Three of the most gruesome hurling injuries we’ve heard of… this week

“You’ll get your opportunity and when you do, you can either pull high or pull low.”

If you are of the squeamish variety then perhaps this week’s episode of The GAA Hour Hurling Show is not for you.

For the rest of ye hard bucks, drive on.

Damien Hayes and Conal Keaney joined host Colm Parkinson to discuss some of the worst injuries they played on with, and some of the horror stories they’ve heard about [from 16:00 below]. After hearing some of these, we fancy Seamie Callanan and his broken thumb will make a miraculous comeback for Tipperary.

Hayes recalled the story of Clare’s Brian Lohan tearing his hamstring in an All-Ireland Final and getting no sympathy from Ger Loughnane. He said:

“In the 1995 final against Offaly, Brian was marking John Troy when he pulled his hamstring. He sent word to (Clare physio) Colm Flynn and Colm had a look and said, ‘Yeah, your hamstring is gone’. Brian said he wanted to go off so Colm went over to Ger and told him, ‘Brian’s hamstring is gone. What do you want to do?”

“Basically, Loughnane told him to go back out there and tell Lohan it had been 93 years since Clare had played in an All-Ireland, and won an All-Ireland, and to suck it up and get on with it.”

Suck it up he did and Clare got the win.

Hayes then spoke about a nasty injury he sustained while playing a replay for Galway and Keaney’s Dublin, in 2012. He said:

“The game was only on a few minutes when one of the Dublin lads tackled me, just going for the ball, and he pulled my left baby finger out of place. 

“It was hanging there so, basically, I strapped it up and played hurling, so I did.

“When the game was over, they had a look at it and all the ligaments and all were gone in that finger. It needed time to heel but sure we didn’t get time so for the rest of the season I was strapping my baby finger to my next finger to play matches.

“So to break a thumb [like Callanan], I can only imagine what it’s like. But you just get on with it.”

Torn hamstring. Broken thumb. Dangly finger.

And they all hurled on…

It’s not for the feint-hearted, is hurling.

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