Ronaldo, Real seek pre-season seclusion in Ireland

By Padraic Halpin

MAYNOOTH, Ireland (Reuters) - The Irish town of Maynooth, known as an education centre for catholic priests, welcomed some very different trainees this week with the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo and his new Real Madrid team mates.

Not that many locals would have noticed.

The free spending Spanish side are keeping a low profile on the outskirts of Dublin with fans told to stay away from their pre-season training camp. Some 1,500 were left at the gates on Tuesday in the vain hope of seeing a Galactico or two.

Photographers hoping to catch the world's most expensive player Ronaldo or fellow major signing Karim Benzema sneaking out for a late night drink would have been just as disappointed.

"It really is all about work for them, the week is totally about providing an intensive working environment," David Webster, general manager of the Carton House hotel, Real's plush temporary home for the week, told Reuters.

The hotel, which lies on an eight-century old estate of 1,100 acres, boasts two golf courses with one designed by Colin Montgomerie twice hosting the Irish Open. It was first mooted as Real's summer base late last year.

After hosting the Brazilian national team six months earlier, the hotel invested heavily in a state of the art playing surface, complete with an irrigation system identical to that at Old Trafford.

Together with Platinum One, the Irish promotions group that brought Barcelona to Scotland during the last two pre-seasons, they offered the Spanish champions fiercest rivals some peace, quiet and moderate weather.