Rory to play it safe on concussion
The full-back was, famously, left on the field for the last ten minutes of the All-Ireland final against Mayo in 2013 after being concussed and is an ambassador for Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Ireland.
O’Carroll stated yesterday that the decider two years ago was the only time he has been concussed. However, in an interview given last year, he remarked that he probably suffered another whilst still a minor, though that wasn’t diagnosed at the time.
He played on that day, too.
According to ABI, three concussions marks the point where athletes should consider cashing in their chips and, whatever the actual number of concussions O’Carroll has suffered thus far, the next one may see him walk away.
“I would yeah,” said the player who is due back from a hamstring injury ten days before Dublin open their campaign on May 31. “Your career could be … on average, ten years is a good one. Out of your life that could be an eighth.
“I would rather consider my future life, to be honest.”
O’Carroll is confident however that, should he suffer another concussion, the protocols are now in place on the sidelines to ensure that he would not be left to wander around the pitch in a daze, as he did three years ago.
The GAA issued its own set of concussion guidelines in 2013 and has since updated them, while proposals to hand referees greater powers in removing players suspected of being concussed have been put forward.
O’Carroll spoke out about concussion last February when, in a letter to one newspaper, he expressed confusion as to how Rory Best could play for Ireland against Italy a week after being concussed against France.
He pointed out in that letter that some clarity was required given the IRFU’s own concussion guide stated that a minimum period of 14 days rest was advised in the post-concussion period.
Concussion has become a thorny subject in rugby with statistics and surveys showing an alarming increase in incidence, but the issue is less prevalent in GAA where 0.8% of footballers and 0.5% of hurlers have reported experiencing symptoms.
“I suppose you have to look at where is it most likely to happen,” said O’Carroll. “I don’t want to get into GAA bashing rugby. That’s not what it’s about. My views don’t represent Dublin GAA or anybody else, apart from myself.
“Concussion happens in American football which is played in Ireland and many other sports which are played in Ireland. It’s not just a rugby thing. What sparked this was my letter to the Irish Times and that was specifically in relation to rugby.”
It was an engaging discussion with O’Carroll, with the Kilmacud Crokes man being quizzed on other topical issues aside from ‘the Dubs’ such as blood testing for GAA players and the approaching marriage referendum.
He has no issues with the introduction of the former and has canvassed for a yes vote with regards to the latter, though he was loath to discuss teammate Ger Brennan’s call for a no vote earlier this week.
“I was waiting for that one,” he said with a smile.
“Today I would prefer to talk about the GAA, because it is an AIG event promoting Gaelic games. Outside of this event I am more than happy to talk about it.”
Which was fair enough.
Even so, it was put to him that the trickle of inter-county players and other sports stars into the referendum debate has helped to get across another message: that elite athletes are more than just that. That they are not one-dimensional characters.
“I don’t think anyone has a one-dimensional character. You are a journalist, but you are not just a journalist. You are more than a journalist. You could be a father, a husband, a partner. Anything.”“
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