Whether or not international sports star Tom Sheridan can represent Meath in Saturday's All-Ireland Handball Final against Kilkenny at Croke Park will be decided by a High Court judge tomorrow.
Sheridan, of Taylor Hall, Kells, today asked Mr Justice Barry White to quash a six months suspension by An Coiste Gnimh, a sub-committee of the Irish Handball Council, which rules him out of taking part in the final.
Mr Colm Smyth, SC, counsel for Sheridan, told the court he and his county partner Walter O'Connor had been scheduled to play Kilkenny's Michael Duxie Walsh and Eugene Downey in the All-Ireland Softball Doubles final.
Mr Smyth, who appeared with Mr Willie Penrose, said Mr Sheridan, who is 36, had been one of the leading and most successful players over the last 20 years planned to retire at the end of this year.
He had won a total of 50 national titles and, apart from representing his county, he had represented Ireland on numerous occasions in Australia, Canada and the USA. Sheridan told the court that in a match with O'Connor against Dublin in August 2003 a Dublin player had threatened to break his jaw and he had brought this to the attention of the referee.
About January this year he had received a referee's report in respect of the 2003 game in which he had been cited for appearing to push the opposing player.
On August 30 last he had received official word from the GAA indicating An Coiste Gnimh had imposed a suspension of six months on him with effect from that date. He claimed the GAA had failed to comply with its own rules which provided that a referee should submit his report within a period of 14 days after a game.
This, he said, constituted an inordinate and unconscionable delay which severely prejudiced him. He said that due to alleged procedural difficulties he had been refused a right of appeal against An Coiste Gnimh's decision.
Mr Mark Sanfy, SC, who appeared with Mr Eamon Marray for the GAA, said Mr Sheridan had "lacked candour" in his evidence to the court.
Mr Lorcan O Ruairc, Riarthoir Naisiunta of Cumann Luthchleas Gael, claimed in an affidavit that Mr Sheridan had presented inaccurate and misleading evidence to the court with regard to certain material matters.
He said Sheridan had failed to disclose that the referee temporarily stopped the August 2003 game and had issued a warning to him for pushing the opposing player against a side glass wall.
Sheridan had received the referee's report in October last year and not January as he had claimed.
Mr O Ruairc said Sheridan had been asked by An Coiste Gnimh to attend a meeting in November 2003 to answer a charge that he had by his conduct discredited the Association.
He had failed to attend all meetings between November 2003 and August of this year relating to an inquiry into the incident.
Following An Coiste Gnimh's decision he had attempted to appeal it but had been ruled out of order. Mr Justice White will give his decision tomorrow.