GAA player hospitalised in pitch brawl

This is the face of a young GAA star after he was attacked during a game.

Ronan Lennon had to be rushed by ambulance to Letterkenny General Hospital in Co Donegal after the incident during a club game against Naomh Conaill from Glenties.

The St Eunan’s player suffered injuries to both his nose and eyes during the incident and is awaiting the results of tests.

Ronan, the son of well-known former Garda Superintendent Kevin Lennon, was released from hospital on Sunday night.

A spokesman for St Eunan’s said the club was annoyed by the incident but was awaiting the outcome of the referee’s report before deciding how to proceed in the matter.

A Naomh Conaill player was also taken to hospital by car. The extent of his injuries is unknown.

An eyewitness at the game said both teams — playing a reserve fixture — were involved in a brawl which lasted a couple of minutes.

“Both sides were involved and it was pretty bad at one stage,” said the witness.

“I saw at least two players who had injuries after the incident. It broke out very quickly and it got out of control.”

Another witness said: “From the stand it looked really bad. The Eunan’s player was down for a long time.

“He was being kicked in the head at one stage.”

The referee stopped the match, with St Eunan’s leading Naomh Conaill 4-04 to 1-05 at the time.

An ambulance had to come onto the pitch to pick up Ronan for his journey to hospital.

A full report on the incident is expected to be forwarded by the referee to the county board.

The senior game took place on the same pitch later — St Eunan’s winning by six points.

A spokesman for the Garda press office confirmed that gardaí in Letterkenny are aware of the incident.

However, the spokesman added that gardaí have yet to receive an official complaint.