GAA player critical after off the ball incident in San Francisco

mick999 · June 28, 2011, 09:56:02 AM

Sad news this morning, Hope he pulls through ..
http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/championship/2011/0628/gaa.html

http://freeteams.net/belcoo/

GAA player critical after off the ball incident
Mark McGovern - Left Ireland last week for a three-week stay in the US Tuesday, 28 June 2011 09:48
The Star newspaper is reporting that a 22-year-old from Fermanagh is in a crictical condition in a US hospital after being involved in an off the ball incident during a club football game in San Francisco over the weekend.

Mark McGovern from the Belcoo O'Rahilly's club in Fermanagh was rushed to hospital on Saturday night after the altercation, while playing his first game for the Ulster Club.

The player is believed to have been involved in a clash with a player from the opposing Celts side, which resulted in a brain injury.

A statement from Belcoo O'Rahilly's read: 'The club would like to ask all its members to keep Mark McGovern and his family in our thoughts and prayers. Mark suffered a severe head injury during his debut for Ulster San Francisco on Saturday night and he has been in a coma since.

'Two other Belcoo players, Emmet Scollan and Ciaran Flaherty, were playing the the same game and they have been at Mark's bedside since.

'Messages of support have been overwhelming but we would like to keep the three lads in our prayers and we hope Mark comes around shortly and he can make a full recovery.'

AZOffaly · June 28, 2011, 09:59:14 AM

Feck, that's brutal. In general the games in America have come on a lot in terms of the discipline, but it's awful to hear something like this. Could have happened in Ireland just as easy I know. I hope he is okay, and while it's very much a secondary concern at this stage, I hope he's legal and has insurance.

AidyMac · June 28, 2011, 10:08:37 AM

I know Mark well and you would have to travel far to meet a nicer fella. Hopefully he pulls through and the latest news was that there were encouraging signs, so hopefully he makes it through.

blewuporstuffed · June 28, 2011, 10:08:46 AM

terrible stuff

hope he gets through it

irunthev · June 28, 2011, 10:10:32 AM

Quote from: AZOffaly on June 28, 2011, 09:59:14 AM
Feck, that's brutal. In general the games in America have come on a lot in terms of the discipline, but it's awful to hear something like this. Could have happened in Ireland just as easy I know. I hope he is okay, and while it's very much a secondary concern at this stage, I hope he's legal and has insurance.

I went to Chicago one summer and left half way through I was so disgusted with the brutality of the game there. Refereeing was abysmal ad half the lads playing, especially the out of town guys, just seem to think that anything goes when you're away from home. Sadly I'm only surprised that more incidents like this don't happen in the States. Maybe my experience was just a bad one but I saw more than one guy end up in hospital because of events both on the field and in the bar afterwards. No one seemed to care though.

AZOffaly · June 28, 2011, 10:15:01 AM

Quote from: irunthev on June 28, 2011, 10:10:32 AM
Quote from: AZOffaly on June 28, 2011, 09:59:14 AM
Feck, that's brutal. In general the games in America have come on a lot in terms of the discipline, but it's awful to hear something like this. Could have happened in Ireland just as easy I know. I hope he is okay, and while it's very much a secondary concern at this stage, I hope he's legal and has insurance.

I went to Chicago one summer and left half way through I was so disgusted with the brutality of the game there. Refereeing was abysmal ad half the lads playing, especially the out of town guys, just seem to think that anything goes when you're away from home. Sadly I'm only surprised that more incidents like this don't happen in the States. Maybe my experience was just a bad one but I saw more than one guy end up in hospital because of events both on the field and in the bar afterwards. No one seemed to care though.

When was that? I played with a team in San Diego, and we played all over the country including San Fran, Chicago, Washington etc. I had heard the horror stories, but I never encountered anything apart from a corner back from LA trying to box my kidneys into the next field for the duration of an entire game. I played a few times in San Fran and Chicago, and against teams from those places, and I never had any problems at all, and I was a scoring corner forward, i.e. a prime candidate for a quietening.

irunthev · June 28, 2011, 10:36:45 AM

Quote from: AZOffaly on June 28, 2011, 10:15:01 AM
Quote from: irunthev on June 28, 2011, 10:10:32 AM
Quote from: AZOffaly on June 28, 2011, 09:59:14 AM
Feck, that's brutal. In general the games in America have come on a lot in terms of the discipline, but it's awful to hear something like this. Could have happened in Ireland just as easy I know. I hope he is okay, and while it's very much a secondary concern at this stage, I hope he's legal and has insurance.

I went to Chicago one summer and left half way through I was so disgusted with the brutality of the game there. Refereeing was abysmal ad half the lads playing, especially the out of town guys, just seem to think that anything goes when you're away from home. Sadly I'm only surprised that more incidents like this don't happen in the States. Maybe my experience was just a bad one but I saw more than one guy end up in hospital because of events both on the field and in the bar afterwards. No one seemed to care though.

When was that? I played with a team in San Diego, and we played all over the country including San Fran, Chicago, Washington etc. I had heard the horror stories, but I never encountered anything apart from a corner back from LA trying to box my kidneys into the next field for the duration of an entire game. I played a few times in San Fran and Chicago, and against teams from those places, and I never had any problems at all, and I was a scoring corner forward, i.e. a prime candidate for a quietening.

Summer of 1999. Every single game I played in and several that I umpired in, ended in free-for-alls. The last match I was at there, a game between Tones and Brendans "B" teams, ended with two guys having to be taken to hospital with broken bones. One fella got a frightful kicking ( and I mean a right proper kicking) in the goal mouth where I was umpiring, I let the referee know who the culprits were and he just said that he was in charge and he would deal with it. Needless to say he did nothing. At the end of the game Gaelic Park witnessed the bizarre sight of an umpire (I played for Parnells so had no allegiance) letting the referee know how incompetent he was. The ref, who was also the CB Chairman believe it or not, said if I said another word I'd never play in Chicago again. I simply told him if that was the way things went in Chicago then I didn't want to play in Chicago and hopped on a plane a few days later.

unitedireland · June 28, 2011, 10:48:36 AM

Get well soon Mark, you couldnt meet a nicer fella. Our prayers are with you and your family.

FermGael · June 28, 2011, 11:43:27 AM

Very nice fella and a good footballer as well. Hopefully he pulls through.

fitzroyalty · June 28, 2011, 12:07:06 PM

I don't know him personally but he's a friend of a friend, also know a couple of his teammates out in San Fran. Shocking and I hope he pulls through.

Apparently the culprit had some form of martial arts and judased him from behind. If that is true then he needs locked up.

Rossfan · June 28, 2011, 12:25:07 PM

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.

Hardy · June 28, 2011, 12:47:32 PM

Don't they have cops in San Francisco?

deiseach · June 28, 2011, 01:25:12 PM

Quote from: Hardy on June 28, 2011, 12:47:32 PM
Don't they have cops in San Francisco?

redandblack4ever · June 28, 2011, 01:59:44 PM

That's awful. Prayers will be said for the player injured.

Well thankfully, here in Chicago the Brendans are no more. In 1999 the County Board Chairman was a fella who did everything and I mean everything for the Brendans and absolutely nothing for any other team in Chicago except for the Cuchullains Hurling Club which he founded. He was the worst referee and County Board Chairman ever in the history of the GAA in Chicago. I had a few run ins with him myself.

Things have changed in Chicago. Since the ban on bringing out County Players went into effect in 2007, things have calmed down between the clubs (no more massive money having to be raised) and the present County Board Chairman and the previous one are good guys that didn't take any bullpuckey from the clubs or their mentors.

If the San Francisco Board doesn't do anything about this incident, shame on them. Don't count on the NACB Board doing anything either. They'll just pontificate and tell everyone it's beyond their jurisdiction.

I would've called the police and had the guy that did this arrested on the spot. But that's me. God knows I pissed off a lot of people here in Chicago and within my own club, the Chicago Wolfe Tones, during the past few years, but I call things as I see them and if other people don't like it, they can go suck lemons.

Mrs. redandblack4ever

AZOffaly · June 28, 2011, 02:05:02 PM

Great word

Quotebullpuckey