The county of Kilkenny is in mourning after the sudden death of Paul Shefflin, brother to hurling legend Henry Shefflin.
Paul (40) died while out for a run on Friday afternoon.
The local community of Ballyhale are said to be in shock after news broke that the father of four had passed away.
Ballyhale parish priest Fr Seán O’Connor told The Irish Independent: “Paul is the youngest of the Shefflin family, and he died yesterday suddenly out running, it’s just tragedy for the whole parish.
“They are totally [in shock]. We haven’t heard much else at the moment.”
Tributes have poured in for the talented hurler who was the Kilkenny Minor hurling captain in 1998 and played as a defender.
In a post on Facebook, Ballyhale Shamrocks said: “Shamrocks GAA Club are shocked and saddened by the sudden death of club member and former player Paul Shefflin.
“Paul was an unbelievable player and won many County championships and Club All Irelands wearing the Jersey he loved. Paul was also a former Senior Club Treasurer and was currently involved in coaching underage teams and was actively involved in the Juvenile section of the club.
“Our condolences to his loving wife Aoife, his four children, his parents Henry & Mai, his brothers and sisters and the extended Shefflin and Mc Carthy families . May Paul RIP”.
A Galway football fan page also paid tribute to the sportsman, saying: “We would like to offer our sincere condolences to Galway manager Henry Shefflin following the sad passing of his brother Paul.
“Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam
“Paul played mostly as a half back for Ballyhale Shamrocks where he won 6 Kilkenny SHC titles, 4 Leinster Club SHC titles & 3 All-Ireland Club SHC titles.
“He captained the Kilkenny Minors to Leinster glory in 1998.
“He was part of the WIT team that won the Fitzgibbon Cup, alongside Henry back in 1999.”
Funeral arrangements will not be made until a post-mortem has taken place.
The National Hurling League match, due to take place tonight, between Cork and Galway, managed by Paul’s older brother, is expected to go ahead in Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork.
Henry Shefflin is unlikely to attend. However, a minute’s silence will be observed prior to all this weekend’s GAA games.
