THE father of Irish and Munster rugby star Conor Murray is being treated for serious injuries in hospital after he was involved in a road accident near his home in County Limerick.
Gerry Murray, who is in his late 60s, was cycling on the N20 near Patrickswell on Tuesday afternoon when his bike was involved in a collison with a truck. Mr Murray is an experienced cyclist who has worked as a marshal on the Tour de France.
Gardaí closed the road for 90 minutes as emergency services extracted the father-of-three from the wreckage.
Mr Murray who is married to former Irish international squash player, Barbara Murray, was taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick and later transferred to Cork University Hospital with serious head injuries.
The Patrickswell community were praying he would make a quick recovery as his family traveled to Cork to be at his bedside, a local source said.
It is understood doctors treating Mr Murray placed him in an induced coma to give him the best possible outcome.
“He has head injuries and they are hoping the induced coma will keep him steady,” the source explained.
“He was very seriously injured and we are hoping he will get through it.”
“He is a very active man, cycling all his life. He is a serious cycling enthusiast, and was involved as a marshal with the Tour de France for a couple of years. He is also big into motorbikes.”
“It was a very serious incident, he is lucky to be alive and hopefully he will pull through.”
A Garda spokesman said that “Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene of a traffic collision that occurred at approximately 3:25pm on Tuesday, February 7 on the N20 in Patrickswell.
“A truck and a cyclist were involved in this collision. The cyclist, a man aged in his 60s, was conveyed to University Hospital Limerick for treatment of serious injuries sustained as a result of this collision,” the spokesman added.
Earlier today, Conor Murray was named by Irish rugby coach Andy Farrell as fit to start for Ireland against France in the Six Nations Championship in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Photo: Brendan Gleeson
