Gaelic Games: This year's Vodafone All Star football touring party will depart tomorrow for Hong Kong with one late addition to the 2003 selection. Donegal's Damien Diver was called in as a replacement for Tom Kelly of Laois, who recently broke a collarbone - although he will still travel.
The 2004 selection will play an exhibition game against the 2003 selection this Saturday at the Hong Kong Football Club, which has successfully promoted the Asian GAA Games for the past number of years.
GAA president Sean Kelly is among the invited guests, while the two team managers are Mickey Harte from Tyrone and John Maughan from Mayo.
Included on the 2004 team is Wexford's first football All Star Matty Forde, who has announced that he will be concentrating solely on football for the upcoming league, but might yet play some role with the Wexford hurlers in the championship.
ALL STAR TEAMS
2004 SELECTION: Diarmuid Murphy (Kerry); Tom O'Sullivan (Kerry), Barry Owens (Fermanagh), Ryan McMenamin (Tyrone); David Heaney (Mayo), James Nallen (Mayo), John Keane (Westmeath); Martin McGrath (Fermanagh), Ronan McGarrity (Mayo); Paul Galvin (Kerry), Ciarán McDonald (Mayo), Dessie Dolan (Westmeath); Colm Cooper (Kerry), Padraic Joyce (Galway), Matty Forde (Wexford), Enda Muldoon (Derry).
2003 SELECTION (from): Fergal Byron (Laois), Francie Bellew (Armagh), Enda McNulty (Armagh), Declan Meehan (Galway), Conor Gormley (Tyrone), William Kirby (Kerry), Damien Diver (Donegal), Seán Kavanagh (Tyrone), Padraig Clancy (Laois), Brian Dooher (Tyrone), Brian McGuigan (Tyrone), Declan Browne (Tipperary), Steven McDonnell (Armagh), Peter Canavan (Tyrone), Adrian Sweeney (Donegal), Joe Higgins (Laois), Kevin Walsh (Galway), Philip Jordan (Tyrone), Tom Kelly (Laois).
