All the best shots from the Hurling for Cancer charity game

Five days before Sunday's All-Ireland hurling final in Croke Park, 6,124 people turned up for an appetiser in Newbridge's St Conleth’s Park for the eighth edition of the hugely successful Hurling for Cancer charity game.

The event has become a popular fund-raising staple in social and sporting calendars, with its success already yielding over €850,000 for the Irish Cancer Society’s research programme before this year’s tally is confirmed.

Jim Bolger, his daughter Una Manning and Davy Russell, the driving forces behind the concept, drew another stellar line up for the 2019 game.

Ruby Walsh and Shane Foley were among the racing folk to take to the field, alongside GAA icons like Lee Chin, Brendan Cummins, Tommy Walsh, Ursula Jacob and Aisling Thompson, while football stars Niall Quinn and Stephen Hunt also lined out.

On an evening defined by a carnival vibe, and with totemic Ireland, Manchester United and Aston Villa defender Paul McGrath also among the celebrity spectators, the diplomatic skills of Willie Mullins, Rich Ricci and Paul Nolan were put to the test in an umpiring capacity.