Teenage boy drops dead during hurling match

A TEENAGER who dropped dead during a hurling match died playing the game he loved, his grieving father said yesterday.

A devastated Michael O’Regan said his son Liam, aged 18, was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy — excessive thickening of the heart muscle — four years ago.

People with the condition are at risk of sudden death but Mr O’Regan said Liam knew the risks.

His son, who loved playing hurling with Ballinora GAA Club on the outskirts of Cork city, decided after the diagnosis to play in goal to minimise the risk.

But the hurling fanatic, who had just finished his Leaving Certificate exams in Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh last week and who had started a summer job with Iron Mountain in Carrigtwohill on Monday, moved outfield during a minor game against Kilmichael in Ballinora on Monday night.

His younger brother, Daragh, was playing alongside him. Mr O’Regan, who is chairman of Ballinora GAA Club’s juvenile section, and his wife, Ann, who live in Ballinvoltig, near Waterfall, were on the sideline. They watched in horror as Liam collapsed as he cleared a ball 10 minutes into the second half.

Two doctors who were watching the match, Dr Therese Crotty and Cork University Hospital (CUH) consultant Dr Mike O’Connor, his wife, and nurse Kay Poland, who lives locally, rushed onto the pitch.

They battled to save Liam’s life but he was pronounced dead on arrival at CUH a short time later.

A post mortem was carried out yesterday to establish the cause of death.

Liam’s death has shocked the tight-knit community, Ballinora club chairman John Brosnan said last night.

“Liam played both hurling and football but hurling was his passion,” he said.

“He was a model person in every respect — in his private life, as a student, in his attitude to games and life. He was a very dedicated and a very fair player. He was also very popular with his peers.

“Liam showed signs of being a great community leader. He coached the younger club players and he had great ideas about how the club could promote itself,” he said.

Mr Brosnan expressed his deepest sympathies on behalf of the club to the O’Regan family.

Liam’s team-mates will form a guard of honour for both the removal this evening at 7pm and the Requiem Mass at noon tomorrow at St James’ Church in Ballinora.