Dublin CEO slams media coverage of Dublin’s Covid training breach

"Was the same attitude applied to other teams who were also in breach?

Dublin GAA CEO John Costello has repeated the stance that Dublin's breach of COVID-19 rules earlier this year was wrong, and that they accept that responsibility. However, he has questioned the tone of some of the media commentary around the breach, suggesting in his annual report that it was one of 'these lads should be arraigned for treason' and that they were ‘guilty of burgling the bank of youth from the young citizens of the country.’ Costello said reference to the media coverage wasn't an attempt to "defend the indefensible" and quoted the Dublin management committee statement - "which they did not have to be press-ganged into." He then claimed that other teams who also breached protocol, did not receive the same amount of backlash, and that it was worse, simply because they were Dublin.

"For almost two weeks, some media organisations turned over every stone to see if they could squeeze yet more mileage out of the story," he writes. "Was the same attitude applied to other teams who were also in breach? Or to a team from a different sporting code who broke restrictions to go outside the jurisdiction for social events?

"And that's before even mentioning any political 'socials'. Most certainly not. Would 'The Hawks against the Dubs?' be an aphorism for the time? "Then the following doozy of a headline was brought to my attention: "Most of us don't have a garden big enough for 50 guests - but who hasn't fallen off the lockdown wagon like Nathan Carter? "Certainly, we live in very interesting times!"