Joe Canning says the GAA decision on the Dillon Quirke Foundation jersey is ‘a bit of a disgrace'

All-Ireland winner Joe Canning brought the GAA decision to deny charity logos on jerseys back into the spotlight when he highlighted the issue on Sunday nights The Sunday Game show on RTE television.

Dillon Quirke passed away in Semple Stadium playing for Clonoulty Rossmore in August of last year during a club game against Kilruane MacDonaghs.

The Dillon Quirke Foundation was set up by his family this year and many fundraising drives have raised the profile of the foundation which aims to ensure all boys and girls in Ireland are assessed for heart conditions.

Both Limerick and Tipperary hurlers were supportive of wearing jersey logos in support of the foundation during their Munster Championship clash in May however the GAA rules surrounding charity logos on jerseys changed in the lead up to the game. 

In March of this year, Central Council made a decision to prohibit the promotion of charities on playing gear which denied the Dillon Quirke Foundation an opportunity to highlight the work of the charity in front of a huge audience. 

When he was asked to recall his moment of the year on Sunday night's tv show on RTE the former All-Star hurler from Galway said that if they had been allowed wear the jersey to highlight the charity it would have been the highlight of his year:

“When Limerick played Tipperary and they weren’t to wear the sponsor jersey, that for me would have been my moment of the year,” Joe Canning said.

The Portumna native added that despite the setback, both teams still honoured Dillon Quirke in an apt way when they met in the Munster championship by wearing the logo on their bibs before the game: “It is in a way that Limerick and Tipp, they still wore their training gear for warm-ups.

“We said it that day, it was a bit of a disgrace that the GAA did not allow them to support because Dillon Quirke gave his life to the GAA. That for me was a wrong thing by the GAA this year, and it should be highlighted here tonight and even further afield again.

“That young fella lost his life on the hurling pitch, on that pitch in Thurles, and what they done to the foundation, the family, the disrespect they showed by not allowing that; and in fairness to both Limerick and Tipperary, they done themselves proud that night.”