International Water Polo Match Attracts Sell-Out Crowd for Bank Holiday

The Irish Water Polo Association, in conjunction with Swim Ireland and the National Aquatic Centre are putting the finishing touches to their final preparations ahead of this Monday night's sell-out International Water Polo match at the National Aquatic Centre (NAC), Dublin against triple Olympic Champions Hungary and next year's Olympic hosts Great Britain. Both travelling teams are the top National squads in their respective countries.

With almost 2,000 spectators expected at the venue - which is also the home of Swim Ireland's National High Performance Centre - the NAC will host the highest caliber of Water Polo that Ireland has ever seen. Two live matches will be played- the first on Monday 6 June at the second on Tuesday 7 June also kicking off at 19:00.

Among the dignitaries due to attend are the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Mr. Leo Varadkar TD, as well as the Irish Sports Council's Chief Executive Officer Mr. John Treacy and the Hungarian Ambassador in Dublin, Mr. Ferenc Jari.

Bobby Nolan, President of the Irish Water Polo Association (IWPA) said the visit of the Hungarian International team is a major coup for the IWPA as they receive invites from countries all over the world to stage test matches. "We are delighted to welcome the Hungarian National team to Ireland and we hope they enjoy the top class facilities at the National Aquatic Centre. Water Polo fans have a unique opportunity to see the top players in the world display their talents against a Great Britain side participating in the Olympic Games next year. This is a major boost for Irish Water Polo."

This is the first visit by the Hungarian National team to Ireland and they will use the occasion as a training camp for the World Championships in Shanghai, China in July of this year.

Meanwhile, some of Ireland's top swimmers will compete this weekend at the Mare Nostrum Meet in Barcelona, Spain. Representing their home clubs will be Grainne Murphy, Melanie Nocher, Aisling Cooney, Peter Clarke, Nuala Murphy and Shani Stallard.