GAA to wait on extending suspension of Gaelic Games activity
The GAA will wait until next week to make a decision on extending the suspension on organised Gaelic Games activity beyond the current March 29 date as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
That was the call articulated by GAA director general Tom Ryan to county chairs during a teleconference today, although it is widely expected that the blanket halt will continue into April at least.
Neither was there any debate on the possibility of abandoning national competitions or the structure of the Championship being changed to reflect the difficulties.
At the convening, Ryan is believed to have expanded on the Association’s statements made over the past eight days in relation to the cessation until March 29 and the decision to call off the New York-Galway Connacht SFC opener on May 3. He also reiterated that the GAA are continuing to work closely with the HSE.
Today, it was announced that both Páirc Uí Chaoimh and the LIT Gaelic Grounds will be used as drive-thru test facilities following on from UPMC Nowlan Park and Croke Park.
A number of county chairs raised human relations concerns with Ryan arising from the Covid-19 pandemic but Croke Park intend on speaking to county boards on an individual basis about them.
Meanwhile, the Munster minor football championship start date has been provisionally moved to April 22 from April 8. The province’s competitions control committee made the decision having consulted with the six counties.
“Based on the information to hand at this moment, the earliest start date for the Electric Ireland Munster Minor Football Championship will be Wednesday April 22nd,” their statement reads.
“If the ban on collective training and games is extended beyond March 29th, then Munster GAA take the appropriate action, based on the information to hand at that stage.
"No decisions on the format/scheduling of the other 2020 Munster Championship fixtures (Senior Hurling, Senior Football, U20 Hurling and Minor Hurling grades) can be made at this time until the current restrictions are lifted.”
