Doctors plea to GAA over players’ eye injuries

SCORES of young hurlers will be blinded permanently unless head gear with specific eye protection is made compulsory, specialists have warned.

Eye specialists from Waterford Regional Hospital (WRH) and Cork University Hospital (CUH) have teamed up to produce a report on eye injuries caused by hurling.

The report covers a period from December 1994 to 2000 and indicates that the two hospitals dealt with 308 eye injuries directly caused by hurling.

Five players were permanently blinded and a dozen more had permanent eye defects leading to reduced vision.

These figures do not include recent hurling injuries in the southeast which have left players permanently damaged.

Consultant ophthalmologist in Waterford Stephen Beatty was one of six eye specialists involved in the study.

“We are calling on the GAA to make the wearing of full protective headgear compulsory for all players,” he said. “If this does not happen, young men will continue to be blinded on a permanent basis with serious consequences for their quality of life.

“Wearing a helmet or indeed a helmet with a modified face protector is not sufficient, it is almost like not wearing any protection. Full protection needs to be worn to reduce the risk of serious eye injuries.

“Last month I operated on a young man who has now lost an eye because of a hurling game. As doctors we cannot sit back and let this continue. It took us a long time to get used to safety belts, but we did it. We are calling on the GAA to implement a compulsory wearing of protective head and eye gear.”

The report has been presented to the South Eastern Health Board. The members of the board welcomed the report and urged county and national GAA boards to look at the implementation of mandatory regulation requiring the wearing of helmets with proper eye protection.

Councillor Seamus Ryan said: “All of us here in the southeast are only too aware of the importance of hurling to the players who are involved. But we have to look to the health and safety of these players. Wearing protective eye gear will significantly reduce the number of serious eye injuries sustained through hurling.”