Knuckles rapped, lesson learned, apology accepted.
Clare hurler Nicky O’Connell is back on the county panel after, last night, apologising to his teammates, and Banner boss Davy Fitzgerald, for breaking a strictly enforced code of conduct.
O’Connell and fellow Clare player Davy O’Halloran were axed from the squad in March after they were found to have indulged in a night out, whilst they were both recovering from injury, without leave of a cadre of senior players. They had been spotted out, two days before a league match.
O’Halloran was so incensed by his removal from the squad that he offered an exclusive newspaper interview, in which he claimed to have been subjected to humiliating treatment after the socialising session.
The Irish Independent report that O’Connell, who appears to have distanced himself from O’Halloran’s stance, apologised to Fitzgerald and his players at The Inn in Dromoland.
Clare begin their All-Ireland championship on May 24 with a quarter final against Limerick.
It remains to be seen whether O’Halloran will follow suit and say sorry for his perceived indiscretions.
