48-week ban proposed for Frankie Dolan after Connacht club final incident

St. Brigid’s and former Roscommon star Frankie Dolan could be suspended for the best part of a year after an incident with an official after the Connacht club final defeat to Castlebar a fortnight ago.

According to a report in the Irish Examiner, Dolan is alleged to have assaulted fourth official John Gilmartin after a thrilling game in Hyde Park in which Mayo outfit Castlebar Mitchels dethroned the reigning All-Ireland Champions after extra-time. The game itself was not without controversy, however, as Marty Duffy handed out four red cards and Brigid’s disputed the awarding of a line-ball (where Duffy over-ruled his linesman) that led to a crucial Castlebar score in the dying stages of normal time. Having received the referee’s report from the game, a ban of 48 weeks has been proposed for 36-year old Dolan, who could feasibly be out of action until early 2015 if the ban is upheld unless Brigid’s can reach the All-Ireland club series again next year. St. Brigid’s have already indicated their desire to appeal the ban and will also be appealing a ban imposed on Dolan’s brother Garvan for an incident that occurred after the same match. “The referee reported Frankie assaulted the fourth official after the game and Frankie is getting a 48-week ban,” St. Brigid’s Club PRO Aine Martin is quoted as saying in the Irish Examiner. “Technically what they do is issue a notification you have a ban and you have three days to decide whether you want a hearing or not. And we want a hearing. I can only tell you what Frankie told me and he said he was standing on the pitch after the match and somebody bumped into him and he didn’t know it was the fourth official. He said it wasn’t anything worth talking about.” As Dolan is due to travel to Berlin with the rest of the St. Brigid’s squad today, the hearing will be delayed for a few weeks and Dolan isn’t likely to know his fate until early in the New Year. Commenting on the incident, St. Brigid’s chairman Michael McDonnell told the Irish Examiner: “This was decision of the Connacht CCC and we’re very limited on what we can comment on. We were only made aware of it the weekend of the decision and we’ve looked for an early hearing.”