Sheedy Says There's One Aspect Of Tipperary Red Card He Should Have Spoken About On RTÉ

Tipperary's Darragh McCarthy found himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons after his red card against Cork in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship.

The 19-year old was sent off for an off-the-ball incident with Sean O’Donoghue just before the ball was thrown in, condemning the fixture to being a one-sided by affair.

Legendary former Tipp manager Liam Sheedy was in the RTÉ studio on the day and speaking at halftime, had few complaints given the striking nature of McCarthy's hit.

We have seen it in every championship game so far that there has been that bit of needle in the first few minutes, but if you cross and if there's a hurley movement, you're in trouble."

It appeared that referee Johnny Murphy didn't see the incident and was notified of it by his linesman. In the footage shown to RTÉ viewers, the teenager appeared to strike Sean O'Donoghue in the mid-riff. As Sheedy and Henry Shefflin explained, it's a red card offense all day.

Darragh McCarthy red card incident: pic.twitter.com/VGXLQjq37r

— Craic Of The Ash (@CraicOfTheAsh) April 27, 2025

However, in the aftermath of the game, Tipp fans on social media have queried footage of O'Donoghue in the immediate aftermath of the red card. RTÉ's cameras showed O'Donoghue being attended upon by the team's physios, apparently clutching at his groin area when referee Johnny Murphy checked to see if the Cork man was okay.

Drama at the start in Páirc Uí Chaoimh as Darragh McCarthy is red carded for an off the ball incident with Sean O'Donoghue

📺 Watch @rte2 & @rteplayer

📻 @rteradio1

📱 Updates https://t.co/uTa5IQSmUP pic.twitter.com/ldcoWL6asP

— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 27, 2025

The two-time All-Ireland winning coach admitted some regret at not highlighting O'Donoghue's reaction to the strike on his Sunday Game appearance, before contrasting the incident to that of a separate melee involving Deccie Dalton and Bryan O'Mara.

Speaking on the Irish Examiner's Dalo's Hurling Show podcast (listen here, subscription required), Sheedy questioned whether Tipp suffered because O'Mara did not have the same response as O'Donoghue to his hit.

Go back to Conor Burke in the league between Dublin and Offaly. When there is a hurley and it goes into the opponent [it is a red card]. Now is it sportsmanly that a dig is in the belly and the player goes down holding a different part of his body? I don't think that's sportsmanship. And that's the reality of it.

I probably should have referenced that, but I was commenting on the action. Looking back on it, it was probably wrong [not to mention it]. When you see someone going down holding a part of the body that didn't seem to get the impact of where he got the belt... was that adding to the [red card] decision? Perhaps.

Perhaps the decision is made anyway based on as soon he (the linesman) seen the (striking) action.

Footage of the incident between Dalton and O'Mara has circulated on social media, and it appears that Dalton threw his head toward the Tipp player. However, O'Mara didn't go down or clutch his head, and the referee chose not to discipline the Cork player, who'd go on to be man of the match.

It's part of a fascinating panel discussion on prematch schmozzles and a developing trend of hurlers appearing to selling injuries to referees. Relevant to this debate is an incident from the Offaly-Galway on Saturday. Daithí Burke smashes his hurl over the shoulder of Offaly's Brian Duignan and it shatters into pieces. Duignan reacts angrily for a few seconds, before grabbing his head. Burke would rightly see a straight red card.

He never liked that hurley anyway😂 Daithi Burke meets Brian Duignan pic.twitter.com/oi9SOYuVhz

— Craic Of The Ash (@CraicOfTheAsh) April 28, 2025

Tipp are rooted to the bottom of the Munster standings after the second week of action, despite holding Limerick to a draw in the opening round.

They will meet Clare next in a fixture which will have major implications for both sides whatever way the result goes.