GAELIC GAMES: An ugly incident marred the closing stages of yesterday's Laois county hurling final replay.

Castletown goalkeeper Ger Cuddy was shown a straight red card for a strike on 15-year-old Camross substitute Dean Delaney, who was stretchered from the O'Moore Park grounds and taken to Portlaoise hospital for further examination where he was detained overnight.

There were just over four minutes remaining in the game when the incident occurred. Castletown were leading by two points.

Up to that stage the game had been played in a competitive but fair spirit, but with play down at the Camross goal end, the scuffle between Cuddy and Delaney ensued.

Cuddy was then seen to strike the Camross player, with the umpire quickly intervening to calm things down.

Delaney, although conscious, remained on the ground for several minutes as he was attended by the medical personnel, and for safety purposes was strapped to the stretcher - including a neck brace - for his journey to the hospital.

Match referee Pat Moran showed Cuddy a straight red card.

The match eventually resumed after a break of several minutes.

Camross closed the gap to one-point, but there was further controversy when only two of the allocated four minutes of added time were actually played.

At 15, Delaney was the youngest player on the field, having being part of the successful under-14 Camross team last year.

His condition was described as comfortable last night but he was being detained in hospital for further examination.

The contents of the referee's report will determine the exact length of the match ban now facing Cuddy.