Real life drama as player hurt in 'Celebrity Bainisteoir' match

Nobber GAA Club's victory in its first game in RTE's 'Celebrity Bainisteoir' tournament was dampened somewhat after one of their Fermanagh opponents received a head injury and was rushed to hospital by ambulance. Conor Doonan from Irvinestown club, St Molaise struck his head on one of the concrete posts of the fence that surrounds the pitch during the second half of the game and was taken by ambulance to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital where he was admitted. Play was stopped as first aid was administered and an ambulance was immediately called. Nobber GAA club chairman Dudley Farrell said he had spoken to both the St Molaise club chairman and also Conor Doonan's parents and that the player's scans had thankfully came back all clear. Local TD Shane McEntee who attended the match, has called for an investigation into the medical services offered to the player whom he said was seriously injured during the Celebrity Bainisteoir event. "The game had to be held up for 40 minutes because of the seriousness of the situation. As far as I can see, an ambulance came from the Castleblayney direction, and there was no doctor on call available. I would like a full explanation as to what happened here," he said. A spokesperson for the HSE confirmed that an ambulance from Castleblayney attended the call, which was received at 3.20pm. She said the ambulance from Castleblayney had been in the Drogheda area and was the nearest ambulance available to attend the call. Mr Farrell, speaking on behalf of Nobber GAA club, has wished Conor a speedy recovery. He said he had been in contact with Conor's parents and that his scans had come back clear, though he was still in hospital at that stage on Monday evening. "In a statement, RTE said: A player from Irvinestown was injured in the course of a game last Saturday afternoon between the St Maloise and Nobber GAA clubs, filmed as part of the official GAA tournament, Celebrity Bainisteoir. The injury was sustained during a tussle for the ball and the player was brought to Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda where he received treatment." Aside from the unfortunate injury, there was a fantastic atmosphere at Nobber pitch as hundreds of local people and families turned up to support their local team. Nobber's bainisteoir in the tournament is Ráth Chairn television presenter Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh, who was wearing the Nobber colours of amber and gold, as she walked up and down the sideline offering encouragment and advice to her charges. The teams other mentors were Dudley Farrell and former Meath footballer Bernard Flynn. Irvinestown bainisteoir is comedian Andrew Maxwell. Navan Silver Band entertained the crowd as the teams warmed up and played the National Anthem before kick off. Legendary RTE commentator Mícheál " Muircheartaigh provided the commentary. Nobber got off to a flying start and were well on top for the opening quarter, though Irvinestown improved as the game progressed and it turned into a closely fought tie. Despite having a man sent off, Nobber managed a two-point victory and will meet Ballymun Kickhams in the next round which will be played on 25th September. Mr Farrell said: "It was a good day and there was a great crowd on the day. There was a great atmosphere and to get a win was a bonus." So how did the players feel having the cameras around? "The cameras have been around for the past month at training sessions and doing interviews so they are getting used to it," he said. A 25-strong production crew from Animo Television arrived in Nobber early on Saturday morning including eight cameramen. As well as the cameras taking in all the action on the pitch, there were several cameras following the two bainisteoirs to take in their every reaction and other cameramen mingled in the crowd. The show will air at the end of September and in the meantime its back to the "real" business of their next championship game, against the winners of Dunderry and Longwood.