On the camel's back and hopping a ball

Galway manager and Irish Times analyst John O'Mahony was invited to take charge of the 1999 Eircell football All Stars in their exhibition match against the 2000 All Stars in Dubai last week.

Tuesday, January 23rd

In the changing world of GAA coaches, January has become the month for travel. I was just back from the Galway footballers' trip to South Africa, where we holidayed in Cape Town. Kerry were in Beijing and Thailand. Also out in the Far East were the hurlers from Kilkenny and Offaly and the Armagh and Kildare footballers. So most of the players had already been away this month.

In Heathrow, there was a lot of comparing of notes on these trips as everyone arrived from various airports at home. The party was two short, as Ciaran O'Sullivan and Mike Frank Russell had to withdraw late in the day and there was no time to replace them.

I don't sleep very much on planes. Long-haul flights don't give you much space these days and there's no great opportunity to relax. It was a tired-looking bunch that arrived in Dubai at about eight in the morning.

Wednesday, January 24th

The day started with two breakfasts, one on the plane and another on arrival at the hotel. Sorting out the accommodation took a long time, and some didn't get their rooms until the afternoon. I was lucky and got my key quite quickly and was able to sleep for a few hours.

In the evening we attended a traditional Bedouin evening. This consisted of a barbecue buffet in the dunes, camel rides into the desert and dressing up in native costumes, abayas for the women and kanduras for the men. The dunes reminded a few of us of the heavy training that we'll all be starting when we get back.

Earlier in the evening we were met by Michael Osbourne (former chairman of the Kildare GAA supporters club who has extensive knowledge of Dubai through his work with the Maktoum stables). He briefed us on the area. Dubai is the second biggest of the Emirates, with a population of 695,000. Oil isn't the big revenue earner: tourism and general trading accounts for 80 per cent with gold a major element in the trading.

In Dubai there are about 2,000 Irish nationals, and others came in from other Emirates for the match. A lot of them are into the GAA even though they wouldn't have been involved back home. There's a club called the Dubai Celts which is very active.

Thursday, January 25th

Today is the eve of the match. Playing gear was allocated to the teams and we went to the pitch for a run-out. The venue, the Dubai Exiles rugby club, has a complex of pitches. The pitch was very firm but not concrete hard, as it is watered regularly.

It's smaller than a normal football pitch and ideally suited to 13-a-side - which was fine as we had just 26 fit players; Trevor Giles and Ian Robertson were both carrying injuries. I had a chat with Paidi O Se (Kerry manager in charge of the 2000 team) and we agreed that the most important priority was not to take a chance with any player's fitness.

We went to the races in the evening. Racing is very, very big here. The Nadal Sheba track is a magnificent facility in the middle of nowhere. Floodlit, it contains viewing boxes, restaurants and museums. A few things occur to you: one, there's no admission charge and people come and go as they please; secondly, there are no bookies as gambling is contrary to Islam. And at some time in the evening, all present in native costume, except the children, turned and faced Mecca, a striking sight.

Friday, January 26th

I'm not familiar with All Stars tours. In the old days when the All-Ireland champions played the All Stars, there was a convention that the defeated All-Ireland finalists would provide the manager. Unfortunately for me the practice was that the county's Central Council delegate should do the job. So in 1989, when Mayo lost to Cork, it wasn't me who travelled. Paidi, on the other hand, is on his 11th or 12th All Stars trip. I know it's not championship intensity, but one of the things we did try to impress on the players was that a lot of people had travelled and we should put on a good show and not let down those who had come to watch.

This was the hottest day so far and we decided to play three 20-minute periods to allow rest and water. The teams were taken to the ground on separate coaches, and all we were short were the Garda escorts. The match had very little competitive edge.

The 13-a-side game is very attractive. As most serious matches are all about closing down space, the extra room in this makes a big difference. You pull out the full back and full forward and it means more space in front of goal and corner backs have more ground to cover.

Neither team was able to sit on a lead. My side were beaten in the end, but the blow was softened by the sight of Padraig Joyce ending up with three goals and getting the man of the match award at a reception given by the local GAA club.

Saturday, January 27th

This is a free day. There's not much to do apart from shopping - something GAA players aren't particularly good at - and lying out by the swimming pool. There seems to be a plan now that the football and hurling All Stars will alternate their trips abroad every year.

There's talk of the hurlers going to Argentina next year. These trips still have their attractions. The All Star is still a big honour and I haven't met a player yet who wouldn't like one. Tours show that players' contributions are still appreciated and have a role in bridging the gap between players and administrators. I think on balance they should take place annually for both football and hurling.

John O'Mahony was talking to Sean Moran