Nobody knows when this black-out is going to end, but Limerick, Dublin and Galway county boards are already taking precautionary measures.
There isn’t a person on this island who hasn’t been affected by the coronavirus and all its implications these last few weeks and while the spread of disease and the possible loss of life certainly diminishes the apparent necessity of getting games played, it also underlines and emphasises just how a important a part they play in our lives.
Without them, and this is putting it mildly, we are lost.
For this writer, the cancellation of training sessions has taken away not just the staple but the life and soul of everything we do. Preparing for a club championship game this April was at the forefront of these last few months for club players all over, and now those games are shrouded with doubt.
For supporters, managers, players alike, this is what being lost feels like.
And while the GAA were spot on to act immediately by enforcing a blanket ban in all games and training sessions until March 29, it looks like we will be waiting a while longer for our games to re-commence and our pitches to re-open as the threat of this virus deepends.
That comes after Limerick, Dublin and Galway county boards have announced that the April club month is no longer. All fixtures and GAA activity has been banned in those counties. Indeed, it seems only a matter of writing out a statement before other counties follow suit.
“Please ensure that your club teams are adhering to the directive that no training or games can take place at any level during this pandemic. Stay safe,” wrote Dublin GAA secretary John Costello.
UPDATE: Club Championship Fixtures.
Please be reminded no training or games can take place at any level during this pandemic. pic.twitter.com/7lM8ndPRph
— Dublin GAA (@DubGAAOfficial) March 16, 2020
Who knows what’s going to happen next? Who knows when we will be back? One thing for certain is that championship structures and formats are going to need some serious reconsideration by the head bottle-washers, with straight knock-out championships, like the old days, becoming a very real possibility.
Another sure thing, is that Limerick hurling manager John Kiely’s words ring true at this testing and confusing time.
“Sport will be a huge player in lifting the spirits of the nation when it does come back on the agenda when this is all over,” he said on Morning Ireland this morning.
