Soccer player shot in arm in ‘freak’ Tipperary match accident plots dramatic comeback as eyewitness reveals shock scene
A SOCCER player who was shot during a match is hoping to make a dramatic comeback.
Donnacha O’Brien was hit by a stray bullet which cops believe was discharged from a hunter in a freak accident.
The stunned 32-year-old was shot in the arm during the second half of a match while playing for Tipperary outfit Rearcross Football Club at home to Ballymackey Football Club under floodlights on Saturday night.
Gardai are investigating whether the footy-mad lad was struck by a stray bullet fired by a hunter in woodland near the pitch in Co Tipperary.
The Rearcross FC player was treated at the scene by emergency services personnel and brought by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick.
But the young man has now been discharged and has been able to joke about the bizarre incident.
In a social media selfie while in a sling, Donnacha quipped: “When you take a shot from the halfway line but instead you get shot on the halfway line.”
Pals told the Irish Sun how Donnacha was hoping to bounce back from the unusual injury “as soon as possible”.
And speaking today, rival coach Michael Collins declared they can’t wait to welcome Donnacha back.
Michael, children’s officer and member of the coaching staff at Ballymackey FC, told the Irish Sun: “We’re delighted the player has been released from hospital and we hope he is back playing soon.
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“On behalf of myself and the club, we wish the player a speedy recovery and we hope he is able to return to the field potentially in the near future.”
Eyewitness Michael recalled the shocking scenes as the shooting happened 10 minutes into the second half of the North Tipperary & District League Junior ‘B’ Division 2 game.
Michael told the Irish Sun: “It was something that you wouldn’t expect to witness at a junior soccer match in North Tipperary, that’s for sure.
“The speculation is that it was accidental, that it was potentially someone hunting in the locality and it may have been a stray shot or a ricochet or something like that.
“It is not something you expect to witness...it was quite a shock at the time.”
After players, coaches and spectators heard Donnacha crying out in pain before falling to the ground around the half-way line, they were left gobsmacked to discover that the young man had been shot in the arm.
'Frightening ordeal'
The pitch was cleared immediately as club officials tended to the injured player while the emergency services were alerted, with the league game abandoned.
Michael recalled: “Once we realised what had happened and the injury that had occurred, we cleared the field immediately and got all the players, supporters and officials off the field as quickly as we possibly could.
“It was quite a strange ordeal and a frightening ordeal.
“We do play them quite regularly, it is probably the furthest distance we have to travel in terms of having to play teams, it would about a 45 minute drive for us.
“They are a great bunch of people, a great club and very well ran and they have fabulous facilities there as well.
“It just seems to be a freak accident.”
Hunting theory
Donnacha was treated at the scene by emergency responders before being taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for further assessment.
But the injury was deemed not life-threatening, with the footie player discharged on Sunday morning.
Gardai believe the bullet that struck the Rearcross player may have been fired by someone hunting near the pitch.
Deer hunting is a common pastime in the woodland near where the football game was taking place.
Cops appealed for witnesses to come forward, and said they were particularly keen to hear from anyone who was hunting in the area at the time.
As the garda probe continued, Michael warned the incident could have led to a much more tragic result.
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He told the Irish Sun: “He was lucky and unlucky. Unlucky to be hit obviously but lucky where he was hit. The bullet could have done some serious damage but he was lucky where it hit him.”
Rearcross Football Club said it is “totally shocked” by the incident as they wished their player “a speedy recovery”.
