The Ulster rugby team doctor, David Irwin, a former Irish international player, has called for the screening of all young people involved in sports for possible heart defects.
Dr Irwin's call comes in the light of the recent sudden death of GAA star Cormac McAnallen whose mother and girlfriend Ashlene are also trying to set up a screening process.
Dr Irwin also points to the death of Irish international rugby player John McCall from Armagh who dropped dead playing for Ireland against New Zealand in Durban, South Africa, on 29th of last month. Over 2,000 people attended the funeral of Mr McCall in Armagh yesterday where a choir from his school the Royal Academy sang hymns in his praise.
Dr Irwin said: "I would be totally for government funding for the screening of young men and women in sport if it means that we could save even a small number of lives."
At present screening is only carried out on professional athletes. For instance, Dr Irwin's 30-strong Ulster rugby squad all go through a strenuous screening process using a special scanner called an echo cardiogram.
John McCall died from cardiomyopathy, a structural problem with a muscle in the heart that will not show up in an ECG but could be detected by the echocardiogram.
Dr Irwin pointed out that he does not believe this syndrome is on the increase. He also emphasised that sports-related deaths are still very rare, with statistics showing only one in 200,000 per year.