Peter Canavan’s joke about reason for son Darragh’s absence goes over RTE panel’s head

Talk about a joke going over your head

Darragh is set to travel to Australia for a month, meaning he'll miss the second half of Tyrone's Allianz League campaign, having kicked nine points and picking up the man of the match award in the win over Cavan on Sunday night.

County boss Malachy O'Rourke confirmed Canavan's departure after the match, saying: “He is going away. This was something that was planned before the start of the season — he is going to Australia for a month.

“A lot of inter-county players are going away at different times, and we would obviously (like) to see him stay about when he’s in form like that, but in fairness, Darragh has been on the treadmill for a good while.

“He has picked up a few injuries along the way, and we have often played him maybe when we shouldn’t have, so hopefully the wee bit of a break will do him good.

“He will come back refreshed and ready to go, and as you can see today it means an awful lot to him to put on that Tyrone jersey — he will be back for the championship.”

Speaking on RTE later that evening, Darragh's father Peter made a joke about his son needing to go to Turkey for a hair transplant, but the joke was lost on the panel, who barely reacted.

He said: "It's news to me. Malachy made it clear he was going to Australia.

"I thought it was Turkey he was going to actually [for a hair transplant], but he's going to Australia for a month.

"It's been a longstanding arrangement. I think he's ok for next week, but after that he will be away for a few league games."

Presenter Joanne Cantwell did let out a small smirk, but Cora Staunton and Raymond Galligan seemingly missed the pun.