GAA:THE EOIN Cadogan question has been doing the rounds this week and last. That's because Cadogan is a dying breed of sportsman – a dual player – and he is currently injured. Although it is definitely not a stress fracture.
The same query was put to Cork football manager Conor Counihan last week and to his hurling counterpart Denis Walsh on Monday ahead of their respective national league finals. Both gave the same response – the current injury has nothing to do with serving two masters as the managers converse regularly to ensure this rare talent is harnessed correctly.
“One hundred per cent no,” said Cadogan, at the GPA Opel Brand Ambassadors awards launch yesterday, when asked the same question. “I know that a stress fracture was put out there but if I had a stress fracture I would be on crutches. I had a pain on my shins so I had a scan. I was waiting for this to come out and I checked my diary because I knew what was going to happen.
“People hear the word stress fracture and they think ‘stress’ equals playing both codes.
“I checked my diary for last year and I was actually doing a way more when I was just hurling because I was playing a whole lot more club games.
“There are a lot of medical professors out there. They are saying that it is shin-splints and stress fractures. It’s all out there. I don’t pay much attention to it.
“Shin problem, shin pain is what they call it. We were training there in January and February so the ground was very hard at the start of the year, so maybe that was it.”
Cadogan continued: “It is grand now. I suppose what is hurting me now is the hurlers are playing Galway on Sunday and I know the lads are looking forward to it and all you can do is take one game as it comes really.”
He requires another scan before an announcement on his championship availability can be made in either code.
“I spoke to Seán Óg (Ó hAilpín) and Tom Kenny, who did it for a small bit. They had their situations, it might have been different then at the time where Cork were driving on with the hurling in 2003 and 2004 when things were going very well and there would have been a lot of pressure on them. They wished me the best of luck and said why not give it a go, nobody can say you didn’t give it a lash. I’m just enjoying it.”
TG4 has reported 500,000 viewers tuned in for their coverage of the two National Football League finals last Sunday. The Cork v Mayo clash peaked at 280,000 viewers with the average being 220,000 – an increase of 20,000 on the 2009 figure. In all 650,000 watched TG4’s coverage of at least some of the four league finals, including the Division Three and Division Four deciders on Saturday night.
Four members of the Ardscoil Rís team who won this year’s Dr Harty Cup for the first time are included in the Limerick minor hurling team to play Kerry in Kilmallock tonight. They are Alan Dempsey, Declan Hannon, Shane Dowling and John Fitzgibbon.
LIMERICK (MH v Kerry): E Webb; A Dempsey, M O’Loughlin, B Hannigan; T Ryan, D Hannon, K O’Donnell (c); M O’Connell, C O’Riordan; D Morrissey, W Hickey, J Mulcahy; S Dowling, J Fitzgibbon, M Ryan.
