Right now, the country needs hope
WHEN the announcement was made last week that the GAA no longer enjoyed ‘elite’ status during Level 5 lockdown restrictions, followed closely by the decision of the governing body’s own Covid committee that senior inter-county training would not begin until after Easter at the earliest, it was another painful kick in the guts for many people.
Like several about-turns from Government over the course of the pandemic, this may well change next week when the publication of the latest ‘Living with Covid’ plan takes place, especially after Taoiseach Micheal Martin pinpointed how successfully the All-Ireland Championships were run off last winter during a similar level of restrictions to suppress the spread of the coronavirus.
Whatever happens next Monday when we hear details of the latest ‘Existing with Covid’ plan (you cannot realistically call it ‘living’ with the virus), the arguments and the toing and froing over the last week on what constitutes ‘elite’ sport and ‘exemptions’ and ‘bubbles’ and anything else you can think of yourself, is not the point of all this.
Indeed, this is not really about the GAA at all. Or about sport in general. This is about hope. This is about bringing any kind of light to people’s lives, in a safe way, during this third elongated wave of the virus, which is having a more detrimental impact on the well-being of every individual in the country than either of the two previous waves.
At a time when there should be optimism as the painstakingly slow roll-out of the vaccines pick up pace this week, with the start of the inoculation of our over-85 population, the over-riding fear is that there is now almost a resignation among a significant cohort of people that, even though we are only in the middle of February, 2021 is already a virtual write-off as regards having any sort of quality of life to look forward to.
The thing is, however, as has been expressed by members of NPHET in recent weeks, the Irish people are fully determined to dig their heels in and hunker down for how ever long it takes, on this occasion, to see the spread of the virus fully brought under control. If that means being stuck in Level 5 lockdown, as all the vulnerable people get their two doses over the next few months, then that’s what the people will do.
The last thing that anybody wants at this stage, after almost a year of this pandemic, is to see several sectors of society opened up prematurely, like what happened to ensure a ‘meaningful’ Christmas (it didn’t take a genius to predict that would be a recipe for disaster), leading to lockdown number 4, because that would be an unbearable kick in the teeth after all the sacrifices that the majority of the population are making.
This time around, it really is the right thing to proceed cautiously, but with as much clarity as possible, which should become more evident next week. That is exactly the same scenario within the GAA, as president John Horan reflected while discussing the delay in the return-to-play last week.
“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,” he said.
Horan is being very, very diplomatic here. With the case numbers, slowly but surely, being steadily brought under control, the numbers in hospital with Covid decreasing on a daily basis, and other statistics heading in the right direction, any activity that can be done, in a safe manner, to boost the public’s morale as they stay at home, must be considered.
The GAA, understandably, do not wish to rock the boat with the Government right now. After all, like other sporting organisations, and many, many businesses throughout the country, they are going to need more financial aid this year to enable them to fulfil their obligations and aspirations.
Yet, let’s not beat around the bush here either. The Government were quite happy for the All-Ireland Championships to go ahead last October, November and December to give themselves a nice, little PR boost, and to encourage people to stick to their own homes every weekend to watch the matches on TV. Inter-county players were certainly deemed ‘elite’ athletes then, when it suited them.
But, like I said earlier, this is not about sport at all. Our collective hearts rose last week when we saw some of the special needs children heading back to school after such a long absence from the classroom. To see the delight on their faces as they saw some of their friends again was sincerely uplifting.
That’s what it’s all about at this moment in time. We are, very worryingly, becoming conditioned to this ‘cocooned’ way of life that we have found ourselves in since last March. Even when this pandemic is over, and it will end sometime, many will find it hard to return to what they once had.
That makes it absolutely essential that, whenever an opportunity to see a ray of sunshine penetrate our darkened existence opens up in front of us, we have to grasp it with both hands. The return of senior inter-county GAA is just a tiny symbol of that sunshine. Indeed, getting children back on the pitches is far more important, and that should happen when the schools reopen.
But any little symbol is better than no symbol at all. If NPHET believe that there is minimal risk of increased transmission of the virus by the return of inter-county GAA, then let’s just get it done. The rewards, for those participating, and those watching from home, are too great to ignore.
I’ll leave the last word to Limerick football goalkeeper, Donal O’Sullivan, who is a junior frontline doctor at the University of Limerick.
“It’s a very healthy pastime if done right. It has minimal risk with regards to over-running the health service and the capacity of ICU beds. That has to be clear in decision-makers’ heads. If it is done right, with strict social distancing, no congregating indoors and good hygiene measures, I think the social benefits outweigh the risks involved. There is minimal risk outdoors.”
Let the games begin again. Safely.