Kilkenny’s Delaney badly hurt in Thurles club brawl

By Mark Jones

Kilkenny’s Under 21 final victory was put into perspective when it emerged that one of the county’s senior players, P.J. Delaney, had been seriously injured after he was assaulted outside a hotel in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, last weekend.

Delaney, who had come on as a substitute during Kilkenny’s senior final loss to Cork 10 days ago, was in a critical condition in Cork Regional Hospital after receiving life threatening head injuries.

Witnesses said a row had started in the Hayes Hotel disco and when it spilled out onto the street, Delaney, 26, was hit across the head with a hard object, believed to be a baseball bat.

Delaney was first taken to a hospital in Cashel, but was later transferred to Cork, where he underwent surgery for a head injury. The talented hurler scored a vital goal in the 1993 All-Ireland final in which Kilkenny defeated Galway.

Ironically, last weekend’s violent incident occurred outside Hayes Hotel, which was the birthplace of the GAA.