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Róisín McCormack [file pic]. Oisin Keniry/INPHO
game abandoned

'She was unconscious on the field': Teen camogie player recovering after collision in abandoned game

The meeting of Antrim and Westmeath will be rescheduled after Róisín McCormick was brought to hospital.

ANTRIM TEEN CAMOGIE player Róisín McCormick is recovering well after she was left unconscious following a collision in an All-Ireland intermediate championship game against Westmeath on Saturday.

McCormick had just gathered the ball in the second half of the fixture in Kinnegad when she was challenged by two Westmeath players. She was treated on the pitch after the incident with the ambulance arriving around 40 minutes later to transfer her to hospital.

Antrim were trailing at the time, and the game was abandoned due to the lengthy stoppage. It will be rescheduled at a later date.

A scan confirmed that she suffered some tissue damage and bruising to her neck and is now recovering at home after she was discharged around midnight on Sunday.

Speaking to The42, Antrim camogie chairman Vincent Boyle explained that the incident was a “coming together” of players.

“There were two girls coming to tackle her and there was just a collision. The referee booked one of the Westmeath players.

It was just a coming together, she came at her [Róisín] to stop her from going any further. The collision knocked her out. She was unconscious on the field.

“I could see her eyelids were closed and flickering a wee bit. They were talking to her and she was flickering her eyelids to acknowledge that she heard what they said, but she wasn’t talking. 

Antrim Antrim Camogie Twitter Antrim Camogie Twitter

“The physio was treating her along with people from the Kinnegad GAA club. They didn’t move her helmet or touch her after the way she had fallen in case there was any damage.

“She had pins and needles in her arm from resting on it for so long and they were gone when she was put on her back to go on the stretcher. The circulation was back again.”

Boyle added that the game was abandoned before the ambulance arrived at the grounds and noted that Cork referee Cathal McAllister continued to keep in touch after the game to check on McCormick’s progress.

A similar incident unfolded recently, when Tipperary’s Nicole Walsh was airlifted to hospital after a heavy collision in a championship game.

Boyle also explained that McCormick — who is still a minor — became more responsive and was able to talk when the ambulance staff spoke to her.

Remarking on the length of the wait for the ambulance, Boyle insisted that Antrim camogie were satisfied with how the situation was handled.

You couldn’t fault the ambulance people, they were very good. It’s not their fault that it takes a while to come. It’s just the way the world is.

“I know it takes ambulances a while [to arrive]. She was well looked after on the pitch while they were waiting for the ambulance to come. They had a tinfoil sheet around Róisín to keep her warm. 

Westmeath Westmeath Camogie Twitter Westmeath Camogie Twitter

“Everybody was talking to her to keep her conscious.”

A neck brace was put on McCormick before she was brought to hospital and an an X-Ray subsequently confirmed there were no broken bones.

Boyle says there are no details yet as to when the game will be rearranged, but is happy to report that McCormick is on the mend.

I was talking to her mother at a camogie board meeting last night. She’s in good form. She’s a bit sore and stiff and will be for a week or two but Róisín’s a strong girl.

“She’s a good camogie player and her mother and father will look after her well until she’s 100% better.” 

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