SO HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE BACK LUKE?
LUKE DEMPSEY is delighted that the Leinster Senior Colleges ‘A’ football final is set to be the first significant game post-lockdown.
Yesterday the tie between St Joseph’s Rochfortbridge and holders Naas CBS was brought forward a week to Friday, July 17 – the day that competitive fare in the GAA is allowed to resume.
Originally, it was due to be played on March 14, two days after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that schools nationwide were to close.
Former Westmeath, Carlow and Longford manager Dempsey has been teaching at the school since 1981 and it’s their first time ever to reach the ‘A’ final.
He manages the team alongside John Rouse and retained hope throughout the shutdown period that the game would eventually get the green light.
He
said:
“I’d be always hopeful in life about things. You can’t just write off things.
“I was also hopeful given the Chinese experience of three months and it sort of calmed down that July would be a time that, with the exception of the likes of Trump-led America where they’re not doing it right, most places that are doing it right would see a decline and a levelling off in three months so it’s coming through in that sense.
“The easiest thing in the world would be to put an X through all competitions but the GAA gave everybody hope really and it’s come to fruition.
“That particular group are coming in from different clubs and they got on well so there’s good banter and camaraderie among the group so, yeah, I’m delighted.”