The James Connolly's GAA club in Birmingham has thanked all who supported and sympathised with them following the tragic death of one of their players last weekend.

Twenty-two-year-old Joel Richards was one of the 38 victims of the Tunisian massacre. He represented both Connolly's and Warwickshire with distinction and was also a well-known soccer referee. His grandfather Patrick Evans and uncle Adrian Evans were also killed in Friday's atrocity.

A message posted on the hoganstand.com/uk forum today by the club today reads: "James Connollys would like to publicly thank Warwickshire clubs and the county board for their kind thoughts and condolences at this difficult time. Each club in the county has been in touch to pass on their thoughts, and we would especially like to thank John Mitchels, Erin Go Bragh and Roger Casements who stood shoulder to shoulder, taking part in a minute's silence before the Home Grown Quarter Finals yesterday.

"We'd also like to thank members of St Barnbas, St Josephs, St Finbarrs and Rugby Gaels who have observed a minute's silence before recent training sessions and matches.

"We get a lot of negative posts on this forum about the state of the county, with the perception that some teams are in it for themselves and have no concern for the rest of the county.

"Anybody who was in attendance on Tuesday night would have seen a wonderful gesture of respect and togetherness. At times of sadness, Warwickshire GAA unites superbly in grief and reminds us what the GAA is all about."

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