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GAA

12th Nov 2015

Is Bryan Sheehan the most overworked club player in Ireland? This fixture pile-up suggests he is

Cancel all other plans

Kevin McGillicuddy

Why would you bother?

It’s just over a week now since the GAA and their Director General Paraic Duffy published their proposals on ending club fixture chaos.

Afterwards, it took just a matter of days  for a farcical situation in Munster to highlight how dire things have become for club and inter-county players.

Legion and South Kerry’s draw last weekend in the county final means that this weekend the Munster club championship continues for players regardless of last week’s result.

James O’Donoghue and his Legion colleagues face Nemo Rangers in a Munster senior club semi-final, while Bryan Sheehan will line out for his club St Mary’s against Corofin of Clare in a Munster intermediate fixture on Saturday.

Sheehan and some of four of club colleagues are facing into their eighth game in just eight weeks because of their club and divisional demands.

And the Kerry senior replay fixed for next weekend it means Sheehan will have played every single weekend since the All-Ireland final in September without a break.

If his club are successful on Sunday it could extend his season even further into December where the South Kerry championship final is often played on Christmas Eve or on St Stephen’s Day

The Kerryman’s situation is likely to be familiar to many other club footballers in the country but when seen in black and white it really shows the urgency of finding a solution to the current situation.

 

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