Clare hurler Shane O’Donnell has called for robust rules around head-high tackles after team-mate David Reidy was knocked unconscious by a collision during the Banner’s win over Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-final last month.Reidy received extensive treatment on the field after colliding with Dublin’s Brendan Kenny during the second half of Clare’s 0-29 to 0-16 win at Semple Stadium. The Kilmacud Crokes clubman was shown a straight red card for the challenge.O’Donnell was among the first to come to Reidy’s assistance, immediately calling to medics on the sideline.“I was actually running back the pitch to support and he got hit. He went straight into that defence response where your arms kind of come up, and you just know that he’s been knocked out straight away,” he says.The 2024 Hurler of the Year has previously spoken about experiencing a concussion which almost ended his career in 2021.“It was scary enough,” O’Donnell says of Reidy’s knock. “Looking back on it, it wasn’t as concerning [as it first seemed], but he was fully knocked out and not moving, and it wasn’t certain he was breathing. “The physio was checking his breathing, and the doctor was checking his pulse, but he straps up his wrists, so I just heard the doctor saying ‘I can’t get his pulse’. I was like, ‘f**king hell, somebody get an ambulance’.”Fortunately, the doctor managed to find Reidy’s pulse and establish he was breathing, and the Éire Óg man soon regained consciousness. “He’s actually recovered really well,” O’Donnell says of his clubmate, “but it was scary.”Shane O’Donnell looks on as David Reidy receives medical attention during the game against Dublin. Photograph: Tom O'Hanlon/Inpho The 32-year-old insists that such dangerous tackles are not a one-off, saying: “It’s not even a one-off this year for our team.”County colleague Mark Rodgers also suffered a concussion after a hit during Clare’s win over Tipperary in the Munster championship in May.“It is a problem,” says O’Donnell. “I think it’s actually a specific enough situation that you could have a kind of surgical approach to clamping down on it. “It’s not every front-on tackle even, it’s the tackle when you’re coming out of rising the ball, when you’re completely exposed.“When you’re coming out of rising the ball – one, you can’t see it; but two, your head is already low enough, no matter how quickly you come up, your chin is going to get caught with a shoulder.”He suggests a possible solution may be a top-down directive from the GAA to stamp out those types of challenges, or bringing in a rule, similar to football, whereby it would be a foul to tackle the player going down over the ball. But by whatever means, “they need to do something about it”.Facing neighbours Limerick in the All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park on Sunday, O’Donnell says it’ll be his “second last dance”, hopeful his county can reach the decider for his final bow.Clare's Shane O'Donnell at the launch of new sports nutrition brand Cróga at Croke Park. Photograph: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile Thirteen years after he first lit up Croke Park as a 19-year-old, scoring 3-3 in the All-Ireland final replay against Cork to seal the Banner’s fourth senior hurling title, it’d be a fitting way to bring down the curtain.“[This] is going to be my last year,” O’Donnell insists. “I know I’ve said this a couple of times already, but this is genuinely the last time.”Having dedicated over a decade to furthering Clare’s cause, and helping Éire Óg end a 35-year wait for a county title for good measure, now feels like a good time to see what the rest of the world has to offer.“I think it’s probably more about [being at] a stage in my life where the opportunity cost of playing is growing each year. I’m feeling like I’m having to trade off more each year, it’s getting harder to rationalise the decisions I’m making around not living abroad, or feeling like I’m holding back my career, or feeling like I’m not able to do the things that normal people at this stage of their lives do.“Also, I did have a bad shoulder injury last year, and this year it’s been tricky just trying to stay on the pitch. So, maybe there’s also a little bit of, like, maybe that’s a sign as well. But the decision was kind of already made earlier in the year that this was going to be the last one, and then the body playing up makes you feel like maybe that’s the right decision.”[ Joe Canning: Cork and Limerick look set for final, but Clare and Galway are great unknownsOpens in new window ]Could another Celtic Cross tempt him to stay? “No, even if we win, I think my time is done.“Hurling has been amazing, it has been absolutely incredible for me, but I have lots of incredible things in my life that I want to pursue, so at some point the scales tip the other way and you just have to make the hard decision.”– Shane O’Donnell was speaking at the launch of Cróga, a new sports nutrition brand designed for Gaelic games, developed by Nuvion Nutrition in partnership with the GAA and GPA.