after just one match, although the team continued their journey to the planned venues. The single game, in Shanghai, ended in what the Minister for Foreign Affairs called a "diplomatic draw" - which means presumably that no one tried to score any goals. That about sums up this week's visit, what with Ireland abandoning its annual penalty kick at China in the UN Commission over human rights.