Bingo and face masks as COVID awareness drives procedures

WHILE the exorbitant insurance costs of running events in rural Ireland ‘checked’ the holding of Castleisland’s hugely successful ‘Drive-In Bingo’ meeting in 2019, it hasn’t put down a ‘marker’ for the future.

The event, with a bit of a boast of being Kerry’s only Drive-in-Bingo, is coming out fighting this year and plans are well up the yard – the Mart Yard – for the welcome return of a day out for the bingo playing addicts from all over Kerry and beyond.

The day, date, time, venue and prize-money are Sunday, July 5, at 2.30pm, on the extremely spacious yard of the accommodating Castleisland Co-Op Mart Committee, with a pot of €3,000 to be won on the day.

In this instance, social distancing is a given anyway as the nature of the game is that people play from their cars and with members of their own families.

COVID-19 awareness is governing and guiding the preparations for both drivers and non-drivers, and the latter, too, will be accommodated in a covered seating area, but not as it used to be. They, too, will be observing the rules of the times we’re all living through at present.

“We’re even changing the way people buy their bingo books on the day, in compliance with all known medical advice, and we’re giving out face masks with every entry,” said the charity event organiser and Castleisland Races Committee Chairman Cllr Charlie Farrelly.

“We will be advising and telling people to stay in their cars, and our, personal-protection wearing team members will do all the running for them.

“Anyone using the ‘portaloo’ toilets on site will be reminded of the constant need for personal hygiene and hand washing.

“They’ll be reminded anyway by the presence of hand-washing and sanitising stations dotted around the venue.

“We’re appealing and hoping for as much support as we can get as we have had a huge outlay this year for the extra health and safety material .... Any profits we make after that will go to Glebe Lodge Residential Home as they missed out on the Humphrey Murphy Road Race this month.

“People who have been here over recent years will know that the yard is massive and that social distancing won’t be a problem, and we’ll be making our own health and safety guidelines known to our players as soon as they arrive here.

“We’re hoping that bingo players will come from all over Kerry and beyond to support us as they did in recent years,” said Cllr Farrelly.

Photo by John Reidy Bingo faoin spéir: this player was doing a spot of social distancing long before it became all the go. Players at Castleisland’s Drivein-Bingo on Sunday afternoon, July 5, from 2:30pm will be supplied with face masks with their books.