Long after his plight had been forgotten, he had yet to receive any assistance. "I got some money from my own insurance policy but the whole thing has still cost me a lot. I'm not sure how much and I'm not sure if I want to know how much. It's why I went public in the first place but to be truthful still nothing changed after that. The Meath county board have still done nothing." For many it ended with Richie Kealy too, until last week at least.

Six days ago it was claimed that Brian McGuigan was banging his head against a similar brick wall in Tyrone.

Six months after breaking both his tibia and his fibia playing a club game for Ardboe, he had yet to receive any financial assistance from the Tyrone county board. So reckless was his treatment in fact, that he was forced to return to work early just to get by. Tyrone chairman Pat Darcy quickly stated that such claims "were not borne out of the facts".

Some sources in Tyrone supported Darcy's suggestions, saying any problems that arose were down to McGuigan's slow filing of paperwork and that ultimately he would not lose out financially. Others suggested what little money he had received came from unofficial channels.

The truth probably lies somewhere in no man's land and despite the many positives arising from compensation, many players are still losing out. If there's proof anywhere, it's to be found in Westmeath with the story of Paul Conway. "I broke the first leg in 2002. Then there were the shoulders that were giving me bother for a couple of years. So after we won the Leinster title in '04 I decided it was time to get them looked at so as to get back in time for the following season. So I had one operated on a few months before Christmas. That turned out to be a much bigger job than I thought and I was out of everything for about 10 weeks and I was thinking would it be worth it, leaving the other one, if I was going to have to go through that all again. But eventually I thought why stop here so about a month before Christmas I got the other shoulder worked on. After all that there was the comeback against Kildare in 2005. I came on for five minutes and then went out against Tipperary for the last 20 minutes and it was then I broke my other leg.

That was f**king it at that stage. I thought no way, no more after that. It wasn't worth it.

"But while it was unfortunate, it could have been a lot worse. Myself and the father were running a business as plasterers throughout that period and of course I missed a huge amount of time. I'd say between everything there was probably a year gone in total.

And I was compensated in fairness and everything was taken care of. I filled out the forms once and people were very good. I got the county doctor to sign some stuff and the accountant worked out the wage slips."

But did you end up losing out on much in terms of finances?

"In fairness, I was delighted to get what I did, but it wasn't what I could have earned. There'd have been a very big difference, compared to what I lost. I could have been getting big money for working on a house but what you get is just a standard wage to keep you going. Lucky enough I wasn't trying to support a family or anything like that. On top of that I was living at home so I had no mortgage either. I know from talking to people, if you had to deal with all that, you'd be asking for a lot more money."

The stories are the same across the country. For every Rory O'Connell, Darren Magee and Brian McDonald, there have been club and underage players across the country still waiting to be reimbursed. It's why John Maughan believes the GAA needs to review its insurance scheme. "I have to say that while I was in Mayo, the supporter's club was very very generous towards players when it came to injuries or if there were other issues in their lives, for instance if they needed assistance paying car insurance or whatever it might have been. We had a small but fantastic group of people and there was a lot of good quality work behind the scenes. That's where communication between management, the county board and the supporter's club comes in and we never really had any problem with it so I was astonished to see the scenario in Tyrone if we're to take reports as being factual.

If you are to take them as being true, it's astonishing because Club Tyrone have generated huge funds and maybe that's spent on the preparation of teams and grounds, but it should be looked at if the McGuigan case is true.

"You hear of something like that the very odd time, and often it's at club level. In Mayo I know of some people, like there was one guy who broke an elbow and he was working in construction and it's then that the GAA needs to look at its insurance scheme, because at the minute it's not good enough in that the payments aren't comprehensive enough. I'd like to see a situation where players are paid an interim amount up front and let the paperwork follow.

Unfortunately it works the other way as it is but I saw some information about how the rugby insurance works and while I understand it's a professional game we should be pushing forward for something more comprehensive.

It's a model that could be followed."

In Armagh, Joe Kernan takes a similar view, but while he believes insurance could be reviewed, he also believes the treatment most GAA players get is second to none. "I don't know if everything that was said about Brian McGuigan was true because I know Tyrone have a good backroom team and a good medical staff. We're the same in that we've a good medical team in place and anything that does come up, we try and get it attended to immediately. We can go anywhere, wherever the best place to go and have an operation and treatment is. Cost is not an issue when it comes to that, nor is it a problem when it comes to a guy missing out on day-to-day things. Whether he's a student or working or whatever, we make sure a guy isn't out of pocket. The county board make sure all is looked after.

"I suppose the GAA insurance scheme could do with a look, but at the same time you'd be glad to get what you can. The cost of operations are so much now, it's good that it's covered and it's good that compensation is there providing you can come up with the wage slips that are needed. I think most guys are glad to get what they get."

The question might be more about when rather than if, but it is important that both parts of that equation are right. And the Brian McGuigan case might just be the catalyst needed for the GAA at all levels to sharpen its reactions.