Criticism of McKinless is ‘unfair’ – Gilligan

Ben McKinless combined the rough with the smooth in Derry’s defeat to Mayo

A FORMER Derry player has warned that the spotlight of social media could have a detrimental effect on participation in the GAA.

Conleith Gilligan made this analysis after his Ballinderry club mate Ben McKinless was on the receiving end of some jibes on social media following the county’s loss to Mayo in the All-Ireland Qualifiers.

McKinless, in his debut year playing for the county, was having a good game for Derry as he pulled off a string of saves to keep them in the game.

However, a few of his short kick outs gifted Mayo easy scores which eventually led to defeat for the Oak leafers.

In the aftermath of the game, McKinless was criticised on social media, which is something that Gilligan noted is happpening more and more.

“You give people a forum to say what they want and sometimes really good people, sensible people lose the run of themselves and they say things that they wouldn’t ordinarily say in life.

“You just have to be very careful. Everything is scrutinized. Small mistakes become big mistakes. I would imagine that someone will throw the head up and say the hell with this, football is not worth the hassle. That would be the sad thing if it pushed people out of it. Right across the grades everyone is under pressure.”

The full interview with Conleith Gilligan is available in store today or online here.