There have been many mad moments throughout this lockdown – but a Laois hurler winning an online FIFA tournament on the PlayStation has to be one of the highlights!
Eric Killeen, who was on the Laois panel that won the Joe McDonagh Cup last year, represented the county in an online competition – where he won the Leinster and All Ireland titles by beating other intercounty players from around the country.
The tournament was created by Joanne O’Riordan of The Irish Times, The Gaelic Players Association and Insomnia Games Festival with the objective of raising much needed funds for our frontline healthcare workers during this hugely challenging time.
Speaking on a recent LaoisToday Talking Sport Podcast, where he was a guest alongside fellow Laois player Matthew Whelan, Eric explained how it all came about.
“(Laois hurling captain) Enda Rowland put it in to the group chat to see who wanted to take part and Mark Kavanagh said ‘if this isn’t a job for Eric Killeen, I don’t know what is’.
“‘I said I’ve been training all my life for this’ as a joke and Enda put me forward.
“I got an email that I was selected and put into a group chat with the other 31 counties.”
Killeen, who had been assigned Man City as his team, won the Leinster title by beating Louth hurler Gavin Kerrigan, Dublin’s James Madden (who is now with the Brisbane Lions in Australia) and Meath footballer Jordan Morris.
He then beat Sligo hurler Niall Feehily in the All Ireland semi-final before coming from 3-1 down to beat Waterford footballer Aaron Jones in the final.
“I was 3-1 down at half time. I was having talks with myself, trying to pump myself up,” he laughed on our recent Podcast.
“I put the head down (and said) if I’ve anything in me I’ll try and claw something back.
“It was all for a good cause. It was a great idea and it was well run.”
Matthew Whelan reckoned, however, wouldn’t have fared as well though he said he did hold his own in a competition with the Laois hurlers on a training camp in Cork a number of years back.
“I haven’t played FIFA in the last couple of years. If it was FIFA 07 or 09 I’d have been alright. The buttons were a lot easier back then. You had to press triangle to sprint and you’d have the fingers broke!”
You can listen to the episode in full here and subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify as well as listen on Soundcloud and Podbean.
The post How it came about that a Laois hurler was crowned the All Ireland FIFA champion on the PlayStation appeared first on Laois Today.
source https://www.laoistoday.ie/2020/05/16/how-it-came-about-that-a-laois-hurler-was-crowned-the-all-ireland-fifa-champion-on-the-playstation/
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