Mortimer: Brolly attack ‘disrespectful’

MAYO ace Conor Mortimer has described scathing personal criticism from TV pundit and former Derry star Joe Brolly as “disrespectful.”

Brolly lambasted Mortimer following Mayo’s qualifier defeat against Derry in a ‘Gaelic Life’ magazine article.

Brolly said that 2006 All-star Mortimer, who finished as his county’s top championship scorer again this year, is “no good anyway” and that his Derry marker in the recent qualifier, Michael McGoldrick, had put him in his pocket “and fed him on farts.”

Brolly’s criticism has enraged football fans in Mayo and county board secretary Seán Feeney described the comments as “way over the top.”

Mortimer, who scored 0-14 in three championship outings this summer, was made aware of Brolly’s criticism by friends.

And he said: “It’s disrespectful, especially coming from a so-called GAA person.

“But the only opinions that really matter to me are from people close to me and genuine Mayo football supporters. Joe Brolly’s opinions don’t register with me to be honest.

“I accept that he’s there to do a job but he hasn’t annoyed me personally.

“Other people have commented on what he said to me and that’s how I became aware of what he said.”

DCU student Mortimer landed six points against Galway in the Connacht SFC, 0-7 against Cavan in the qualifiers and a point in the Derry defeat.

And he vowed that Mayo will regroup and bounce back strongly from this year’s disappointing campaign.

He added: “The break will do us good. We’ll come back fresh again and we’ll be contenders, with renewed enthusiasm.”