Seeing six matches after long absence made my weekend

PERHAPS MY view was clouded by the lack of action since March, but I must say I really enjoyed the quality of fare, and the privilege of being granted access, to the grand total of six hurling matches over the weekend.

I was in Bellefield on three separate occasions from Friday through to Sunday, as well as paying a couple of visits to my favourite venue in the county, O’Kennedy Park in New Ross.

I also had a chance to sample how the Covid-19 restrictions are being dealt with away from our major venues, when I stood on the sideline in Monageer for their Junior hurling opener.

I didn’t encounter any problems along the way, and the general impression I got was that everyone is willing to do whatever is required in order to steer us through these very challenging times.

Of course, matches are nothing without spectators, but those lucky enough to be in possession of a prized ticket to guarantee attendance certainly did their best to create some sort of atmosphere.

I was delighted to be able to fill my notebook with match reports once more, after the longest gap without covering matches in my entire professional career.

Indeed, it was with some amusement that I cast my eyes over the details from the last game I had attended pre-lockdown.

That was an EA Sports Cup football game in Ferrycarrig Park on the night of Tuesday, March 10, and I remembered cursing my luck on the night in question because visitors Bray Wanderers equalised in added time, just when it looked like Wexford FC had wrapped up their first win of the season.

Unfortunately, that meant an additional 30 minutes of extra-time that I hadn’t factored into my plans, particularly as I was just a few kicks of the ball away from being able to head for home when our Wicklow neighbours intervened.

It’s funny how one’s outlook tends to change, depending on circumstances. On that night, having to spend an extra half-hour out in the cold left me very annoyed, because Ferrycarrig Park is not the warmest of spots even at the best of times.

And yet, if I had known what was coming down the tracks, I’d have happily stayed there for as long as I was entitled to in order to be guaranteed my sporting ‘fix’.

Whether or not we get a clear run at the fixtures mapped out for the remainder of the year is in the lap of the gods.

We should really savour these matches when we have the chance, and I sincerely hope that there will be closure in all competitions, and champions will be crowned.

Bad and all as things were since March, it would be absolutely soul-destroying if the action had to come to a halt again just as our hopes of normality are being raised.

I guess we really don’t know what’s around the corner in that regard, but there’s no point in thinking about the worst case scenario.

For the moment, the select few have games to enjoy, and the enterprising nature of some folk was clear in how they overcame their viewing problems over the weekend.

I had never really thought about what was behind the high wall running down the length of the Bellefield pitch until last Friday night when a number of curious heads started to appear behind me prior to the start of the St. Anne’s versus Rathnure match.

It turns out that there’s an open green space, and several people availed of it to crane their necks and watch the action unfold.

Some were on ladders, while others parked vans tight to the wall and stood on the roof.

There was a similar occurrence, I believe, outside Chadwicks Wexford Park over the weekend, a sure sign that where’s there a will, there’s a way.

While those inside the ground were laughing about the ingenuity displayed in Bellefield on Friday, the absence of spectators is not something the GAA can sustain in the long run.

It’s simply not fair to see so many people who live for the games denied access to them, especially when our main grounds could comfortably accommodate 500 spectators if that regulation was relaxed.

At times like these, I count myself lucky to have a press pass.