A TALENTED young GAA player "is fighting his biggest battle ever" in hospital after suffering a serious head injury in a weekend road accident.
The family of Odhrán McKenna (17), who plays both football and hurling for St John's GAC in west Belfast, have asked people to "keep praying" after the teenager was involved in a one-vehicle collision on Friday evening in Crumlin.
Police said that at around 5pm on Friday, a car driven by Odhrán left the Killead Road and struck a tree.
In a statement posted by St John's GAC on Saturday, the McKenna family, who live in Crumlin, described the GAA community as "truly the greatest family in the world."
It said: "Firstly they would like to thank everyone worldwide who have sent messages of support to Odhrán. The GAA truly is the greatest family in the world.
"Odhrán sustained a serious head injury in an RTC and as a result has been sedated to try and give him the best possible chance of a full recovery. We expect Odhrán to remain sedated until Monday evening.
"Anyone who knows Odhrán will know he is a battler on the pitch. He is fighting his biggest battle ever at the minute. No better man. Keep praying. Go raibh maith agat."
The teenager, whose twin brother CJ is also a dual player with St John's and Antrim, has been involved in training squads for the Antrim minor football side this season and was also named on the Antrim colleges hurling panel.
Last summer, Odhrán lined out for Antrim's minor hurlers as they clinched the Ulster title with a win over Derry.
In a tweet, Antrim GAA asked people to "please pray that Odhrán recovers".
St Mary's Grammar School on the Glen Road in west Belfast where Odhrán is a pupil, said: "The thoughts and prayers of the St Mary's community are with Odhrán and his family."
Numerous messages of support have been expressed on social media by GAA clubs throughout Belfast and Ireland.
West Belfast club St Gall's said its "thoughts and prayers" went out to a "friend of many of our members, Odhrán McKenna."
Police have asked for anyone with information about the collision to contact officers on 101.
