NYPD to play gardaí in Gaelic football match in Monaghan

Officers from the New York Police Department (NYPD) will take on gardaí in a gaelic football match in Monaghan this afternoon.

The players from NYPD GFC and An Garda Síochána's Divisional GAA team from Louth, Cavan and Monaghan will meet at the home of Ulster football, St Tiernach's Park in Clones at 1pm.

The exhibition match comes ahead of the book launch for "Project Children: The Legacy", by Derry author Jane Buckley at the Monaghan Peace Campus.

It will be launched by former NYPD detective and co-founder of the Project Children charity, Denis Mulcahy, this evening.

Project Children was founded in 1975 by Denis and Pat Mulcahy.

It has since given 23,000 protestant and catholic children from Northern Ireland the opportunity to spend summers with host families in the United States during the years of conflict.

The charity's work continues through scholarship and internship programmes, a Project Children archive and a permanent exhibition at the Monaghan Peace Campus.

Detective and manager of the NYPD Gaelic Football Club Patrick Daly said they were honoured to be involved.

"Throughout the years, the NYPD Gaelic Football Club has been involved with many charities and organizations.

"None of them embody our club's motto of "Keeping the Heritage Alive" more than Project Children, an organisation that helps bring the youth of Ireland and American communities together.

"It is always a great time when police officers get to compete against one another", he added.

Chief Superintendent Alan McGovern said the occasion celebrates an "enduring friendship between Ireland and the United States, and importantly, the remarkable legacy of Project Children in bringing young people and communities together".

A cross-community children's blitz will also take place before the main event and the public is invited to attend.