Mayo minor’s dramatic weekend

Minor Michael is alright after dramatic weekend


Edwin McGreal

MAYO minor star Michael Hall was rushed to hospital on Sunday morning last amid fears he was about to rupture his appendix. Amazingly, the drama came only hours after he had wowed crowds with his dance moves the previous night.
The teenager was recovering last night (Monday) in Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar and is expected to be discharged on Wednesday, but on Sunday morning it was a different story.
Hall (18), together with Ellen O’Malley, had been one of ten couples to take part in the Breaffy GAA ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ fundraiser on Saturday night, and they were so polished on the stage that they were placed second by the judges.
Hall produced a man of the match performance for Breaffy on Friday night in Ballyhaunis as the club won the Mayo Minor League Division 2 title.
However, when he got home that night, he began to get sick and was ill for most of Saturday morning. Thinking it to be a vomiting bug, he took medication and managed to take to the stage on Saturday night.
However, it soon became clear in the early hours of Sunday that he was in severe pain and was brought to his doctor at 9.30am on Sunday. Three hours later, he was under the knife at Mayo General to remove his appendix.
His mother Lorraine Hall told The Mayo News that the surgeon described the situation as ‘nasty’ and while the appendix hadn’t ruptured, it was ‘starting to push’.
“The surgeon could not believe that Michael had been dancing on Saturday night,” she told The Mayo News. “He said Michael must have a phenomenal pain threshold which is exactly what we thought.
“It could have been so much worse,” she added. “It could have happened in August and he’d have missed the All-Ireland minor final. We’ve been inundated with messages and goodwill since which we are so grateful for.”
Michael Hall was right half-back on the Mayo minor team which won the All-Ireland title and also starred as his club reached Mayo Minor and Senior Championship finals, winning the former.
While he was going under the knife on Sunday, the Breaffy U-21 team he is an integral part of were in the process of qualifying for the Mayo ‘B’ Championship final with a win over Hollymount/Carramore.
Lorraine Hall estimates that Michael has played 20 games in seven weeks since the All-Ireland Minor decider. However, this hectic schedule is not being blamed for the appendix problem.