Clonbullogue star awaiting scan results as passionate footballing family deals with rare condition

CLONBULLOGUE star Ruairi O'Neill was kept in overnight after being taken to hospital by ambulance when he got injured just before half time of their Senior Football Championship defeat by Bracknagh in Clonbullogue on Sunday.

O'Neill went down heavily in a fall at the edge of the square just before half time and it did not seem too bad initially as he got to his feet and was helped to the end line. However, it soon became apparent that it was more serious and the start of the second half was delayed for almost an hour as they waited for an ambulance to come.

An excellent forward, O'Neill was put in a neck brace and was waiting for the results of an MRI scan on Monday after an initial CT scan showed that he didn't have any fractures.

One of three brothers on the Clonbullogue team, Ruairi has been one of Clonbullogue's stars in the past decade as they won Intermediate and Senior “B” Football Championships, fulfilling a long standing dream of going senior. A very cultured player with great footballing intelligence, Ruairi is as important in his own way to Clonbullogue as his star younger brother, Keith, who has established himself firmly on the Offaly senior football team in recent years – one of the best forwards in Offaly, Keith is a truly exciting player with lightening pace and a great eye for goal.

Unfortunately, the family also have to deal with a difficult condition called Ankylosing spondylitis, which is a form of arthritis – it is an inflammatory disease that affects the joints.

Ruairi has this and it causes him to seize up sometimes as well as affecting his breathing.

His younger brother Diarmaid could have a short career because of a rare condition called Perthes Disease – this is a childhood hip disorder where the blood supply to the ball of the thigh-bone is temporarily interrupted, causing the bone to die and stop growing. He had hip surgery when he was younger and was in a wheelchair for a period before getting full mobility but it can lead to later problems with the hip.

A very tidy, honest corner back, he played minor football for Offaly in 2022 and U20 football in 2023 and 2024 but was dropped off the panel by management this year before the start of championship.

Diarmaid may have to get a hip replacement because of that in the coming years and if that happens soon, it will almost certainly end his participation in high intensity, physical contact team sports. That would be a great shame for a young man who clearly gets great pleasure from playing football – he played very steadily in Sunday's 3-7 to 0-12 loss to their parish neighbours.

Ruairi also has other injury problems and he has had a groin tear and sports hernia this year as well. The groin forced him to miss Clonbullogue's first round loss to Shamrocks and he came back earlier than expected but his desire to play against their parish rivals Bracknagh meant that he was going to do everything in his power to play in that.

Ankylosing spondylitis has a strong genetic component and in the case of the O'Neill's, it comes down the male line. Being under active or over active can be equally problematic with it and in the case of footballers, too much activity is the bigger issue in this regard.

Keith O'Neill has also had injury problems which has caused him to miss some action. He has not been diagnosed with Ankylosing spondylitis but has to manage his load – he has been able to train at a consistently high intensity with Offaly and it is hoped that he will be able to have a full career.

The O'Neill's and their wider family are hugely passionate football enthusiasts and Keith O'Neill was hugely effective as a high impact sub when Offaly won the All-Ireland U20 Football Championship in 2021. His quick emergence as a county senior footballer has been a great boost and he is one of the players who is flourishing under the new rules.

Clonbullogue have had problems this year with injuries while county midfielder Jack McEvoy was suspended for the opening two games after being sent off in a challenge game against Shandonagh of Westmeath some weeks ago. He will be back for their closing group game against Tullamore in two weeks time but it remains to be seen if they will be down Ruairi O'Neill for that – he probably will have to sit it out but this driven footballer will be keen to play against the county champions if he can at all.

Their two defeats mean that Clonbullogue are on the way out of the championship and it would be a huge shock if they beat Tullamore in their final round – even a win there may not be enough to save them but fortunately, there is no relegation from senior football this year. The top flight is going to 10 teams next year and it is great that Clonbullogue will get a second chance to establish themselves at this level.

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They were ten points behind, 3-4 to 0-3, a few minutes into the second half on Sunday and did really well to get back into the game, staging a stirring fightback. With Cian O'Neill, a cousin of Ruairi, Keith and Diarmaid, grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck at midfield, Clonbullogue got the gap back to a goal and had Bracknagh under serious pressure. Bracknagh were the better side over the course of the hour but were very relieved to hear the final whistle.

As you would expect with two clubs so familiar with each other, there was a niggle and tension present for a lot of the game and it boiled over with a melee after the final whistle. Order was restored after a few minutes as Clonbullogue's Ryan Dempsey and Bracknagh's Eoin Hyland got red cards for their roles. Ruairi O'Neill got an early yellow card himself in the first half after getting involved in a brief dust up and there was a lot of verbals passed during the game. It is understood that Clonbullogue officials complained to the referee after the melee ended about comments passed by some Bracknagh people – referee Kevin Williamson could be seen in discussions with Clonbullogue officials after it, writing in his notebook. Some Bracknagh people objected to him being “influenced” by their opponents in messy scenes and it remains to be seen if all this will be reported and investigated by authorities.