Inquiry into Ulster final violence

The shameful scenes which took place during and after the Ulster club hurling final between Antrim team Dunloy and Lavey from Derry will be the subject of a fullscale inquiry by the Ulster Council of the GAA and could lead to the disqualification of Dunloy as Ulster club champions.

Five players were sent off during extra time in the match, three from Dunloy and two from Lavey, and there was a massive pitch invasion at the end, almost entirely composed of Dunloy supporters who tried to attack the referee, John Anthony Gribben from Down. The incidents came after what many have described as an excellent and exciting game of hurling which Dunloy won by 3-16 to 4-10. Whether or not Dunloy will be allowed to retain the trophy is now a matter for some speculation as the Ulster Council has promised a full investigation as soon as possible.

Among those attempting to protect the referee as he left the field were Dunloy officials and players and he was eventually taken to the haven of the dressing-room. The behaviour of the Dunloy supporters, who had broken through the retaining fence on the open side of the ground 10 minutes before the end, has been identified as the major cause of the trouble. Apparently incensed by the sending-off of three of their players, they were described by a veteran observer as being a "mob out of control. Full of hate. It was a scene of total madness and has done enormous damage to the image of the GAA in Ulster."

The chairman of the Antrim county board, Joe O'Boyle, has promised the full support of the board to any investigation which the Ulster Council decides to take.

"The Council will surely instigate an investigation into the matter and the Antrim board will support whatever action they decide to take. This kind of thing is not going to be tolerated, no matter what club is involved," he said. There had been an outbreak of violence between players 10 minutes before the end of the match which led to the sending-off of the five players - Tony McGrath, Seamus McMullen and Gary O'Kane from Dunloy and Oliver Collins and Seamus Downey from Lavey.

At this stage, scores of Dunloy supporters advanced to the sideline past the inadequate fencing and on the blow of full time, they raced across the pitch in an attempt to get to the referee who was protected by several officials and stewards, as well as the Lavey team manager, Tom Magill, and the well-known referee John Gough.

Several Lavey players also tried to protect him and many were thumped and kicked for their pains.

A spokesman for the Lavey club, Tony Chivers, insisted that none of the club's supporters were involved in the after-match scenes. Observers confirmed that a number of Lavey players tried to protect the referee.

The chairman of the Dunloy club, Pat Cunning, yesterday made his club's position clear. "We as a club utterly condemn what happened. The people who behaved in such a disgraceful way may claim to be Dunloy supporters and if any members of the club are identified, they will be suspended immediately."

The acting secretary of the Ulster Council, Danny Murphy, also condemned the scenes. "It was a tremendous tragedy for hurling. This kind of behaviour is totally unacceptable. It was frightening and the damage to the image of the game is a very serious matter for everybody who loves the game".

Television cameras from the BBC and an official Ulster Council camera made video recordings of the match and its aftermath and it is believed that the videos will be viewed whenever an investigation takes place. It is expected that this will happen as soon as possible once the referee's report is received, which will probably be before the end of the week. Meanwhile, those who thought that the inter-county scene had finally come to an end with Limerick's victory in the National League last Sunday is well wide of the mark. Several of the top hurling teams in the country, including Limerick and Galway, will be in action again next weekend in the Oireachtas competition when six matches are scheduled. National League winners Limerick are at home to Waterford and Galway are at home to Kilkenny in Athenry, while Dublin entertain Antrim, Meath take on Down, Wexford play Cork and Laois play Offaly, with the first-named teams all at home.

The 12 teams taking part are divided into three divisions of four teams. Division A will have Down, Antrim, Dublin and Meath. In Division B, Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Limerick will figure, while Galway, Kilkenny, Offaly and Laois make up Division C. All divisions are on a round-robin basis. The winners of A will play the winners of C and the final will be between the winners of that match against the winners of the B division. There will also be a secondary competition - the Oireachtas Shield - in which 10 counties will take part. Two divisions of five will play off on a round-robin basis and the two winners will meet in the final. The divisions are Wicklow, Armagh, Monaghan, Louth and Cavan in one, and Carlow, Tyrone, Sligo, Fermanagh and Mayo in the other.

The semi-final of the Oireachtas competition proper will be played at a venue to be decided on November 30th and the final on December 7th.