The Gathering Dublin concludes with Ireland defeating Wales in basketball

We could not have asked for a better conclusion to the Gathering Dublin then what we saw two Saturdays ago, in the National Basketball Arena, in Tallaght. Irish men and women came together to take on Welsh select squads in games of basketball as part of The Gathering Shield and had decisive victories in both games. The Irish Women's Premier League All-Stars defeated the Welsh select squad 90-34, while the Men's Premier League All-Stars defeated their counterparts 90-47.

And thus it brings a conclusion to our year of events. The day before The Gathering Shield we had a bridge Gathering in Citywest Hotel and Conference Resort, which saw a variety of national and international visitors competing for the overall cash prize. And that was just one weekend!

We had nearly 40 events over the year, from Baseball to Cricket, with three games of American Football in Tallaght Stadium with free admission for roaring fans. We had family Gatherings, artistic Gatherings, Poker Gatherings and Kickboxing Gatherings. A lot of different sports, a host of interesting tournaments and many, many satisfied visitors.

It's been a great year for us at The Gathering Dublin, welcoming our international visitors and seeing the local communities get involved. A big thanks to all our volunteers who helped out at the tournaments and a fond goodbye to the sporting organisations who helped make it happen. We've already got tournaments lined up for the next two years that spun out of what was run this year, so let's hope that in the near future we can once again work together and show the world the spirit of competition and friendliness of character that the Irish are famous for!

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Slán abhaile to all our visitors travelling home!