Tearing it up: GAA players showing off their ripped side

It seems like we are seeing more and more of our Gaelic football stars, though not always for the right reasons. Adam Moynihan looks at the surge in torn jerseys.

Galway's Paul Conroy after a contretemps against Kerry at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney, Kerry. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

When the ball was thrown in at Celtic Park for the Ulster Championship game between Donegal and Derry last Saturday week, Donegal's Ciarán Thompson was wearing number 32 on his back. By all accounts his own jersey, number 8, had been torn by a teammate during the warm-up.

It’s a scene that we’re witnessing more and more these days. One of our GAA stars, often a footballer, trudging away from a crowd, a little out of breath and slightly embarrassed, with their once resplendent county jersey in tatters.