Sir, – I note that Dominic McCullough (August 12th) appears troubled that the players in the Waterford v Kilkenny All Ireland hurling semi-final wore a variety of coloured helmets that clashed with their county jersey colours. Given that the wearing of helmets is now mandatory, he appears oblivious to the fact that the helmet colour is an important distinguishing feature that helps spectators pick out individual players during the fast moving action.
Our top players are associated with individual helmets: Henry Shefflin (green), Lar Corbett (yellow), Tony Browne (black), etc and consequently can be identified quickly. Many fans will will recall the legendary red helmet worn by Brian Lohan of Clare.
I hope this flexibility for players to choose their own helmet colour is maintained by the GAA rather than venturing down a path of standardised helmet colouring that may suit Mr McCullough’s fashion sense. – Yours, etc,