The star Limerick hurler Gearoid Hegarty was speaking at the launch of the Bord Gáis Energy Pride and believes that there are a lot of GAA players that are afraid to come out and be proud of the LGBTQ Community.

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“I think it is just the stigma that is around it,” he replied when asked why he thinks no inter-county player has come out since 2009.

“And that is why Bord Gais are getting behind this campaign, trying to remove that stigma and allowing people to be whoever they want to be.

“I have several friends who are gay and they are very close friends of mine. I really do feel that it is up to the person to be whoever they want to be.

“There probably still is that stigma in Irish culture, I don’t necessarily think it’s the GAA. But I think we are getting much better as a country over the last number of years surrounding the viewpoint around it.

“But I still think that we have a bit of a way to go. Hopefully people can become more comfortable about these things in the future.”