Club delegates warned to take concussion ‘very seriously’

‘I would see this as a commonsense motion,’ said Annacurra delegate John O’Neill as he spoke on his club’s motion in relation to concussion which called for adult county players suspected of having concussion must have adequate rest of at least 24-48 hours and then must follow a gradual return to play (GRPT) protocol.

It also stated that county players under the age of 18 suspected of having a concussion must rest for a minimum of 48 hours and then must follow the GRTP protocol.

A third strand of the motion stated that a gradual return to school/education strategy is also neccessary and that communication beteen doctors, parents and teachers is ‘essential’.

‘Most people agree that concussion is a growing problem in the game, it’s something we probably need to address. It’s fine to have guidelines but if they are not written down, they tend to be ignored so I think we need something in the rule in Wicklow for Wicklow county players.

‘We brought it in in our club for all of our players. There are two separate parts that deals with adult players and juvenile players and then a third part that deals with juvenile players returning to education.’

‘The protocol is already there,’ said Martin Fitzgerald, ‘and we’ll send it to every club after Christmas. It’s already there from Croke Park.

Michael Sargent asked about a player getting injured in a county match and the club not knowing about the injury.

‘Well, first of all the player should tell the club. But I think we’ll have to ask the managers to talk to their physios or doctors and pass the word on to the club,’ said County Chairman Martin Fitzgerald.

Éire Óg delegate Dr. Brendan Cuddihy agreed that the protocol on concussion was easily accessible on the GAA website and he warned delegates that concussion is a very serious matter and that ‘nobody wants to be faced with a player in a few years time with cognitive problems, who has problems with his mood, and they’re saying that the club is responsiuble fopr this. So, we all, as clubs, should take great care of our players, especially juvenile players, they are most vulnerable. And, there’s no equal opportunities in this sport. Ladies and camogie (players) are more vulnerable to concussion than their male counterparts. It’s a bigger problem there. Take it very seriously,’ he added.

County Chairman Martin Fitzgerald asked John O’Neill if he was ok to ‘let that go’ and the county go with the directives on the GAA website.

‘I am happy to do that so far as it needs to come from the County Board to ther county managers that this is the protocol becausem as you know very well, this year a manager completely ignored the protocol and over-ruled the medical professional who was attending a player. If you give me a commitment that you will ensure that all managers of all Wicklow county teams will adhere to it, I’ve no problem,’ he said.

‘John, the only thing I can do - we have told them as a management committee that they have to adhere by their medical people and I hope they stand by that. They have given us their word. I can’t make him (a manager) do it on the day,’ said Martin Fitzgerald.

John O’Neill agreed to withdraw the moton.