Russian President Dmitry Medvedev would be keen to take in a GAA match if he visits Ireland, President Mary McAleese announced yesterday.
Speaking at the first official meeting between both heads of state, Mrs McAleese said she had also promised to send Mr Medvedev DVDs of football and hurling.
“I extended the invitation to President Medvedev and his wife (Svetlana) to come to Ireland,” she said.
“First of all he didn’t say no, and he was very taken with the idea.
“I think we managed to persuade him that hurling and gaelic football were well worth seeing,” she added.
President McAleese is continuing her visit to the Russian Federation where she is discussing trade between both nations and the development of business links, particularly in the hi-tech sectors.
“President Medvedev described today’s meeting as a milestone event, an historic event for Irish and Russian relationships,” Mrs McAleese said.
“At an economic level, the relationship is growing. We do about €2bn worth of business and while that took a bit of a dip during the really bad year it has shown a remarkable capacity to rebound which is indicative of the growing strength of the Russian economy.”
