FROM A VERY young age, as he explains in the powerful video below, it became apparent to Karl Reddy that he was different.

The Ballyboden St Enda’s player would hear something, but his brain couldn’t process words in the correct order.

Karl was suffering from speech and developmental difficulties but hurling provided him with an “escape from letters and numbers.”

Teenager Karl tells the story of how he did allow his problems to define him as a person.

“I joined the local GAA club when I was 7. It gave me a chance to escape from letters and numbers. I didn’t have to be clever or have your hand up first, or understand how to calculate 25 per cent of 100. You just played.

“When I got older, it became obvious to my friends that I had language problems and things started to change.

“I became much more aware that I was different and as a result, felt more isolated. I stopped joining in in all conversations because I knew I wasn’t catching all the details, and if I made a comment, it was ignored.” 

Here is Karl’s story:

One of Mayo’s 1950 and 1951 All-Ireland winners has died

Here are the 41 key GAA fixtures to look out for this week