GAA player critical after off the ball incident in San Francisco

[joemamas]

Best wishes for a speedy and full recovery.

I presume like most things GAA in the US we'll never get to the truth of this incident.

What an asinine comment.

While I admit that 20-30 years ago, that sort of nonsense was largely ignored, there is little room for that carry on at the present time.

There are hundreds of people in the US that put in an incredible effort to keep Gaelic games alive. Travel is a huge issue the is no leisurly drive of a mile or two to your local field for practice. Generally one parent is busting a lung to get home from work to get his or her child to a practice, which normally due to shortage of field space is a set time. In addition, the managers/coaches of the underage teams unlike their counterparts in the majority of Ireland are trying to deal with kids who have the choice of playing baseball, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, etc.

The time and effort put in to field teams is immense.

I hope the Fermanagh lad had a full recovery and the culprit is dealt with quickly.

[Hardy]

Don't they have cops in San Francisco?

Jeepers you're older than I thought!

[deiseach]

Don't they have cops in San Francisco?

Jeepers you're older than I thought!

[ziggysego]

A Greencastle fella was playing on the same team as him during that game. Completed dumbfounded by the whole thing. Terrible thing to happen. I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.

[cadhlancian]

you can say whatever you want, it was only a matter of time before this happened, amazing that this hasnt happened already, hopefully he recovers fully

[Eamonnca1]

He's in a medically induced coma. Last I heard his condition has stabilised.  His family has flown in and they're with him.

SFPD is investigating.

[redandblack4ever]

Great word

bullpuckey

Glad you like it. I borrowed it from Rachel Maddow, a liberal commentator on MSNBC.

[mannix]

Get well soon, and shame on the buck ass that hit him hard enough to cause injury like it. I played in a few scrappy games in my own day and it's not hard to see why tempers fray, but still.

[sammymaguire]

Hopefully the lad pulls through with no lasting effects.

The bloke that done it should have a criminal record after something like that

[carnaross]

Terrible thing with no place on a Gaelic pitch, however, I'm told the culprit has visited the player in hospital and owned up.

[nrico2006]

Terrible thing with no place on a Gaelic pitch, however, I'm told the culprit has visited the player in hospital and owned up.

Sure it happens frequently in Ireland as well as in the US.  Not much will be done about it probably, you would be the worst in the world to go to the big bad police when someone hits or strikes you in a cowardly manner and causes god knows what damage.  Sick of that attitude myself, its like some sort of GAA loyalism that when an assault etc happens on the pitch that it has to be dealt with from within the organisation, and I am sure that anyone who decided to pursue action via the Police and Courts would not be looked upon in to good a light.  There is too many scum bags on the oitch who seem to think that once you are playing a game that you are immune to the laws that you would be held accountable to if you were on the street.  Only way this will be dealt with in the long term is to start bringing in the coppers for every case.

[Tyrones own]

Terrible thing with no place on a Gaelic pitch, however, I'm told the culprit has visited the player in hospital and owned up.

Sure it happens frequently in Ireland as well as in the US.  Not much will be done about it probably, you would be the worst in the world to go to the big bad police when someone hits or strikes you in a cowardly manner and causes god knows what damage.  Sick of that attitude myself, its like some sort of GAA loyalism that when an assault etc happens on the pitch that it has to be dealt with from within the organisation, and I am sure that anyone who decided to pursue action via the Police and Courts would not be looked upon in to good a light.  There is too many scum bags on the oitch who seem to think that once you are playing a game that you are immune to the laws that you would be held accountable to if you were on the street.  Only way this will be dealt with in the long term is to start bringing in the coppers for every case.

Exactly...Bar the extremely unfortunate outcome of this particular incident, is it much different to many games on any given Sunday?
Local word here has it that he's in fierce bad shape and yes, the lad that hit him did indeed visit him on Sunday evening.

[gerry]

UPDATE: "You won't get up from that," opposing player allegedly tells gravely injured athlete.

The San Francisco Police Department is investigating an "off-the-ball" incident that left 22-year-old Gaelic football player Mark McGovern in a coma Saturday night.

Just what transpired to put McGovern into General Hospital is not clear at this time. Police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza would only describe it as "some kind of on-field incident. There's an investigation but there's no arrest and nothing further." The police are still searching for eyewitnesses -- their anonymous tip line is (415) 575-4444.

Joe Duffy, the coach of McGovern's Ulster San Francisco club told the BBC that he and his colleagues have identified the opposing player involved in "the incident" and filed a police report. Our messages for Duffy have not yet been returned. SF Weekly has heard rumors among players in the San Francisco Gaelic Athletic Association that McGovern was involved in "a fracas." Teammate Terence Tracey notes, "I was playing in the game and did not see the incident, it was off the ball. ... To my knowledge you will not get an eyewitness."

Ulster's opponent in Saturday night's Treasure Island contest, Celts, is described on the SFGAA website as being "mostly made up of American-born players. We are keen to get more American-born people into our games."

Calls to Celts' players have not yet been returned.

Gaelic Football is a physical game resembling a blend of soccer and Australian Rules football. It is one of Ireland's national pastimes; there as here its players are strictly amateur.

McGovern plays for a club called Belcoo O'Rahilly in Northern Ireland. A release on the team's website notes that "all Mark's Immediate Family, Parents Danny & Josie, Sisters Connie, Helen & Grace ... his Uncle Bernard along with his Girlfriend Jessica and Lorna (Jessica's mother) are currently with him in San Francisco."

The club has been flooded with messages from well-wishers. The SFPD's Esparza notes that he has been deluged with calls from Ireland as well.

Update, 1:15 p.m.: Ulster coach Joe Duffy says he didn't see the incident -- but heard one of his players tell the police he witnessed a Celts player standing over a prone McGovern and saying "you won't get up from that." Game officials also spoke with police following the game.

Duffy ran onto the field 10 minutes into the second half when he was alerted that one of his players was down. "I didn't even know who it was. Mark was unconscious. And he went from being in the fetal position to on his back and then he had seizures. At that time, we didn't know what happened. We were obviously more concerned with getting Mark some medical attention."

The coach says that there was no noticeable "fracas" between McGovern or any opposing player. "The game was not played in a bad-tempered way." The SFPD has been given the identity of the Celts player noted above.

[deiseach]

UPDATE: "You won't get up from that," opposing player allegedly tells gravely injured athlete.

. . .

Teammate Terence Tracey notes, "I was playing in the game and did not see the incident, it was off the ball. ... To my knowledge you will not get an eyewitness."

For an incident with no eyewitnesses, how do they know this was said? An earwitness?

[AZOffaly]

Better news from San Francisco, from SportsNews Ireland.

Mark McGovern, the promising GAA player who was left in a coma in the US after an incident last week is now showing signs of improvement, according to his doctors.

The 22 year old who is in San Francisco General Hospital is responding well to treatment and there is every hope that he will make a full recovery from his injuries. A spokesperson for the hospital said that although his situation is still "critical" doctors are confident that he can pull through.

McGovern was playing his first game for the Ulster SF club last Saturday evening when he suffered a severe head injury. No one that attended the game saw the incident but two witnesses told police that they overheard another player saying to McGovern ""you won't get up from that".

The incident is still been investigated by the police and no arrests have been made.