Clare leave Quinn on hold

The Clare County Board are holding back from the investigation into the serious hand injury sustained by their defender Gerry Quinn until after the All-Ireland hurling final.

At the Games Administration Committee (GAC) meeting on Wednesday night, when the exact nature of the incident that led to the injury was to be first examined, Clare representatives indicated their desire to stay clear of controversy at this stage of the season.

It now appears certain that if any action is to be taken concerning the incident, it will not happen until after the Clare-Kilkenny final on September 8th.

Quinn's injury, resulting from an incident late in the semi-final win over Waterford, has ruled the player out of the final, yet Clare feel any disciplinary action or disclosure of the name of a Waterford player at this point would affect their focus for the final.

The GAC has confirmed, however, that its investigation into the circumstances associated with the injury will continue. A series of circumstances prevented Quinn from attending Wednesday night's meeting, and as the key witness in the case the GAC would still be looking to speak to the player at their next meeting relating to the investigation.

The next GAC meeting is scheduled for Wednesday week - four days before the All-Ireland final - but any input from Clare will have to wait several more weeks.

GAC chairman Pauric Duffy accepted that Clare's co-operation was central to their investigation.

"We are still hopeful of speaking to the player at some point," said Duffy. "Without his input we were always limited in the amount of progression we could make in the first meeting, but the investigation is ongoing, there is no question about that."

Much of Clare's motivation for avoiding any investigation at this stage is related to the circumstances surrounding the Colin Lynch affair in the summer of 1998, which involved a controversial investigation that ended with the player getting a three-month suspension.

According to county secretary Pat Fitzgerald, Clare were eager to avoid a similar distraction.

"We did learn a big lesson in 1998," said Fitzgerald, "when the Colin Lynch debate took over, and resulted in the team losing some of their focus on what they had to do on the field.

"And there is still a feeling in Clare that an All-Ireland was lost in 1998 because everyone got caught up in trying to clear his name, and the performance did suffer as a result.

"We need to have total concentration now if we are to have any chance of beating Kilkenny, and we cannot afford to get embroiled in controversy like we did in 1998."

The GAC were reported to have been as understanding as they could be in the circumstances, although they did quiz both parties for the best part of an hour. It soon became clear, however, that Clare were showing little enthusiasm for an investigation at this stage, and didn't want any controversy to blow up before the All-Ireland final. The GAC's hands are also tied in that no video evidence of the incident has become available.

There is still a desire in Clare to eventually get to the bottom of the incident, especially considering the seriousness of Quinn's injury. Diagnosed as a compound fracture of the hand, the 20-year-old has been given only a "one per cent chance" of being fit to play any role in the All-Ireland final.

Meanwhile, the GAA has announced that tickets for Sunday's Bank of Ireland All-Ireland Football semi-final between Cork and Kerry will be on public sale this morning from 11.0 a.m. to 7.0 p.m. from the ticket office at the rear of the Cusack Stand. If stocks last, tickets will also be on sale tomorrow from 11.0 a.m. to 4.0 p.m.