The GAA family in Cork and around the world have rallied to show their support for a young man who faces a long recovery after an accidental collision left him with a very serious injury.
Earlier this week, CorkBeo reported on how 21-year-old Brian O’Connor was representing North Cork’s Liscarroll Churchtown Gaels during a match in September when an accidental clash saw him taken off the field injured.
The young apprentice electrician was assessed by the side of the pitch by the team physio and seemed badly shaken but otherwise well enough to go home – however, later that evening, he became seriously ill and had to be rushed to Cork University Hospital.
There, it was found that he had significant internal injuries, and Brian underwent an emergency eight-hour surgery to repair a ruptured bowel, followed by a second surgery on his pancreas the week after. The injury left Brian with severe abdominal trauma and he spent six weeks in hospital, two of which were in the ICU.
Brian is now making a strong recovery, but the months lost to his injuries and his ongoing care as he battles back to good health, have left both himself and his family facing significant financial challenges.
He has not been able to work, although he has volunteered extensively for his club, Liscarroll Churchtown Gaels, and has had to work hard on his recovery.
His club launched an appeal on December 30th, hoping to raise €7,000 to support Brian and his family. Club Chairperson John Killeen said Brian was a credit to the Liscarroll Gaels and to his community and they wanted to show Brian and his family that they were “not alone on their journey”.
Calling on the GAA community to ‘stand with Brian’, they have now more than doubled the amount they wanted to raise, at nearly €16,000, with donations coming from as far afield as the US and Australia. The GoFundMe appeal (which you can contribute to here) has had over 350 donations in just three days and messages of support have been flooding in from all over.
One of the first things Brian did after finally being discharged from CUH in November was to go to his club and cheer his teammates on from the sidelines. Everybody at the Gaels is now hoping to see a lot more of Brian over the coming months and the funds raised should make his recovery that little bit less stressful and challenging.