Davy bans journalist from press briefings

Clare hurling boss Davy Fitzgerald has banned Clare Champion journalist Peter O’Connell from attending any future press briefing involving the All-Ireland winning manager.

In a letter sent to the editor of the Clare Champion newspaper this week, Fitzgerald made clear he would not conduct any future interview with the journalist nor would he conduct post-match interviews with the print media if O’Connell was present.

Fitzgerald’s letter stems from the tunnel altercation which broke out following Saturday’s pulsating draw with Wexford in the All-Ireland hurling qualifiers.

The row broke out almost three-quarters of an hour after the full-time whistle when an irate Fitzgerald, unhappy with an article written by O’Connell in the aftermath of Clare’s Munster SHC defeat to Cork, accused the journalist of “trying to destroy Clare hurling and succeeding”.

“Now, he was being held back by somebody – I don’t know who it was because it just all happened so fast – and he was looking quite agitated to put it mildly and pointing and gesticulating and he had quite a bit to say, much of which I can’t repeat,” O’Connell told RTÉ radio this week.

The journalist will not be making a formal complaint to the Gardaí over the incident.