Ryan Mason skull fracture strikes chord with O'Callaghan, who suffered a similar injury
January 27, 2017
Kieran McGeeney talks to his players after a game during his spell as Kildare manager. Morgan O'Callaghan is to his left in the red bib ©INPHO/Donall Farmer
by Jackie Cahill
Soccer star Ryan Mason's sickening head injury struck a chord with Kieran McGeeney's former Kildare lieutenant Morgan O'Callaghan, who suffered a fractured skull when he was a young child.
O'Callaghan was team liaison officer during current Armagh manager McGeeney's term as Kildare senior football supremo - before serving as a selector alongside Jason Ryan.
And last year, O'Callaghan was a selector alongside manager Alan Barry when the Lilywhites stormed to TG4 All-Ireland ladies intermediate football championship glory.
Hull City player Mason sustained a fractured skull in a clash of heads with Chelsea's Gary Cahill during last Sunday's Premier League fixture.
And O'Callaghan was disturbed by what he believes was the overly-sensational nature of the reporting surrounding the Mason incident, with some outlets claiming that the player was fighting for his life.
O'Callaghan said: "People can fracture the skull without it necessarily meaning that you're fighting for your life.
"Of course, there are always going to be concerns and potential internal injuries but the whole thing of 'Ryan Mason fighting for his life'…there are plenty of people who fracture their skulls.
"I doubt he'll play football for quite some time but it doesn't necessarily mean that his whole life will change."
O'Callaghan was just 18 months old when he fractured his skull and while he would subsequently fall unconscious until the age of eight or nine if he hit his head, there have been no long-lasting effects.
O'Callaghan revealed: "An uncle of mine was throwing me up in the air and missed me on the way down!
"I landed on a concrete floor from whatever height he had thrown me from. I was unconscious for quite some time and up to about eight or nine, if I was playing at home an banged my head off the couch, I'd be out cold for a minute or two.
"Subsequent to that, I would have played football, hurling, soccer and no issues.
"It was always something my parents would have been concerned about. I remember I did a fight night in the club a few years ago and they were a little bit reluctant, saying 'are you sure now?'
"Kildare did a fight night too and I did all the training. I remember then the doctor saying that if I never had an issue with it up now, I could box away.
"When you look at it, how easy such a serious injury can happen in football. It's lucky enough it doesn't happen very often but you can see how easily, just two lads going for a ball, could result in even a fatality.
"Everybody's so well-conditioned nowadays that when they do compete, they're competing at full force so it just depends on if you happen to collide head to head.
"There's an increase in cheekbone fractures and things like that as well."
O'Callaghan, meanwhile, will take charge of the Kildare ladies on an interim basis for the start of the Lidl Division 2 campaign.
Former Kerry boss William O'Sullivan was appointed in Kildare before Christmas but stepped aside when he attended January training sessions to discover low numbers present.
Kildare begin their campaign with a number of All-Ireland winners absent, as O'Callaghan explained: "The likes of Maria Moolick, Aisling Savage and Paula Keatley have stepped away for the moment and Noelle Earley is concentrating on camogie.
"I wouldn't be saying yet that they've retired but at the moment, they haven't come back and joined the panel."
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