Month: September 2021

Timo Werner of Chelsea is fouled by Tottenham’s Eric Dier.

Source: PA

Timo Werner made a fine run out to that side, and then simply allowed Eric Dier to thrash around on the grass in front of him. For what felt like an eternity Dier waggled his legs in the air, like an upturned beetle awaking from uneasy dreams to find itself transformed into a Tottenham centre-back. Eventually the opportunity to fall over arrived. Werner took it. Jorginho tucked the kick away. And by half-time Spurs had played an entirely inert 45 minutes. For Chelsea this must have felt like dancing with a corpse.

– A stinging assessment of Tottenham’s performance in their midweek defeat to Chelsea from The Guardian’s Barney Ronay.

* * *

The piercing screams told Cora Staunton far more than she wished to know. With 40 seconds left in the Great Western Sydney Giants pre-season clash with Adelaide Crows at the Norwood Oval earlier this month, Staunton’s team-mate and close friend Bríd Stack won a contested ball but was hit late by Crows midfielder Ebony Marinoff. The 11-time All-Ireland winner with Cork came away with a fractured C7 vertebra in her neck.

– Cora Staunton speaks to Micheal Clifford of the Daily Mail and Extra.ie in the wake of the serious injury sustained by compatriot and Greater Western Sydney Giants team-mate Bríd Stack.

* * *

He was alone, alone until the end. At about 8 pm, in one uninterrupted motion, he leaned to the side, reached out to the coffee table, lifted the gun, pressed it against his right temple and pulled the trigger. That was supposed to be the end of Drew Robinson’s story. Over the next 20 hours, he would come to realise it was the beginning of another.

– For ESPN, Jeff Passan tells the remarkable story of San Francisco Giants outfielder Drew Robinson.

* * * 

Klete Keller at the 2008 Olympics.

Source: SIPA USA/PA Images

The arrest eight days later of an American sporting hero turned American pariah triggered a sense of shock, but not necessarily surprise, within the swimming community. Keller is the product of what one person who knows the family terms a “strict, right-wing household.” And not a happy household at that. Most everyone in the tight-knit sport knows about Keller’s upbringing, and about the tortured path he took after retiring in 2008 – in part because he has talked so openly about it all. Says another source who has worked with many of the elite performers in the sport: “If there is one swimmer I could see being there, it’s him.” 

– Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde examines how Klete Keller went from Olympic hero to FBI target for his role in the US Capitol siege. 

* * * 

There was no sporting loss too severe that meeting Paul Rudd on a stag weekend in the Kings Head wouldn’t cure. At least, that’s what I thought. I know better now; there has been no greater sporting tragedy to befall this town, or any in this country, than Covid-19 — a phenomenon so indiscriminate in its paralysation of places and people, it has even humbled Galway, the city that never weeps.

– Colin Sheridan pens a beautiful lament to the pandemic’s impact on the sporting landscape in the Irish Examiner.

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THE LEVEL 5 life is still in full swing these days but here at The42, we’ve got plenty of sports content to keep you occupied.

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Your continued support of our work is greatly appreciated and we hope you’ve been able to find some respite on our website during these difficult times.

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Here’s a flavour of what’s coming up for The42 members this week.

This evening, the usual gang at The42 Rugby Weekly Extra will be assessing the outcome of Ireland’s opening Six Nations clash with Wales. 

The Rugby Weekly Extra lads will be back again in their usual slot on Monday as regular analyst Eoin Toolan joins Murray Kinsella to get nerdy about all of the action from the opening weekend of the Six Nations.

Tuesday will bring another helping of great sportswriting discussion on Behind The Lines. Our resident host Gavin Cooney has spoken to some accomplished and fascinating writers since the beginning of this podcast, and this week will see American writer Bill Buford step into the spotlight.

The series has featured the likes of Gary Lineker, Wright Thompson, Rick Reilly, Robert Lipsyte, David Walsh, Malachy Clerkina and Caitlin Thompson so far, and is available to all members of The42.

On Wednesday, we’ll be releasing another fascinating edition of How To Win At Dominoes, the popular coaching podcast presented by Shane Keegan.

Dr Ed Coughlan is our guest this week to discuss his coaching methods and teachings. This podcast is now in its second season, and all existing episodes featuring names such as Cliodhna O’Connor, Padraig Harrington, Gary Keegan, Pat Lam and Cheddar Plunkett — are available on our membership.

If that’s not enough, we also have our weekly Insiders newsletters for GAA, Soccer and Rugby fans during the week before rounding things off with another post-match reaction pod on Rugby Weekly Extra after Ireland v France on Sunday, 14 February.

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DOWN MANAGER PADDY Tally has had his ban reduced from 12 to eight weeks following a meeting of the Central Hearings Committee last night.

The suspension relates to a breach of the GAA’s training guidelines with the infraction of ‘misconduct considered to have discredited the association’ seeing Tally initially handed a proposed 12-week suspension.

The Down manager requested the hearing which took place and while the infraction was found to be proven, the penalty imposed has been reduced to eight weeks.

Tally does now have the option of not accepting the decision of the Hearings Committee and the suspension, taking it on to the Appeals Committee.

The Down punishment relates to a gathering at Abbey CBS in Newry while Cork manager Ronan McCarthy is also facing a proposed suspension due to a collective fitness exercise in Youghal last month.

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The Cork county board have indicated they will request a hearing after the suspension was handed down to McCarthy. The rule breaches are linked to the GAA’s current ban on collective inter-county training rather than breaking Covid-19 rules for elite sports.

FORMER CORK FOOTBALL captain and St Finbarr’s All-Ireland club winner Christy Ryan has passed away with tributes paid to the dual playing star.

Christy Ryan (left) in action for Cork in the 1987 All-Ireland semi-final.

Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO

Ryan lined out for both Cork senior teams in the ’80s, particularly enjoying success with the fooballers while he won four All-Ireland club medals across both codes with his club St Finbarr’s.

RIP Christy https://t.co/WcNW0bWbvo

— Tony Davis (@allireland1) February 10, 2021

Very sad to learn of the passing of Christy Ryan this morning. A ferocious competitor for his beloved Barr’s on the field and a thorough gentleman off it. Deepest condolences to Miriam and family. May he rest in peace.

— Ephie Fitzgerald (@ephiefitzgerald) February 10, 2021

Cork GAA would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Christy Ryan R.I.P. Christy represented Cork in both hurling and football and was captain of the Cork senior football team that secured a famous Munster final win in 1983 https://t.co/8HaJHYyyzs pic.twitter.com/k2G9PESqyv

— Cork GAA (@OfficialCorkGAA) February 10, 2021

RIP Christy Ryan. A great man, a remarkable career, and a gent. Will be sadly missed https://t.co/wb94ybs0uL

— Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (@Donnchadhol) February 10, 2021

Ryan was centre-back when Cork won the football league final against Kerry in 1980 while three years later he was captain for the Munster senior final when they ended the Kingdom’s nine-in-a-row bid in dramatic fashion. He also won a hurling league medal with Cork in 1980.

He collected another provincial senior football medal in 1987 with Cork and started full-forward in that year’s All-Ireland decider against Meath.

Christy Ryan in action against Meath in the 1987 All-Ireland final.

Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO

Ryan also played hurling for Cork while he won several honours with his club St Finbarr’s, including that quartet of All-Ireland victories. He started at full-forward in their hurling win in 1978 against Wexford side Rathnure.

Ryan also played in all three of their All-Ireland club football final victories, midfield in 1980 against Galway side St Grellan’s, centre-back and captain for the 1981 success over Meath’s Walterstown and then centre-forward for the 1987 victory against Clann na nGael of Roscommon.

At local level in Cork he played in a remarkable 20 county senior finals and was part of 11 victories, six in hurling and five in football.

THE GAA HAS confirmed that there will be no Gaelic games activity “until Easter at the earliest,” with no inter-county action permitted under Level 5 restrictions.

A letter was sent to county boards this evening following a meeting of the GAA’s Covid Advisory Group.

The Government has told that GAA that no activity will be allowed under Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions. This comes as a contrast to the permission the Government gave in 2020, where inter-county GAA was classed as elite sport, alongside others such as professional football and rugby. 

Now, there will be no on-field activity whatsoever until Easter — which is Sunday, 4 April — at least.

The GAA has since published the letter on its website.

It reads: “The GAA’s Covid Advisory Group met this evening to consider the outcome of a meeting between the three Gaelic Games governing bodies (GAA, Ladies Gaelic Football Association and Camogie Association) and representatives of the lrish Government, including the Minister of State for Sport, which took place earlier this week.

“The meeting was held to brief the governing bodies on the short-term prospects for a return to training and playing of our games. The Government representatives clarified that inter-county Gaelic Games activity is not covered under the current Level 5 exemptions for elite sports.

“As such, a return to inter-county training or games is not permitted under the current restrictions. It was also clear that there will not be any change to this position post-March 5th when the restrictions currently in place are reviewed.

“It is the view of the GAA’s Covid Advisory group that no on-field activity will be permitted – training or games – until Easter at the earliest.

“In the interim, it is expected that the Government will publish an updated ‘Living with Covid’ plan and we expect that this will provide clarity on when clubs and counties are likely to be allowed return to training and games in 2021.”

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The update notes how this extended delay to the planned return of the inter-county season will have knock-on effects for plans at both inter-county and club level in 2021.

No decisions have yet been made by the GAA on what competitions may or may not be facilitated as a result in any revised fixtures programme.

As uncertainty reigns, this development could lead to big changes for the planned club/county split season. 

A revised Master Fixtures Calendar, and plan for the remainder of 2021, will be prepared once a new Government roadmap is made available.

“We know these latest developments will come as a great disappointment to all those who are anxious to resume their Gaelic Games involvement, be it on or off the field,” the update adds.

“While we remain in the midst of a deadly pandemic, there is significant cause for optimism that much better days lie ahead.

“The manner in which we have endured and overcome thus far, both as individual members and as an Association generally, has been praised by many and is a cause of great pride to us all. With your help we are certain that we will eventually have a fulfilling season at both club and county level in 2021, just as we had in 2020.”

– with reporting from Fintan O’Toole

RENOWNED COACHING SPECIALIST Dr Ed Coughlan is the latest expert of the field to sit in the hotseat alongside host Shane Keegan on How To Win At Dominoes.

Coughlan, who has previously worked with teams including the Mayo footballers and Dublin hurlers, is a Skills Acquisition Specialist and lectures in the Munster Technological University.

He recalls how receiving constructive criticism helped develop and shape his approach to carrying out coaching sessions. 

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“I will never forget the first day my coaching session got torn to shreds. I was really fortunate in the person who did it, they did it in a very respectful way, which is what I still do today.

“You’re not going to get someone to listen to you if you rip them apart. And that was probably the start of that learning process. Like, ‘Wow, that really hurts what you’re saying to me but yet, I’m still intrigued. I haven’t ran away and I haven’t kicked you in the balls’ and it was because of how they did it.

“It was a real sense of, ‘I really feel like you’re for me even though you’re shredding me.’”

• ‘I’ve always had a curiosity for the tactical side of things’ – Limerick hurling coach Kinnerk

Coughlan goes on to discuss how meeting Rick Shuttleworth in 2005 evolved his skillset even further. Shuttleworth also works in the area of skill acquisition and high performance coaching, and has linked up with elite coaches around the world inculding Eddie Jones.

“That took it to another level altogether,” says Coughlan.

“The way he used to look at some of my sessions and discuss things afterwards and took me in a different direction all over again. It was like, ‘Oh my word.’ And again, some dark days from a coaching perspective. There were days I was going into a session having done some work with Rick and thinking, ‘I do not know my head from my foot. I don’t know where I’m going here. Everything I thought was right, is actually left and everything I thought was up was actually down.’

“That was the brilliance of him. He just stayed the course and was like, ‘Hang on, it’s alright. It’s ok for you to be freaked out because the players that go out on the pitch are a bit [freaked out].’

“You like it all ordered from your point of view, but then you’ll tell them, ‘Just play what’s in front of you.’ But you give them so much order and structure and control and then tell them to play what’s in front of them. It’s skewed and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve been mix-signalling them all the time.”

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IN THE WAKE of the news that there will be no GAA activity until Easter at the earliest, the Association have said it remains their intention to complete the inter-county league and championship in 2021.

It was confirmed last night that inter-county competitions are no longer covered under the Level 5 exemptions for elite sport.

The GAA’s director of communications Alan Milton said they may have to get creative when it comes to the structure of competitions, but for the moment no decision has been made on how things will proceed.

“It was obviously a disappointment because we’re in such a long period of inactivity,” Milton told RTÉ Radio 1′s Morning Ireland.

“It’s now obvious to everybody that the emption we got last winter to proceed with the GAA inter-county championships was exactly that – an exemption. While it was welcome and the championships went off really well, I think the government are dealing with a different scenario at the moment in terms of different strains and the rates out there.

“We’re just going to have to knuckle down and try show some of the flexibility that we showed in 2020 facing into 2021.

“It’s nothing different to what we had to deal with last year,” he continued.

“You might remember the frenzy we had to in March and April last year when every day we were asked what our competitions were going to look like.

“We couldn’t answer it then and we can’t answer it now. But what we did show last year was that if you scenario plan well enough, you can react quickly and it can bring the wider membership with you.

“This can work and we’re very confident it will this year. We haven’t made any hard and fast decisions in relation to how the championships and leagues will proceed, but as things stand we definitely aim to run both off.

“Whether or not we’ve to reach a tipping point in the season when we have to look at redrafting the competitions or perhaps flipping things remains to be seen. But I think we’ve got to hold our powder until Easter comes and at the start of April hopefully the figures will have not only stabilised but decreased and may allow for some wiggle room with the government in terms of relaxing restrictions.

“The GAA has tried to play its part from day one, we’ll continue to liaise with the government and we’ll take their lead. We’ve got to get as creative as we got last year when it comes to scenario planning to make sure we can make the most of 2021 and we’re adamant we’ll do our utmost to do exactly that.”

In relation to club and underage teams, Milton said the GAA will push for a return to collective non-contact training in pods when schools reopen, while the updated Living with Covid document “may give us some insights as to what might be possible.”

He continued, “I think it’s important also that we don’t just focus on the inter-county game, there’s hundreds of thousands of club players out there, not to mention the young players who are without schooling at the moment.

“So anything we might be able to do to get back in a non-contact even in pods situation would be hugely welcome for society and across the community, not just for the GAA.

“We simply don’t have any insights but you can rest assured as an organisation we’ll be pushing for it if the government are happy it can be done safely. We took our lead from the schools last March.

“Once the schools were out as an organisation we felt we couldn’t stand over collective training. If the schools are to return even on a phased basis you’d like to think that conversation would at least start. 

“We’re in regular contact with the government and if we see an opportunity to pursue that conversation we’ll definitely do that. Because we all know the tangible benefits it had for society and especially for the mental health of young people.”

While inter-county GAA is no longer permitted to take place under Level 5 restrictions, League of Ireland sides, the Ireland Women’s Rugby team and Olympians can continue to train and compete.

“We can’t bubble our players, they are amateur sportspeople,” said Milton. “They float around in the community after they train and play. There may well be an international dimension to those codes, at least in the case of soccer, that is different to us.

“But I’d like to think the GAA showed how it could run its competitions last year and as soon as its possible to get back up and running we’ll be allowed to do so.” 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin explained that the decision to no longer permit inter-county GAA to take place under Level 5 restrictions was to “keep activity levels low in society more generally in terms of mobility and the potential for the spread of the disease.”

He continued, “Close contact testing has come back in in the last week. The positivity rate among close contacts is at 22%. Prior to this wave it would have been at around 10% or 11% so that gives an illustration of the transmitability of this variant and its impact.

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“Hospitalisation, even though it’s coming down, the number of people in hospital is still well over 20% of the peak last April. We have to keep these figures in context as we slowly move out of the very stringent restrictions that we’re currently experiencing. 

“We think inter-county sport made a difference both in soccer and GAA. There’s a balance there in terms of the mental health of people and quality of life.  

“We will be looking at it in context of the plan that is being revisited by us currently. We will look at sport more generally.”

THE TOP LADIES football stars from the 2020 TG4 All-Ireland championships will be honoured on a special TV programme on Saturday, 27 February.

Sinead Goldrick, Aimee Mackin and Carla Rowe are in the running for the senior Player of the Year award.

Source: Inpho.

The 2020 junior, intermediate and senior Teams of the Championship will be announced on ‘Peil na mBan – Foirne na Bliana – le AIG Insurance,’ along with the Players’ Player of the Year award winners and the recipient of the the 2020 AIG Cúl na Bliana (Goal of the Year) honour.

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Armagh star forward Aimee Mackin and Dublin duo Sinéad Goldrick and Carla Rowe have been nominated for the senior Player of the Year award.

Mackin was central to the Orchard county’s charge as they reached their first All-Ireland semi-final since 2015, the Shane O’Neill’s ace firing 5-17 across three games.

Goldrick was named Player of the Match in the All-Ireland final as Dublin won their fourth title on the bounce, while the seven-time All-Star defender and Melbourne AFLW ace was, as always, a key player through the campaign. Rowe, likewise, had a memorable season, scoring 3-10 and playing vital roles in the semi-final and final, in particular, in the absence of injured captain Sinéad Aherne — winner of the 2018 top gong.

Meath attacking duo Emma Duggan and Vikki Wall have been nominated for the intermediate Player of the Year honour, having helped the Royals make it third time lucky in the decider against Westmeath. The Lake County’s captain, Fiona Claffey, is also in the running for that one.

In the junior ranks, Fermanagh All-Ireland winners Joanne Doonan and Eimear Smyth battle it out for the prize with Meadhbh Deeney, of beaten finalists Wicklow.

There’s eight goals in the running for the 2020 AIG Cúl na Bliana award, with voting open and the chance to win a €500 O’Neills voucher.

You can vote for your 1, 2, 3 in the @AIGIreland Cúl na Bliana competition – and be in with a chance to win a €500 @ONeills1918 voucher!

Watch the goals here 👉 https://t.co/fG88kwwnfg

Vote here 👉 https://t.co/rt71CJpV7f#ProperFan #EffortIsEqual @CorkLGFA @dublinladiesg pic.twitter.com/gQuE8WMI8j

— Ladies Football (@LadiesFootball) February 11, 2021

The hour-long programme — presented by Peil na mBan lead anchor Máire Ní Bhraonáin — will air on TG4 at 7.15pm on 27 February, bringing the curtain down on a season like no other which marked the 20th season of TG4′s sponsorship of the All-Ireland ladies football championships.

“We are very much looking forward to ‘Peil na mBan – Foirne na Bliana – le AIG Insurance’ – and to celebrate the very best of the 2020 TG4 All-Ireland Championships,” Marie Hickey, Ladies Gaelic Football Association President, said:

“Considering the extraordinary year that it was, and the condensed nature of our Championships, we were nevertheless treated to some wonderful football and memorable Championships, which saw worthy winners crowned in Fermanagh, Meath and Dublin. 

Bronze sculptor Jarlath Daly’s awards that will be presented to the players named on the Teams of the 2020 TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Championships, at his Dublin workshop.

Source: David Fitzgerald/SPORTSFILE

“Thankfully, we managed to complete our TG4 All-Ireland Championships, and when you consider the lengths that players went to, to represent their counties, we believe that it is right to acknowledge the efforts of our inter-county stars in all three grades.”

Alan Esslemont, Ard-Stiúrthóir TG4, added: “At every level and at every age, the work involved in putting Ladies Gaelic football at the centre of sport for women and girls in Ireland is something that all of the members of the LGFA should rightly be extremely proud of – and the LGFA is a world-class role model for women’s sport.   

“TG4 is delighted to be able to celebrate the best of the LGFA of 2020, a year which challenged us all like never before and a year in which both sport and media played their part in keeping our spirits strong.”

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REIGNING ALL-IRELAND SENIOR camogie champions Kilkenny have announced that three-time All-Star Meighan Farrell will be their captain for 2021.

The Thomastown star was central to the Cats’ O’Duffy Cup triumph before Christmas, as Brian Dowling’s side banished the hurt of three consecutive All-Ireland final defeats to reign supreme again.

She also steered her club to senior county glory in a memorable 2020, a season like no other. 

It was an individual one that almost never materialised, though: Farrell had hoped to join her older sister, Shelly, in Australia, but the Covid-19 pandemic tore those plans to shreds. Instead, she stayed put on Noreside, and in the Kilkenny ranks alongside another sister and key player, Anna.

While Farrell’s three All-Star awards came in midfield in 2017, ’18 and ’19, the 25-year-old starred at centre-half back this year. A two-time All-Ireland winner herself, Meighan, Anna and Shelly all lined out together in the ’16 triumph.

“We are delighted to announce that Meighan Farrell has been nominated as senior captain for 2021,” Kilkenny Camogie wrote on Twitter.

We are delighted to announce that Meighan Farrell has been nominated as Senior Captain for 2021. The Thomastown native was previously joint captain with her sister Anna back in 2019. We wish Meighan and the team well as they go for back to back wins in 2021 @kclr96fm @CRKC1 pic.twitter.com/1liDnoYrAH

— Kilkenny Camogie (@KilkennyCamogie) February 11, 2021

“The Thomastown native was previously joint-captain with her sister Anna back in 2019. We wish Meighan and the team well as they go for back-to-back wins in 2021.”

Farrell takes the reins from Lucinda Gahan.

Uncertainty reigns over the upcoming season, with no on-field activity ‘until Easter at the earliest’ and inter-county Gaelic games no longer allowed in Level 5.

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Updated Feb 11th 2021, 4:30 PM

MINISTER FOR STATE of Sport Jack Chambers has explained how inter-county GAA came to lose its exemption status as an elite sport during Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions, with GAA president John Horan later clarifying that the lack of ‘bubbles’ was the predominant reason behind the Association parking its inter-county activity for at least the next two months.

The GAA announced on Wednesday that there will be no Gaelic Games activity “until Easter at the earliest,” while inter-county games are no longer permitted to proceed under Level 5, whereas they could in 2020.

Professional soccer and rugby are still classed as elite sports that can be played under Level 5.

“In the roadmap that was published last autumn, we gave exemptions for professional sports,” the Minister explained on Today with Claire Byrne on RTÉ Radio 1.

“For example, the League of Ireland is a professional league. That is the distinction.

“But we do want to review the plan and how we live with Covid. That is why sport will be included in that.

“To be clear, the government has been very thankful to the GAA and broader sporting organisations for supporting the public health effort. I want to see the Championship this year. I want to see our young people getting back playing.

“When the GAA Championship was run off, that was done in the context of Level 5 and there was a concession outside of Level 5 framework approved by government. Once the Championship finished in December, as you know there was no fixtures scheduled at that point.

“There was also a very difficult Level 5 lockdown for the country so the regulations didn’t capture that because there was no fixtures in the current schedule. The concession concluded at the end of last year.

“When you look at the context of the number of cases in January, that is why the government is revising the plan. I haven’t any communication from NPHET on this. It is a case of giving a direct answer on a concession for inter-county GAA.”

The Minister added that GAA, the Camogie Association and LGFA did not seek to make a return in the immediate future.

“They made it clear that there was not a massive appetite to return in the medium term.”

Minister Jack Chambers [middle] was speaking on the Claire Byrne Show.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

GAA president John Horan later confirmed that, upon consultation with the sports minister, the impossibility of operating from within bubble environments was the predominant reason behind Gaelic games losing their ‘elite’ sport exemption under the Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions.

“I asked the Minister the question directly, ‘were we included in the present elite status’”, Horan told RTÉ Sport.

“He said we weren’t because the present elite status categorised was those sports that could operate within a bubble, and the GAA obviously wouldn’t be able to function in such a manner.

“If you look across the three associations there would be 106 teams there at senior inter-county level – that would be a multiple of about 5,000 players.

“They all work within the community and we’ve all seen that throughout the winter.

“If you go back to our record last year we were always safe and responsible in the decisions we made in terms of return to play. Sometimes we moved at a slower pace than NPHET or the government were recommending.

“We have an appetite to go back and play the games but we feel, as both a management committee and the covid advisory committee, that it’s not safe and it wouldn’t be responsible to go back at the moment such is the level of the virus within society.”

Dublin West TD Chambers clarified that it was not a case of inter-county GAA losing its elite sports status permanently, but simply that the exemption arrangement concluded at the end of last year and that it could not continue in the current circumstances.

“We had a very positive discussion with the GAA and the other organisations. They’ve made it very clear they want to support the public health effort. We’ve had more Covid-19 cases in January than all of last year. It’s also important to say in the broader context of the Return to Sport, as the Taoiseach said this morning, in the next two weeks.

“There was no decision taken to remove the GAA from the elite category. It’s a case of giving clarity on the regulations as they currently stand. It wasn’t a case of removing, it was a case of giving clarity.

“What I’m seeking to do is work with the GAA and other sporting organisations is provide an update in the context of the revised plan and hopefully we can give certainty on the timeline for the broader return to sport.”

The minister also revealed that there has been no conversation with the GAA about a timeline on returning to activity, and reiterated the importance of public health and safety.

“The priority at this point is to reinforce the public health message for people to stay at home and that gives us a lot more opportunity in the sport and the broadening of the reopening of society through the year.

“I think the GAA are capable of protecting the safety of players and I commend what happened in 2020 and how they ran out the Championship. But there is no Championship planned for the next two to three weeks for example.

“This is a case of revising the plan and giving certainty through the year. We want to see young people back playing with their local clubs.

“We aren’t in a position to give a specific date [for a return to play] at this point and we’ll try to give that later in the month when we revise the plan.”

– Updated at 16:30 with quotes from GAA president John Horan

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