Loughrea manager Tommy Kelly has confirmed the club will be appealing Cullen Killeen’s injury-time red card from Sunday’s All-Ireland club SHC semi-final win over Slaughtneil.
Killeen is set to be suspended for next month’s All-Ireland decider against Ballygunner because of his 62nd-minute dismissal at Parnell Park following an off-the-ball incident with Brendan Rogers.
On sending Killeen off, referee Johnny Murphy appeared to indicate there had been a swipe by the Loughrea midfielder – who was TG4’s man of the match.
The final whistle at Parnell Park was greeted by jeers and boos from the Loughrea supporters. The incident clouded what had been an otherwise accomplished afternoon’s work as the Galway champions eased to victory, 2-22 to 0-15.
READ MORE
Loughrea picked up five yellow cards during the contest. They will be appealing the red-card decision in a bid to have Killeen available for the club’s second All-Ireland SHC final appearance.
“Oh, 100 per cent,” confirmed Kelly. “For me, he was trying to release himself; he got in a tangle and tried to release himself. There was no major strike, it would be a sin if he lost out on an All-Ireland final.
“The poor young lad, he’s only 19 years of age, he’s in absolute bits. There is no malice in Cullen Killeen.
“It was a pure accident – two guys were running down the wing and they tangled. There was probably a loose hurl or whatever, but surely the GAA will come good on this one.
“Hopefully the right thing will be done on this and it’ll be overturned, with the help of God. There was nothing in it, nobody was hurt or anything like that.”
There were angry scenes at the end as Murphy made his way off the pitch, which was at odds with the game as it had tailed off as a contest long before the end.
Loughrea’s appeal might have backing from an unlikely ally as Slaughtneil manager Paul McCormack suggested afterwards that the Derry outfit would like to see the decision overturned.
“The GAA rule book and all that has to come into play, but I think we’d try and do the decent thing for him,” said McCormack when asked if Slaughtneil might speak in support of Killeen’s case.
“It’s harsh for the individual concerned, Cullen Killeen, he’s a good player. I think Loughrea had [five or six] yellow cards, they play on the line I suppose, but I don’t think there’s anything in that [incident].
“Speaking personally, for him to miss an All-Ireland final for that, that’s tough. Hopefully common sense maybe will prevail.
“If it was your own son or your teammate, you’d be trying to do everything you can to get the lad play. That’s out of our hands. Johnny made a decision, I thought he had a decent game. He gave yellow cards and some people were looking for reds, but it’s a physical game, it’s winter hurling.”
Killeen was distraught at the final whistle and Loughrea’s celebrations were more muted than one would have been expected for a team booking their spot in an All-Ireland final.
Loughrea full back Johnny Coen hopes his teammate will be available to play in next month’s Croke Park showpiece, which is scheduled for the weekend of January 17th-18th.
“I was out around the middle of the field at the time and the game was up, we were 14 points up,” said Coen. “It appeared as if himself and Brendan Rogers were in a bit of a scuffle and then the two of them went rolling and there seemed to be very little in it.
“For me, I don’t think it was a red card. I think everyone in the whole place was absolutely disgusted with the decision and as hurling people – we’re all hurling people – I don’t think it was a red card.
“Cullen was man of the match, he was outstanding. Every single thing he does, he wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s a young guy playing a game of hurling, he gets involved in a bit of pushing and shoving and there seemed to be very little in it.”
Ballygunner won the second semi-final 0-19 to 0-10 over St Martin’s of Wexford, with that victory in Thurles sending the Waterford champions back to the final for the first time since 2022.
St Martin’s led 0-6 to 0-4 at the break but Ballygunner took control on the resumption and powered away to a nine-point win.
“It’s a relief because you come to these games hoping to win,” said Ballygunner manager Jason Ryan. “We are used to being in different situations where you are being challenged and certainly the first half was an unbelievable battle, so we were lucky to start the second half very strong.”
Ballygunner and Loughrea must now approach the upcoming festive period while also planning for next month’s All-Ireland final.
“It’s a nice way to be preparing for Christmas,” said Ryan.
Over in Loughrea, they’ll also be preparing to go through the GAA’s disciplinary process.
Meanwhile, the replay of the All-Ireland senior camogie club final between Athenry and St Finbarr’s has been confirmed for Semple Stadium on Saturday, January 3rd, at 5.15pm.
