As sports organisations reflect on the sudden death of a second young, elite athlete within the space of a month, the GAA believes the idea of universal screening is unrealistic. The death of Ireland under-19 rugby player John McCall from cardiac arrest during a World Cup match in South Africa came only weeks after Tyrone captain Cormac McAnallen passed away because of a virus attacking his heart.

Dr Con Murphy, chair of the GAA's Medical Committee, was responding to suggestions that young sports people should be screened for health purposes as well as fitness.

"It would be very, very difficult to screen everyone," he said. "There are so many players that you couldn't possibly provide that facility across the board. How far do you go? There are defibrillators at all big matches, but after that where do you go? If there's a crowd of more than 100?

"Even if you could screen with, say, cardiographs and stress tests and provide the necessary interpretations, you'd still get players who'd slip through the net."

Earlier on RTÉ radio's Liveline, Cormac McAnallen's mother, Brigid, had spoken, along with relatives of other young people to have suffered fatal cardiac episodes, about the importance of trying to learn from these instances.

While denying that she was calling for the introduction of health screening for athletes, she did say that it sounded "like a good idea".

"I heard a consultant cardiologist saying that athletes in America are routinely screened with ECGs and ultrasound, but that this doesn't happen to athletes here."

Mrs McAnallen also drew attention to the fact that her son had sustained three serious blows to the head during the preceding nine months, two of which required treatment for concussion and the other resulting in a broken cheekbone.

Whereas the number of callers to the programme suggested that the incidence of such deaths wasn't as rare as might have been thought, Dr Murphy doesn't believe that the problem is increasing but that the spotlight on the issue has come about because of recent victims.

"I think it was bad luck that you had two high-profile people from the same area. I also think that it's an exaggeration to conclude that young athletes are particularly vulnerable. People die in their armchairs in greater numbers, although it is true that if you get a virus and are actively involved in strenuous exercise you can do terrible damage by trying to ride it out."

Neither did he feel that the two deceased's amateur status suggested that the physical demands on players who also had career work to do was becoming dangerously intolerable.

"I don't think it's dangerous. But it does affect overall fitness. I remember talking to Donal Lenihan about rugby going professional and he said that the big difference was the rest that professionals are able to take. Amateurs don't get enough rest. I'm asked about supplements and I always reply that if you're getting proper rest and diet you don't need supplements."

Meanwhile, Dr Paul Thompson, a leading US and global authority on this area, will be in Dublin for a conference on cardiac rehabilitation at the RDS from the May 24th-26th. His paper will be titled: "Sudden Death During Exercise".