Club boss leaps to defence of Brennan

DONIE BRENNAN’S club manager has launched an impassioned defence of the player who was dropped from the Laois senior panel by Sean Dempsey in controversial circumstances late last month.

Arles-Killeen’s Nicky McGrath, who has previously managed Kilmacud Crokes, wrote to Dempsey, county board officials and a local paper to ask why the attacker was not informed of his demotion in “a proper manner”.

According to McGrath, Brennan was given different reasons for being dropped. One was for a breach of discipline and another, which he apparently learned from other players, was he was not “the complete player”.

The alleged disciplinary breaches are all alcohol related. McGrath has rejected each in turn, including one that the player had been drinking after a recent club game against Portlaoise.

“If this is correct then I would suggest that at least 50% of the panel should have been dropped,” McGrath said. Another accusation relating to the night of a game against O’Dempsey’s has been refuted altogether.

Another suggested breach was whilst in Clare on a training camp but McGrath pointed out that players were allowed drink in a supervised manner.

“Anybody who knows Donie Brennan knows that he very rarely drinks due to his condition as a diabetic. There is a view and a belief out there he is still suffering for the decisions he made while Micko was in charge.”

Brennan was dropped from Dempsey’s U21 panel for an All-Ireland semi-final against Cork in 2006 after making himself available for a senior game against Kerry. Two others were dropped, both only from the team, for the same reason.

“Surely he is entitled to know in a proper manner why it was considered necessary to drop him from the panel, particularly as the reports from the camp suggest he’d be starting in the championship,” he said.

Brennan won a minor All-Ireland in 2003, made his senior debut in the replayed Leinster final against Westmeath in 2004 and captained Knockbeg College to an All-Ireland in 2005.